Software Engineer – Control Systems

PLP Group; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous equity

Healthcare including vision and dental

401(k)

Unlimited PTO

EEO & Reasonable Accommodations

Job summary

Azora is building high-bandwidth space and ground infrastructure, seeking engineers to develop embedded software for flight and ground hardware. You will write drivers, control loops, and FPGA interfaces, and validate code with HIL setups and automated tests.

You will collaborate with electrical, FPGA, and optical engineers during system integration and environmental testing, delivering deterministic, low-latency software for space environments.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science or Electrical/Computer Engineering.
• 4+ years of embedded or hardware-adjacent software experience in C/C++.
• Experience with embedded Linux and/or RTOS environments (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, VxWorks, RTEMS).
• Hands-on with hardware interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, PCIe, or memory-mapped FPGA peripherals.

Responsibilities

• Write embedded and real-time software for flight and ground hardware.
• Develop drivers, board support, and FPGA interfaces; implement control loops.
• Create HIL environments and automated regression suites for embedded software.
• Collaborate with electrical/FPGA/optical engineers during integration and tests.

Job description

Job detailsEngineeringSan Francisco Bay Area, PhoenixFull-time$130,000 USD - $170,000 USDRoleWrite the software controlling our hardware; including embedded control, drivers, and real-time applications running on Azora's space terminals and ground stations. You will own the software that talks directly to FPGAs, detectors, lasers, gimbals, and sensors integrated into our flight and ground systems.ResponsibilitiesDevelop embedded and real-time software for flight and ground hardware: device drivers, board support, FPGA register interfaces (AXI/memory-mapped), and control applications.Implement control loops and supervision logic for lasers, fine-steering mirrors, detectors, thermal systems, and power management.Build hardware bring-up, manufacturing test, and calibration software used across engineering and production units.Develop flight software components including fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR), telemetry, and command handling.Create hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test environments and automated regression suites for embedded software.Work side-by-side with electrical, FPGA, and optical engineers during integration and environmental test campaigns.Profile and optimize for determinism, latency, and resource constraints on embedded targets.Ability to solve complex problems in challenging field environments.Required QualificationsBS/MS in Computer Science, Computer/Electrical Engineering, or related field.4+ years of embedded or hardware-adjacent software experience in C/C++ (and ideally Rust or Python for tooling).Experience with embedded Linux and/or RTOS environments (FreeRTOS, Zephyr, VxWorks, RTEMS).Hands-on experience with hardware interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, PCIe, or memory-mapped FPGA peripherals.Comfort with lab debugging: logic analyzers, JTAG, oscilloscopes, and reading schematics.PreferredFlight software experience (cFS, F´, or proprietary frameworks) and knowledge of FDIR design.Experience with Zynq/Versal-class SoCs or soft-core processors and FPGA/software co-design.Background in motion control, optical instrumentation, or camera/detector readout software.Familiarity with space software standards (NASA NPR 7150.2, ECSS-E-ST-40) or safety-critical development practices.Benefits:Generous equityCompetitive healthcare (including options for vision and dental)401(k)Unlimited PTOEEO & Reasonable AccommodationsAzora is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know by contacting [e-mail] ControlTo conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (iii) protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or (iv) be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.Salary ranges are based on the following criteria:Final salary is based on geographic location, experience, skills, and qualifications.About this CompanyAzora is building high-bandwidth communications infrastructure for environments where fiber can’t reach. This work spans LEO spacecraft constellations, lunar exploration missions, GEO satcom, deployable optical ground for defense, and data centers both on- and off-world. To enable rapid global proliferation Azora is developing compact and modular optical terminals small enough to deploy from a backpack, and space terminals that support high speed optical links from LEO out to the Moon.