Senior Flight Software Engineer

about rocket lab

rocket lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity's reach to the moon, mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

at rocket lab, we’re not just launching rockets - we’re building the future of space. Our space systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space, like solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, radios, and more.

our space systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives. The team has built spacecraft, payloads, and components for missions to the moon and mars, working with partners including nasa, the space development agency, and the u.s. Space force. Whether it’s a single high-performance spacecraft, constellation, or the vertically integrated components that help them get to space - our world class space systems team is empowering some of the boldest and most ambitious space missions.

as a senior flight software engineer i based at rocket lab’s site in littleton, co, you will have the opportunity to play a key role in supporting the development of flight software for our space systems programs. You’ll spend your days participating in all aspects of software design and development, from requirements definition through coding and testing. And when we say test, we mean your software will be on orbit within weeks and months, not years.

Thanks to having our own rockets and launch sites, we have frequent opportunities to test and operate our software on orbit. To be successful in this role, you must want to see your software make a big impact on the way we explore space and use it as a platform for discovery and innovation. Join a driven team of pioneers relentlessly tackling challenging projects, delivering on the impossible, and making an impact on the future of space!

• develop application software to run within a real time operating system (rtos) and/or embedded linux
• develop hardware drivers to interface to inertial measurement units (imus), star trackers, reaction wheels and other spacecraft sensors and actuators
• develop and maintain comprehensive unit tests to run within a continuous integration framework
• collaborate with hardware-in-the-loop test engineers to verify and validate combined software and hardware functionality
• collaborate with systems engineers and embedded systems engineers in developing, documenting and validating requirements
• participate in review of source code changes and ensure all changes meet company coding standards
• participate in design reviews such as a pdr and cdr
• assist with on-orbit (and interplanetary!) flight operations

• u.s. Citizenship is required, due to program requirements
• bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, or equivalent technical degree
• 5+ years of demonstrated applicable experience in embedded software development
• proficiency in c and c++ languages
• experience with real time operating systems (rtos) or with embedded linux

• active u.s. Secret or ts/sci security clearance
• advanced degree
• rust programming language experience developing software and drivers with can/can-fd and/or udp/tcp within an embedded system
• experience developing software for autonomous vehicles operating in harsh environments, such as…