Satellite Flight Software Engineer with Security Clearance

OMNI Consulting Solutions; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

OMNI Consulting Solutions, LLC is seeking a Satellite Flight Software Engineer to support critical satellite operations for a federal customer in Chantilly, VA. You will work on sophisticated flight software systems, providing SETA support to government stakeholders and evaluating RTOS, embedded Linux, FPGA interfaces, and CAN/MIL-STD interfaces.

The role requires real-time embedded expertise, experience with space-grade standards, and the ability to diagnose complex issues across processors,

Qualifications

• Experience with real-time or embedded flight software for spacecraft hardware.
• Strong understanding of RTOS, embedded Linux, and bare-metal environments.
• Proficiency in C/C++, Python; familiarity with Rust is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide independent SETA support to Government stakeholders over flight-software development and operations.
• Assess flight-software architectures, FPGA artifacts, drivers, and interfaces.
• Review requirements, designs, code, test results, and verification evidence.
• Evaluate command/telemetry processing, fault tolerance, and safe-mode behavior.
• Support HIL, test-readiness, qualification, and operational-readiness activities.
• Investigate failures, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions.

Skills

RTOS

Embedded Linux

C/C++

Rust

VHDL/Verilog

Python

SpaceWire

CAN bus

CCSDS

JTAG/Debugging

Flight software

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer/Software/Electrical Engineering

Master's degree in related STEM

Tools

FPGA design

CFS/cFE framework

Debugging tools

Job description

About the Role Join OMNI Consulting Solutions as a Satellite Flight Software Engineer, where you'll apply deep expertise in embedded systems and software engineering to support critical satellite operations for a federal customer. This role offers the opportunity to work on sophisticated flight software systems while contributing to a national-security mission. Responsibilities * Provide independent SETA support to Government stakeholders overseeing spacecraft flight-software and embedded-system development, integration, qualification, and operations.

• Assess flight-software architectures, source code, FPGA implementations, device drivers, board-support packages, hardware abstraction layers, and hardware/software interfaces.
• Review software requirements, designs, interface-control documents, code-review findings, FPGA artifacts, build and release products, test plans, procedures, results, discrepancy reports, and verification evidence.
• Evaluate command and telemetry processing, mode and state management, timekeeping, data handling, autonomy, redundancy management, fault detection and recovery, and spacecraft safe-mode behavior.
• Assess spacecraft processors, microcontrollers, FPGAs, memory, sensors, actuators, payload electronics, communication buses, and radiation-mitigation approaches.
• Support HIL and other integrated test activities, technical reviews, test-readiness reviews, qualification and acceptance testing, and operational-readiness assessments.
• Investigate integration failures, flight-software defects, spacecraft anomalies, and mission events; assess root cause, corrective actions, regression testing, and closure evidence.
• Monitor contractor execution, interfaces, dependencies, technical performance, schedules, and risks; identify issues early and recommend practical mitigation actions.
• Prepare concise engineering assessments, risk evaluations, briefings, and decision-support products for Government program and mission leadership.
• Candidates must demonstrate experience with the following:
• Real-time and bare-metal systems: Real-time operating systems (RTOS), embedded Linux, and bare-metal programming for spacecraft processors and microcontrollers. Relevant RTOS platforms may include VxWorks, RTEMS, FreeRTOS, or comparable environments.
• Microcontrollers and FPGAs: Integration of flight software with microcontrollers, processors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), memory, sensors, actuators, payload electronics, and other spacecraft hardware.
• Device drivers and low-level interfaces: Development, integration, review, or troubleshooting of device drivers, board-support packages, interrupt handling, memory-mapped input/output, timing functions, and hardware abstraction layers.
• Hardware-in-the-loop testing: Planning, execution, or evaluation of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), processor-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, testbed, and flat-sat testing and spacecraft hardware/software integration.
• Fault-tolerant systems: Fault detection, isolation, and recovery; redundancy management; watchdogs; safe modes; graceful degradation; error detection and correction; autonomy; and recovery from hardware or software faults.
• Radiation-tolerant design: Understanding of radiation effects on spacecraft electronics and software, including single-event effects, total ionizing dose considerations, memory protection, error detection and correction, memory scrubbing, fault containment, redundancy, and software-based mitigation strategies.
• Hands-on proficiency with both C and C++ for embedded or real-time systems.
• Experience using or evaluating Rust for embedded, real-time, safety-critical, or mission-critical applications.
• Working capability with VHDL or Verilog sufficient to develop, integrate, review, or assess FPGA logic and hardware/software interfaces.
• Proficiency with Python for scripting, automation, test execution, data reduction, or engineering analysis.
• Hands-on experience with JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, or comparable laboratory debugging and diagnostic equipment.
• Familiarity with SpaceWire architectures, interfaces, and data communications.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-1553 avionics data buses and command/response communications.
• Experience with Controller Area Network (CAN bus) interfaces and embedded communications.
• Knowledge of Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) telemetry and telecommand standards, packet structures, and spacecraft command-and-data-handling interfaces.
• Familiarity with applicable NASA or comparable flight-quality, software-assurance, workmanship, and safety standards, including NASA-STD-8739.8, Software Assurance and Software Safety Standard, and, when hardware interconnections are within scope, NASA-STD-8739.4, Workmanship Standard for Crimping, Interconnecting Cables, Harnesses, and Wiring.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with a current polygraph at the time of application.
• U.S. citizenship.
• Bachelor's degree and at least 9 years of relevant experience, or a master's degree and at least 7 years of relevant experience.
• Degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.
• At least 4 years of direct experience designing, developing, integrating, verifying, testing, or technically assessing onboard spacecraft flight software or embedded software for satellite bus or payload systems.
• Strong understanding of flight-software architecture, requirements, interfaces, configuration management, build and release management, integration, verification, validation, and qualification testing.
• Ability to diagnose issues across processor, FPGA, firmware, device-driver, bus, subsystem, and payload boundaries and communicate defensible recommendations to technical and non-technical leaders.
• Experience with NASA core Flight System/core Flight Executive (cFS/cFE) or comparable spacecraft flight-software frameworks.
• Experience supporting Intelligence Community, U.S. Space Force, Department of Defense, NASA, or other national security space programs.
• Experience supporting a Government program office or serving in a SETA role.
• Experience supporting launch, early-orbit, on-orbit operations, anomaly response, or mission-event investigations.
• Familiarity with model-based systems engineering, secure software development, software assurance, and DevSecOps practices for classified or mission-critical systems.

OMNI Consulting Solutions, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Company site