Spacecraft Embedded Real-Time Software Engineer

Cowboy Space Corp.; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical/Dental/Vision

401(k)

Paid time off

10 paid holidays

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Lunch in office and stocked kitchen

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corporation is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to own real-time software for spacecraft subsystems, including power distribution and thermal control. You will join a small embedded team responsible for the full lifecycle from bring-up to in-flight updates.

This high-ownership role requires strong C/C++ skills, experience with RTOS or bare-metal environments, and ability to work at the hardware boundary reading schematics and using JTAG, oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of embedded software or firmware development
• Strong C/C++ skills for embedded systems
• Experience with RTOS-based or bare-metal embedded platforms
• Comfort reading schematics and using debugging tools (JTAG, scopes)
• Experience with hardware/software integration and board bring-up
• Ability to own a subsystem largely independently after ramp-up

Responsibilities

• Own embedded software for spacecraft subsystems from concept through on-orbit operations
• Develop real-time embedded software for microcontroller-based avionics in FreeRTOS and bare-metal
• Implement drivers, interfaces, and control loops for power, thermal, sensors, and actuators
• Support board bring-up and field/orbit firmware updates
• Collaborate with electrical, avionics, and software teams to define interfaces
• Investigate anomalies and perform root-cause analysis across hardware/software boundaries

Skills

C/C++ for embedded systems

RTOS experience (FreeRTOS)

Hardware debugging

Reading schematics

Software-hardware integration

Independent ownership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science

Tools

JTAG

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

SPI/I2C/UART/CAN

Python scripting

Job description

Cowboy Space Corporation is seeking an Embedded Software Engineer to own real-time software for spacecraft subsystems, including power distribution and thermal control. You will join a small embedded team responsible for the full lifecycle from bring-up to in-flight updates.

This high-ownership role requires strong C/C++ skills, experience with RTOS or bare-metal environments, and ability to work at the hardware boundary reading schematics and using JTAG, oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.