Principal Software Engineer

Firefly Aerospace; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the development of critical features across the perception, camera, compute, and mission operations stack. You will build libraries and interfaces connecting perception algorithms with cameras, hardware, simulation, flight software, and mission operations, working across systems to enable reliable space missions.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in software engineering, embedded systems, and spacecraft operations, with a

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or related field; equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience developing complex production systems.
• Strong proficiency in modern C++ (multithreading, memory management, debugging, performance).
• Experience designing reusable libraries/APIs/platform services used across teams.
• Experience Linux environments and hardware/software integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, integration, and testing of features within our software stack.
• Build reusable C and Python libraries, APIs, tools connecting perception with cameras and compute hardware.
• Define interfaces across a large production codebase.
• Develop and optimize multithreaded, low-latency software for constrained environments.
• Integrate cameras, sensors, compute platforms, and networking into end-to-end systems.

Skills

C++

Python

Linux

Multithreading

Debugging

Performance optimization

System architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE

Masters/PhD preferred

Tools

Linux

Job description

ABOUT

ABOUT Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch land and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond As the partner of choice for critical space missions Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24 hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing Headquartered in north Austin Texas Firefly is looking for passionate hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space

SUMMARY

SUMMARY Our computer vision system that landed on the moon combines a flexible multi camera hardware architecture with onboard perception navigation and state estimation Firefly is seeking a Principle Software Engineer to lead the development of critical features across the stack In this role you will build the systems libraries tools and interfaces that connect perception algorithms with cameras compute hardware simulation environments flight software and mission operations You will work at the intersection of modern software engineering 3D computing embedded systems and spacecraft operations to create a reliable reusable platform capable of supporting missions beyond the laboratoryand beyond Earth The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in one or more of these areas an interest in expanding into the others and an appetite for solving complex problems where software hardware and mission requirements meet

RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead the design development integration and testing of critical features within our software stackBuild reusable C and Python libraries APIs tools and abstractions connecting perception algorithms with cameras compute hardware simulation flight software and mission operationsDefine maintainable interfaces between algorithmic and platform components across a large production quality codebaseDevelop and optimize multithreaded low latency software for compute memory and bandwidth constrained environmentsIntegrate cameras sensors heterogeneous compute platforms and networking interfaces into reliable end to end systemsDevelop software involving 3D geometry coordinate transformations camera models spatial data visualization simulation or reconstructionEstablish automated testing build infrastructure simulation tools and developer workflows that improve reliability and engineering velocityPartner with perception GNC avionics flight software systems engineering and mission operations teams to ensure cohesive system behaviorSupport software in the loop hardware in the loop spacecraft integration mission simulation and flight operations activitiesDiagnose complex system level issues contribute to architectural decisions conduct technical reviews and mentor other engineers

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Bachelors degree in Computer Science Software Engineering Computer Engineering Aerospace Engineering Robotics or a related technical field; equivalent practical experience may be considered10 years of professional software engineering experience developing complex production systemsStrong proficiency in modern C including multithreading memory management debugging and performance optimizationExperience designing reusable libraries APIs platform services or software abstractions used across engineering teamsExperience developing and debugging software in Linux environments and integrating software with hardware sensors networking interfaces or external systemsStrong understanding of software architecture algorithms automated testing and maintainable software designDemonstrated ability to resolve complex system level issues and communicate effectively across software algorithm hardware and systems engineering teamsPreferred Masters or PhD in Computer Science Robotics Aerospace Engineering Electrical Engineering or a related fieldExperience developing software for spacecraft aerospace robotics autonomous vehicles defense systems or other mission critical applicationsProficiency in Python for tooling automation testing simulation or data analysisExperience with 3D geometry coordinate transformations camera models spatial data structures visualization simulation or reconstructionExperience integrating cameras or perception sensors with embedded Linux GPUs FPGAs or other heterogeneous compute platformsFamiliarity with computer vision visual navigation state estimation localization mapping or perception pipelinesExperience with flight software interfaces telemetry and commanding software or hardware in the loop testing vehicle integration or mission operations

• Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees including generous health dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles parental leave educational reimbursement short term disability and flexible PTO options

To conform to US Government space technology export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ITAR you must be a US citizen lawful permanent resident of the US protected individual as defined by 8 USC 1324ba3 or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the US Department of State

Firefly Aerospace Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race color religion gender national originethnicity veteran status disability status age sexual orientation gender identity marital status mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status