Flight Software Manager, Blue Ghost

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond.

Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

As the Blue Ghost Flight Software Manager at Firefly Aerospace, you will lead the flight software team responsible for developing, integrating, verifying, and supporting mission-critical software for Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar landers. In this role, you will manage a technical team delivering spacecraft flight software, driving software execution across requirements, design, implementation, test, mission integration, and flight operations support.

This position combines hands‑on technical judgment with people leadership. You will own team staffing, career development, performance management, execution planning, and technical process improvement while working closely with GNC, avionics, systems engineering, mission operations, program management, external partners, and customers. You will be responsible for building a high‑performing software organization capable of delivering reliable flight software for lunar missions in a fast‑paced aerospace environment.

• Lead the Blue Ghost flight software team supporting lunar lander development, integration, test, and mission operations
• Own all aspects of team staffing including recruitment, hiring, onboarding, workforce planning, and contractor support
• Conduct performance evaluations and drive career development through mentorship and coaching of software engineers at all levels
• Set flight software objectives and communicate priorities to team members, program leadership, and cross‑functional stakeholders
• Manage flight software execution across requirements, architecture, implementation, integration, verification, validation, release, and operational support
• Drive adoption, extension, and mission‑specific application of Firefly’s flight software framework, for Blue Ghost lander missions
• Establish and improve flight software development processes, coding standards, review practices, test expectations, and release discipline
• Coordinate with GNC, Embedded Software, avionics, electrical, systems engineering, simulation, mission operations, and test teams to deliver integrated spacecraft capabilities
• Interface with program managers and mission stakeholders to allocate team responsibilities, establish schedules, and manage software deliverables
• Support mission readiness reviews, test campaigns, rehearsals, anomaly investigations, and flight operations
• Develop and manage team budget inputs, annual operating plans, resource forecasts, and software capability roadmaps
• Identify technical gaps, execution risks, staffing needs, and investment priorities for Blue Ghost flight software
• Foster a healthy team culture and maintain high morale in a demanding technical and operational environment

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, or related technical field
• 10+ years of experience developing embedded, real‑time, aerospace, spacecraft, launch vehicle, defense, robotics, or other mission‑critical software
• 5+ years of technical team leadership experience including direct management of engineers and technical staff
• Demonstrated experience delivering software for complex hardware systems through integration, verification, and operational use
• Strong technical understanding of embedded software architecture, real‑time systems, command and telemetry, fault management, device interfaces, and software/hardware integration
• Experience establishing software engineering standards, development processes, test…