Senior Space Software Architect — Flight & Ground Systems (TS/SCI)

Rocket Lab USA; Littleton (CO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

401(k) plan

Medical insurance

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Software Engineer (TS/SCI) in Littleton, CO to lead the design and delivery of scalable spacecraft and ground software systems. This role emphasizes flight software, RTOS, and integration with hardware until mission success.

You will mentor teams, collaborate with stakeholders, and ensure software robustness for space missions across defense and civil programs. A top-tier base salary is provided with strong benefits.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of professional software development experience, including embedded systems and ground software.
• Proven expertise in architecting scalable and reliable software systems for aerospace or defense applications.
• Proficiency in C/C++ for embedded software development and Python for testing.
• Experience with DIO and AIO (Digital and Analog Inputs and Outputs).
• Experience with integrating hardware, including implementing ICDs, and debugging.
• Experience deriving the Flight Software architecture from the electrical design including reading a master ICD list and/or schematics.
• Experience with RF ground to space communication.
• U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements
• Active TS/SCI clearance is required

Responsibilities

• Lead Software Architecture Design: Define and evolve the end-to-end software architecture for flight and ground systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, security, and mission success.
• Develop Flight Software: Design application software for spacecraft operating within RTOS such as VxWorks or embedded Linux, including drivers for sensors/actuators.
• Build Ground Software Systems: Architect and deploy web-based ground software platforms for spacecraft operations, integrating flight and ground systems.
• Test and Validate Systems: Develop unit tests within a CI framework and collaborate with hardware-in-the-loop test engineers.
• Collaborate and Lead: Provide technical direction and mentorship to engineering teams and align software with mission requirements.
• Support On-Orbit Operations: Ensure software performance in harsh environments and contribute to mission-critical operations.

Skills

C/C++ (embedded)

Python

System architecture

DIO/AIO

ICD integration

Flight software

RF communications

Git workflows

CI/CD

Kubernetes

FastAPI

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/CS

Advanced degree (preferred)

Tools

CAN/CAN-FD

SpaceWire

UDP/TCP

Golang

Rust

Typescript

Angular

InfluxDB

PostgreSQL

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Software Engineer (TS/SCI) in Littleton, CO to lead the design and delivery of scalable spacecraft and ground software systems. This role emphasizes flight software, RTOS, and integration with hardware until mission success.

You will mentor teams, collaborate with stakeholders, and ensure software robustness for space missions across defense and civil programs. A top-tier base salary is provided with strong benefits.