Principal Software Engineer

BlackVe, Inc.; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 170,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

BlackVe, Inc. is seeking a Principal Flight Software Engineer in Albuquerque to lead the architecture, design, and delivery of embedded flight software for spacecraft.

You will work cross-functionally with systems and hardware teams to ensure software runs on orbit and meets mission requirements. You will own critical decisions, mentor junior engineers, and contribute to a high-impact national security portfolio while navigating real-time, resource-constrained environments and applicable

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional embedded software experience, with emphasis on spacecraft flight software.
• Deep expertise in C and C++ for real-time, resource-constrained embedded systems.
• Experience with spacecraft buses and interfaces (SpaceWire, MIL-STD-1553, CAN, SPI, I2C, UART).
• Strong flight software architecture knowledge: command dispatch, telemetry, fault protection, sequencing, and mode management.
• Experience with software integration and test on flight hardware or hardware-in-the-loop environments.
• Ability to work across disciplinary boundaries with systems, GNC, and hardware engineers.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a DoD security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement embedded flight software for spacecraft avionics, including command and data handling, fault management, and mode control.
• Develop software for real-time or near-real-time, resource-constrained embedded platforms.
• Translate system and subsystem requirements into flight software designs, and own those designs through implementation, test, and integration.
• Define and enforce flight software architecture patterns, coding standards, and interface contracts.
• Collaborate with GNC, power, thermal, comms, and payload engineers to integrate flight software with hardware and subsystem firmware.
• Design and execute software verification and validation activities, including unit test, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight software qualification.
• Support integration, environmental test, and on-orbit commissioning of flight software.
• Mentoring junior engineers and contributing to the technical culture of the software team.

Skills

Embedded software

C/C++

Real-time systems

Spacecraft buses

RTOS experience

Tools

RTOS (VxWorks/RTEMS/FreeRTOS/Zephyr)

Job description

Position Title: Principal Software Engineer

• Clearance Requirement: Must be able to obtain a Top-Secret security clearance. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a clearance.

About Us:

BlackVe, Inc. is a mission-first, dynamic, and innovative national security-focused company focused on emerging space and advanced technologies dedicated to pushing the boundaries of engineering excellence in support of our government customers.

Job Description:

We're hiring a Principal Flight Software Engineer to contribute to the design, development, and delivery of embedded flight software for our spacecraft. This is a senior individual contributor role with outsized influence - you'll make foundational architecture decisions, write performance-critical code, and set the technical direction for how our vehicles operate on orbit. You'll work closely with systems and hardware engineers from requirements through integration and test, and your software will fly.

Key Responsibilities and Essential Job Functions:

• Architecting and implementing embedded flight software for spacecraft avionics, including command and data handling, fault management, and mode control
• Developing software for real-time or near-real-time, resource-constrained embedded platforms
• Translating system and subsystem requirements into flight software designs, and owning those designs through implementation, test, and integration
• Defining and enforcing flight software architecture patterns, coding standards, and interface contracts
• Collaborating with GNC, power, thermal, comms, and payload engineers to integrate flight software with hardware and subsystem firmware
• Designing and executing software verification and validation activities, including unit test, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight software qualification
• Supporting integration, environmental test, and on-orbit commissioning of flight software
• Mentoring junior engineers and contributing to the technical culture of the software team

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of professional experience developing embedded software, with significant time spent on spacecraft flight software
• Deep expertise in C and/or C++ for real-time, resource-constrained embedded systems
• Experience with spacecraft avionics buses and interfaces (e.g., SpaceWire, MIL-STD-1553, CAN, SPI, I2C, UART)
• Strong understanding of flight software architecture patterns: command dispatch, telemetry, fault protection, sequencing, and mode management
• Experience with software integration and test on flight or flight-like hardware, including hardware-in-the-loop environments
• Ability to work across disciplinary boundaries with systems, GNC, and hardware engineers
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a DoD security clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with RTOS environments (e.g., VxWorks, RTEMS, FreeRTOS, Zephyr) or bare-metal development
• Flight heritage - software you wrote has operated on orbit
• Experience with software-defined or reprogrammable spacecraft architectures
• Familiarity with autonomous or semi-autonomous spacecraft operations (onboard planning, event-driven tasking, or adaptive fault management)
• Experience with formal verification, model-based development, or runtime assurance techniques for safety-critical software
• Exposure to GPU, FPGA, or heterogeneous compute platforms in a flight context
• Familiarity with flight software frameworks (e.g., cFS, F Prime, or comparable in-house frameworks)
• Experience in a small-team or startup environment where you wore multiple hats

Location and Travel Requirements:

• This position is based in Albuquerque, NM, with occasional travel to other company locations or partner facilities as needed.

Why Join Us:

• Mission first-Always. We prioritize delivering results that directly support space and intelligence community programs and national security objectives.
• We operate as one team, grounded in trust, accountability, and open collaboration, where individuals actively support one another to achieve shared mission success.
• Work on high-impact programs across space, ISR, and advanced technology domains supporting DoD and IC customers.
• Ownership-driven culture is founded in teamwork where every employee is an owner, with equity participation and a direct stake in our success.
• Competitive compensation and benefits package, including flexible time off; 401(k) with company contribution
• Constant opportunities for program and professional impact.

This position may include access to technology and/or data that is subject to U.S. export controls pursuant to ITAR and EAR. To comply with federal export controls, all persons hired must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, refugee or asylee as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(A)(3), or must otherwise be eligible to obtain the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State and/or U.S. Department of Commerce as applicable.

This position requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance, as required by the applicable government contract.