Staff Flight Software Engineer

Darwin Recruitment; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is seeking an experienced Staff Flight Software Engineer to join our Satellite Embedded Software team, focusing on mission-critical embedded software for imaging payloads and ADCS.

This hands-on leadership role shapes software architecture, mentors engineers, and delivers robust flight software from development through on-orbit operations, collaborating with systems, hardware, and mission operations.

Washington State-based hybrid work option available.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/CE/EE or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of production or embedded software experience.
• Expert-level C/C++ and Python coding skills.
• Embedded Linux experience with Buildroot/Yocto.
• Strong technical leadership across multidisciplinary teams.
• Analytical, debugging and root-cause analysis skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; capable of working with minimal supervision.
• Eligibility to support programmes requiring U.S. citizenship.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for ADCS and imaging payload flight software.
• Design, develop, and maintain embedded software for spacecraft systems.
• Drive Agile development and Jira-based project management.
• Participate in sprint planning, reviews, stand-ups, and planning.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver mission-critical features.
• Verify software with documentation, testing, inspection, and analysis.
• Work with Systems Engineering to refine software requirements.
• Contribute to process improvements, coding standards, and release procedures.
• Support additional flight software development activities as needed.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Embedded Linux

Leadership

Debugging

Communication

Collaboration

U.S. citizenship eligibility

RTOS (FreeRTOS)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/CE/EE or equivalent

Tools

Jira

Buildroot

Yocto

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Staff Flight Software Engineer to join a growing Satellite Embedded Software team developing next-generation spacecraft. This is a hands-on technical leadership role focused on the design, development, and delivery of mission-critical embedded software, with primary responsibility for satellite imaging payload and Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) software.

As a senior individual contributor, you’ll play a key role in shaping software architecture, mentoring engineers through technical leadership, and delivering robust flight software that supports satellite missions from development through on-orbit operations. Working alongside embedded software, systems, hardware, mission operations, and programme teams, you’ll contribute to multiple spacecraft programmes from concept through deployment.

The preferred location for this role is Washington State with a hybrid working arrangement.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and subject matter expertise for ADCS and imaging payload flight software.
• Design, develop, maintain, and enhance embedded software for spacecraft systems.
• Drive software development activities using Agile methodologies and project management tools such as Jira.
• Participate in sprint planning, technical reviews, stand-ups, and programme planning activities.
• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver reliable, mission-critical software features and resolve defects.
• Ensure software is thoroughly verified through documentation, testing, inspection, and analysis to demonstrate compliance with system requirements.
• Partner with Systems Engineering to develop, refine, and maintain software requirements.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of software development processes, coding standards, testing strategies, and release procedures.
• Support additional flight software development activities as required.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of experience developing and maintaining commercial or embedded software in production environments.
• Expert-level proficiency in C/C++ and Python, with a focus on writing clean, maintainable, and reliable code.
• Extensive experience developing embedded systems, ideally using Embedded Linux and associated build systems such as Buildroot or Yocto.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical leadership and working across multidisciplinary engineering teams to successfully deliver complex products.
• Strong analytical, debugging, and root cause analysis skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision in a collaborative engineering environment.
• Eligibility to support programmes that may require U.S. citizenship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with embedded Linux board bring-up.
• Familiarity with hardware communication interfaces including GPIO, I2C, SPI, CAN, USART, PHY, SpaceWire, Camera Link, RS-422, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, DMA, or PCIe.
• Experience developing software for Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS), including FreeRTOS.
• Knowledge of U-Boot or other embedded bootloaders.
• Experience within the space industry or working with spacecraft hardware and embedded systems.
• Experience developing software supporting ADCS or Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems.