SWE; Flight Software + Embedded

Thermopylae Aerospace Corporation is developing novel, patent-pending autonomous air defense platforms designed to counter high-speed aerial threats at lower cost, offering significantly greater capabilities per dollar to make aggression economically irrational.

This is a full-time, on-site role for a Software Engineer (Flight Software + Embedded) located in Hawthorne, CA. The role involves developing, prototyping, and implementing custom flight software and testing infrastructure for air defense platforms on embedded edge systems. Daily tasks include writing, testing, and integrating code; collaborating with hardware and GNC teams; debugging software issues; and ensuring system reliability and performance.

The exceptional engineer will also participate in peer code reviews and contribute to system-level design decisions with significant ownership.

• Develop, prototype, and implement flight software and testing infrastructure on embedded edge systems.
• Write, test, and integrate code while ensuring reliability and performance.
• Collaborate with hardware and GNC teams to debug software issues.
• Contribute to system-level design decisions and perform peer code reviews.

• Strong experience and solid foundations in programming languages such as C/C++ or Rust.
• Experience working with ARM/RISC-V architectures, microcontrollers, and highly multithreaded environments.
• Solid knowledge of backend services, operating systems, and memory architectures.
• Proven track record of deploying custom, production-ready software implementations on edge boards to meet customer needs.
• Strong applied knowledge of linear algebra, multivariable calculus, probability, control theory, and graph theory. (Basic knowledge of nonlinear and flight dynamics is preferred.)
• Track record of exceptional value delivery per time spent and ambitious delivered projects as a background.

University education is not a determining factor in our process. Any curriculum-related achievements are secondary until they are applied to demonstrate deep domain understanding and the ability to consistently push your limits and focus. At Thermopylae, we provide a platform for real engineers to work on transcendent systems that will protect humanity from existential threats. To succeed here, you must want the future more than the colleague sitting next to you, a mindset that compounds across the team to drive breakthroughs.

• Entry level

• Full-time

• Engineering and Information Technology

• Defense and Space Manufacturing