Principal Software Engineer - Flight Test & Integration

ALTEN Technology USA; United States; Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

ALTEN Technology USA is seeking an experienced individual to develop and execute flight software verification tests for space exploration projects. The ideal candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree in STEM and have at least 15 years of relevant experience, with expertise in C/C++, and embedded software development.

The position offers flexibility to work remotely and requires U.S. citizenship. The salary range is $150K–$220K, depending on qualifications and experience.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 15 years experience with a Bachelor's degree or 12 years with a Master's degree.
• Proven track record of working with space hardware and/or flight software systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute flight software verification tests.
• Document test methodologies and compliance with requirements.
• Conduct official validation tests.
• Contribute to the development of new satellite flight software.

Skills

Proficiency in C/C++

Test scripting (TCL/Python)

Embedded software development

Real-time operating systems programming

Cybersecurity

GNC algorithms design

Education

Bachelor’s degree in STEM

Master’s degree in STEM (preferred)

Job description

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life‑saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute FSW verifications tests using both proprietary satellite digital twin software and a Hardware in the Loop (HIL) FlatSat.
• Establish and document test methodologies and descriptions to test compliance with customer‑based requirements.
• Develop and implement software and tools for ground support equipment to test and validate flight software.
• Contribute to document management, including versioning, bug reporting, and test plan documentation.
• Oversee and conduct official validation tests.
• Upgrade existing flight software for new missions.
• Contribute to the development of new satellite flight software for U.S. satellite platforms.
• Develop in‑house tools to analyze flight software performance and assess its compatibility with new mission and conops.
• Develop and execute flight software verification and validation tests at the unit, module, subsystem, and platform level.
• Work with manufacturing engineers to support installation onto the hardware‑in‑the‑loop test environments and eventual flight hardware.
• Participate in anomaly resolution activities and patch existing flight software.
• Support working groups, both internal and with customers and/or vendors.
• Support proposal writing, new business.
• Assess the software impacts of new hardware, conops, and missions.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in STEM (Science, Technical, Engineering, Math) or related scientific areas.
• Preferred: Master’s in STEM (Science, Technical, Engineering, Math) or related scientific areas.

Experience

• A minimum of 15 years with a Bachelor’s degree, or 12 years with a Master’s degree.
• Proven track‑record of working with space hardware and/or flight software systems, starting from conceptual designs and tradeoffs through detailed design, development, manufacture, integration, test, deployment, and operations.

Knowledge, Skills, Demonstrated Capabilities

• Insatiable curiosity and a demonstrated ability to learn and work independently.
• Proficiency in C/C++.
• Expertise in one or more of the following:
• Embedded software development and testing
• Test scripting (TCL/Python)
• Device driver development and testing of software/hardware interfaces
• Real‑time operating systems programming, debugging, and testing
• Cybersecurity
• GNC algorithms design, analysis, testing, and implementation
• Functional validation of embedded software on hardware
• Software safety assurance
• Network topology and configuration
• Simulators: numerical, emulator, and hardware in the loop
• Software requirements and configuration management

Travel Required

• Periodic travel (less than 20%) to U.S. facilities or partner companies.
• Occasional international travel to collaborate with European Airbus counterparts.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.

Clearance

• Ability to obtain and maintain a Government security clearance.
• Active DoD security clearance at Secret or above highly desirable.

Salary Range

$150K–$220K. The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job‑related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience.

Location

Can be fully remote. Preferred locations are Denver, CO, Arlington, VA, Merritt Island, FL, and Houston, TX.

ALTEN Technology is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual’s age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or veteran status.

Compliance Notice: Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement: As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug‑free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre‑employment drug screening as a condition of hire.