Senior Flight Software Engineer, Arc Vehicle Software

Front Door Defense; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 139,000 - 201,000; Full time

Job summary

jobs.frontdoordefense.com - Jobboard is seeking a Senior Flight Software Engineer for its office in Playa Vista, CA. This role involves developing high-reliability flight software, designing algorithms, and collaborating with systems engineers to define interfaces. The ideal candidate will have experience in embedded, real-time software and strong proficiency in C/C++ or Rust programming.

The position offers an annual salary range of $139,000 to $201,000, determined based on various factors. This is an in-office role requiring presence at the headquarters.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience developing embedded, real-time, or safety-critical software.
• Hands-on experience writing software that interfaces with physical hardware.
• Demonstrated excellent communication skills and presenting technical designs.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and deploy real-time flight software.
• Design safety-critical state machines and algorithms.
• Integrate GNC modules into the C++ software loop.
• Lead development of test suites for software performance validation.
• Collaborate with engineering teams on interface control documents.

Skills

Systems programming in C/C++/Rust

Embedded Linux

Communication protocols (CAN, Ethernet, etc.)

Memory management

Multi-threaded architectures

Technical communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

Git

Job description

Senior Flight Software Engineer, Arc Vehicle

Location: Los Angeles, California, United States

Compensation: $139,000 - $201,000 USD / year

Job Tags: Software

About the Role

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and deploy high-reliability, real-time flight software.
• Design and implement safety-critical state machines, autonomous flight sequencing, and fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) algorithms.
• Integrate and optimize GNC flight software modules from the Reentry and Accurate Landing teams into the main C++ software loop.
• Perform low-level driver development and board bring-up on flight hardware, debugging hardware-software interfaces using logic analyzers and oscilloscopes.
• Lead the development and execution of Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test suites to validate software performance and timing margins.
• Participate in rigorous code reviews, establish technical coding standards, and mentor junior embedded software developers.
• Collaborate with systems and avionics engineers to define interface control documents (ICDs), telemetry packets, and communication protocols (CAN, Ethernet, Serial).

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent technical experience.
• Typically 5+ years of professional experience developing embedded, real-time, or safety-critical software.
• Strong proficiency in systems programming languages (C / C++ / Rust) in a Linux-based development environment.
• Solid understanding of embedded Linux, deterministic software design, memory management, and multi-threaded architectures.
• Hands‑on experience writing software that directly interfaces with physical hardware via communication protocols (such as CAN, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, or RS‑422).
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience presenting technical software designs.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience developing flight software for spacecraft, launch vehicles, or safety-critical autonomous aerospace platforms.
• Familiarity with modern software development best practices, including Git, unit‑testing frameworks, static analysis, and automated CI/CD pipelines.
• Familiarity with physical systems modeling, sensor data processing, or GNC algorithms.
• Prior experience in a fast‑paced aerospace startup or small, high‑ownership team.

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in‑office presence.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $139,000 - $201,000. Pay grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job‑related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.