Senior Software Engineer - Vehicle Test

Socket.dev; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Healthcare

Disability Insurance

Life Insurance

401(k)

Flexible PTO

Free on-site meals

Job summary

Astranis Space Technologies Corp. in Northern California, USA, seeks a Senior Software Engineer to design end-to-end software for validating hardware at vehicle levels and to support HITL testbeds for flight validation.

You will refine specs from electrical engineers, develop ground and flight software interfaces, and contribute to recruiting as part of a growing team. This role offers on-site collaboration, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent.
• 5+ years of relevant professional experience.
• Strong proficiency in Python (or similar high-level language).
• Experience designing software systems and test architectures/tooling/frameworks.
• Experience with Linux and shell command line tools.
• Hands-on, fast-paced development with strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design high-level software architecture for vehicle integration and test operations.
• Coordinate across teams to build testing infrastructure for validation and HITL workflows.
• Integrate flight software with test infrastructure and ground software teams.
• Develop scalable test code reusable across campaigns and vehicle generations.
• Refine specifications from electrical engineers to validate flight components.
• Support proposal development through successful test and flight phases.
• Assist in recruiting and mentoring junior engineers on the team.
• Participate on a rotating on-call shift to troubleshoot flight and production issues.

Skills

Python

Linux

Software design

Shell

Communication

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE

Tools

Git

Testing frameworks

Lab testing tools

Job description

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts.Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Astranis has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Senior Software Engineer - Vehicle Test

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Software Engineer to join our rapidly-growing team and improve our hardware testing capabilities. In this role, you will design the end-to-end software architecture used to validate hardware at the integrated vehicle levels as well as supporting our major HITL testbed infrastructure for flight validation, ensuring our aerospace systems are mission-ready. Your testing and infrastructure will be the ultimate safeguard ensuring our hardware and software are flight-ready.

Your responsibilities include refining specifications from electrical engineers to validate critical flight components, supporting all development phases from proposal to final test, implementing ground control and telemetry software, and contributing to the team’s growth through active recruitment and hiring efforts.

This role puts you at the front of the line for new hardware releases, where you will work directly in the lab to identify and fix complex issues in real-time. Because your work supports testing across all vehicle subsystems, you will gain unique insight into the entire hardware lifecycle and partner with nearly every engineering team to ensure our systems perform flawlessly under the most demanding conditions. By combining high-level architecture with hands‑on validation, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring that what we send into flight stays there.

This role supports both commercial and U.S. Government programs.

Role

• Design high-level software architecture in support of vehicle integration and test operations
• Coordinate across multiple teams to create software testing infrastructure based on testing and production needs
• Work with ground software and flight software teams to integrate flight software into test infrastructure
• Design scalable test code to be reused across multiple different testing campaigns and vehicle generations
• Refine specifications from electrical engineers to validate critical flight components
• Support all phases of development from initial proposal development through successful test and flight
• Help guide large test campaigns by creating the tools necessary for its success and delegating and mentoring more junior Engineers
• Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team
• Participate on a rotating on-call shift to troubleshoot and resolve flight and production issues

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering (or equivalent background knowledge)
• 5+ years total of relevant professional experience
• Strong proficiency in Python (or other high-level object oriented scripting language(s))
• Experience designing software systems and test architectures/tooling/frameworks
• Experience with Linux and shell command line tools
• A passion for building things, including working in a fast-paced environment and hands‑on design and development
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Bonus

• Experience working with relational or time series databases
• Embedded systems experience
• Experience mentoring junior engineers

What we offer:

Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.

Base Salary

$150,000 — $215,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required (To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and products are built for everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, or background. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we invite all people to join our team and bring their unique perspectives to make us stronger.

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