Senior Flight Software Engineer, Elytra

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.

Austin, Northern (TX, KY)

Hybrid

USD 120,000 - 180,000

Full time

3 hours ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. in Austin, Texas, is seeking an Aerospace Software Engineer to join our Flight Software group. You will work on high-reliability software for Firefly Launch Vehicles and spacecraft, contributing through all stages of design, development, testing, and integration.

You will lead with a small team, design and maintain C++ software, and collaborate with other engineering groups to ensure mission success. We value rigorous engineering, clear communication, and timely delivery.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in CS or related field; Master’s preferred.
Strong OO design and C++ expertise; 7+ years in software eng.
Experience with real-time systems and Linux.
Ability to work in fast-paced aerospace environment and meet deadlines.
Excellent written and verbal communication; cross-team collaboration.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership to the Flight Software Team.
Design, implement, and maintain high-reliability C++ software.
Work with other engineering groups to ensure mission success.
Support vehicle testing and launches with rigorous engineering discipline.
Develop internal tools using Python; adhere to group processes.

Skills

Object-Oriented Design

C++ programming

Real-time OS

Linux

Team collaboration

Communication skills

Software engineering

Aerospace software

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering

Master’s Degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering

Tools

Python

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands‑on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives ...

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Our Values

Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Fireflies believe in perseverance, responsiveness, and mentoring others with a focus on inspiring a better future.

Accountability

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high-quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
Mental health services
Paid military leave

Space for Your Family

12 weeks paid maternity leave
4 weeks paid spouse leave
$20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
Dog friendly workplace

Space for Your Career

$10k/year towards trade school or college
Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills
Employee-ownership with stock bonuses
4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
$10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

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

Do you have a passion for designing cutting‑edge technology and an interest in Spacecrafts applications? If you have a knack for problem‑solving and enjoy working collaboratively in a small team, we have exciting opportunities for you to join our Flight Software group as an Aerospace Software Engineer!

The Flight Software group is responsible for the design and implementation of high‑reliability application‑level software for Firefly Launch Vehicles and spacecraft. As an Aerospace Software Engineer, you will work in a small collaborative group through all stages of the launch vehicle and spacecraft design.

As a key member of our team, you will help develop, test, and integrate the flight software for Firefly Spacecraft. You will work in a group of flight software engineers through all stages of the flight software development processes and collaborate with other engineering teams.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide technical leadership on the Flight Software Team to develop, design, test, and integrate flight software
Design, implementation, and maintenance of high reliability C++ software
Perform work on time, meeting all functional and performance requirements
Work closely with the other engineering groups for the success of Firefly programs
Adhere to the Aerospace Software Engineering Group’s processes, procedures, and best practices
Support various vehicle testing and operation events, including launch
Design, implementation and maintenance of internal software tools using Python

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Sciences, Software Engineering, or a related field
Excellent understanding of Object‑Oriented Design and the C++ programming language
7+ years’ experience in a software engineering position, or similar
Familiarity with real‑time operating systems, software, and the Linux operating system
Ability to work closely with other teammates and in a fast‑paced environment to meet strict deadlines
Ability to work in a dynamic environment with changing needs and requirements
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Master’s Degree in Computer Sciences, Software Engineering, or a related field
Understanding of data path pipelines, state machines, and arithmetic operation
7+ years’ experience in an aerospace software engineering or related position
Experience deploying and using CI/CD pipelines for C++ software
Ability understand and disposition C++ static analysis results

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 U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. 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 origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status

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