Senior Flight Software Engineer — Satellite Systems

Ionq; Louisville (CO); Hybrid; USD 145,920 - 191,047; Full time

Job summary

Capella Space, now part of IonQ’s space business, seeks a Flight Software Engineer to write software for our satellite fleet in orbit. You will work with FPGA, EE, and ground software teams to design, build, and evolve flight code, ensuring reliability and operability in challenging space environments.

You will bring a track record with complex, safety‑critical systems and guide the team’s engineering roadmap while turning radar tech into robust software.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of relevant, hands‑on engineering experience.
• Ability to support a design through all software lifecycles including initial schematic review and architectural tradeoffs, preliminary and detailed design, implementation, integration, and test.
• Experience working with real‑time embedded systems – both hardware and software, including low‑level drivers.
• Hands on experience developing, testing, and debugging hard real‑time software (bare‑metal or RTOS).
• Familiarity with embedded Linux, Linux kernel modules, and standard Linux tools.
• Strong knowledge of programming compiled (C, C++) and scripted (Python, shell script, etc.) languages.
• Experience writing software for microcontrollers and other embedded systems, e.g., Xilinx Zynq SoCs.
• Familiarity with software configuration management.
• Hands‑on experience with lab equipment and electronics hardware, e.g., oscilloscopes, logic analyzers.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain flight software for a growing satellite constellation.
• Collaborate with EE, FPGA, and ground software engineers to ensure seamless integration between hardware and software.
• Lead code reviews and mentor teammates with constructive, high‑standard feedback.
• Write and maintain unit and integration tests to ensure robustness and reliability of the software.
• Develop software documentation and provide cross‑training to other team members.
• Troubleshoot and resolve software issues quickly, including in live on‑orbit operations.
• Participate in the software development life cycle, from requirement analysis to deployment.
• Support integration and operations teams with software‑related queries.

Skills

Embedded systems

Real-time software

C/C++

Python

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/EE

Tools

Xilinx Zynq SoCs

Job description

Capella Space, now part of IonQ’s space business, seeks a Flight Software Engineer to write software for our satellite fleet in orbit. You will work with FPGA, EE, and ground software teams to design, build, and evolve flight code, ensuring reliability and operability in challenging space environments.

You will bring a track record with complex, safety‑critical systems and guide the team’s engineering roadmap while turning radar tech into robust software.