Lead Space Software Engineer — TS/SCI

Rocket Lab Corp.; Long Beach, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock purchase program

Medical plans

Dental & Vision

Paid time off

401(k) match

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, is seeking a Principal Software Engineer – TS/SCI to serve as Chief Software Engineer for a major constellation program. You will lead the design, development, and delivery of flight, ground, and test software for space-based applications, with RTOS and embedded Linux, and collaborate across disciplines.

You will mentor teams, ensure system reliability in harsh environments, and align software architectures with mission requirements. U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of professional software development experience, including embedded systems and ground software.
• U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
• Proven expertise in architecting scalable and reliable software for aerospace/defense.

Responsibilities

• Lead software architecture design for flight and ground systems, ensuring scalability and reliability.
• Develop flight software for RTOS (VxWorks) and embedded Linux with hardware drivers.
• Build ground software platforms for spacecraft operations and mission support.
• Test and validate software within CI, collaborating with hardware-in-the-loop engineers.
• Mentor engineering teams and align software with mission requirements.
• Support on-orbit operations and maintain performance in harsh environments.

Skills

C/C++

Python

RTOS

Embedded Linux

CAN/CAN-FD

SpaceWire

RF communications

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or related field

Tools

DIO

AIO

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, is seeking a Principal Software Engineer – TS/SCI to serve as Chief Software Engineer for a major constellation program. You will lead the design, development, and delivery of flight, ground, and test software for space-based applications, with RTOS and embedded Linux, and collaborate across disciplines.

You will mentor teams, ensure system reliability in harsh environments, and align software architectures with mission requirements. U.S.