Senior/Principal Flight Software Engineer – Embedded Lead

Terranorbitalcorporation; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% Company‑paid medical, dental, and

vision coverage

401(k) Match

Flexible Time Off (FTO)

Education Reimbursement

Competitive Paid Parental Leave

Job summary

Terran Orbital in Irvine is seeking an experienced Flight Software Engineer to drive embedded C++ for high‑performance spacecraft systems and lead software development across simulation, flight hardware, and payloads.

You will report to the Flight Software Engineering Manager and guide a team of engineers, ensuring reliable, testable software in a fast‑growing aerospace environment. On‑site work is preferred for hardware access, with remote work possible after onboarding.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent field.
• 8+ years (Staff Engineer - Level 4) developing C++ applications for embedded/high‑performance/critical systems.
• 12+ years (Principal Engineer - Level 5) developing C++ applications for embedded/high‑performance/critical systems.
• Prior experience using GitHub or similar Git tool.
• Highly motivated, self‑starting, responsible, thorough, and able to perform duties autonomously without supervision.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• U.S. Citizenship with ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with multiple engineering teams to establish software requirements.
• Perform as the technical lead of a satellite program.
• Lead a team of junior software engineers, providing mentorship and tasking.
• Design, develop, and maintain simple, reliable, and fault‑tolerant software.
• Develop software for unique payloads, such as imagers, image processors, communication devices, and various astronomical science instruments.
• Create comprehensive unit and regression tests in existing frameworks.
• Integrate and test software in simulation, flight replica, flight vehicle, and hardware‑in‑the‑loop environments.
• Communicate with the customer in technical working groups.
• Potential 10% travel to visit customers or vendors for Design Reviews and collaborative technical work.

Skills

C++ programming

embedded systems

Git/GitHub

communication skills

self-motivated

team leadership

Linux kernel experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Git

Linux kernel debugging

Job description

Terran Orbital in Irvine is seeking an experienced Flight Software Engineer to drive embedded C++ for high‑performance spacecraft systems and lead software development across simulation, flight hardware, and payloads.

You will report to the Flight Software Engineering Manager and guide a team of engineers, ensuring reliable, testable software in a fast‑growing aerospace environment. On‑site work is preferred for hardware access, with remote work possible after onboarding.