Senior Software Engineer

Senior Software Engineer Lead development of flight software for a reentry vehicle on custom hardware

Location:

Los Angeles, California, United States

Compensation: $139, USD/year

Turning Space into a Transportation Layer for Earth

Inversion builds advanced reentry systems to deliver next-generation capabilities from space. Our mission is to make Earth radically more accessible by turning Low‑Earth Orbit into an on‑demand logistics domain. We see space not as a destination, but as a platform — one that unlocks unprecedented speed and global reach. Our spacecraft are designed to deliver payloads anywhere on Earth in under an hour, operating through extreme reentry conditions and landing with high precision.

These systems open the door to new ways of testing, delivering, and operating at hypersonic speeds. Inherently dual‑use, our technology is built to meet urgent national security needs while laying the groundwork for future commercial applications. Backed by leading investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working with partners such as the U.S. Space Force and NASA, Inversion is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space‑based defense and logistics.

As a Senior Flight Software Engineer at Inversion, you will have an instrumental impact on the design, functionality, and performance of our next‑generation reentry vehicles. Your impact will encompass all aspects of flight software, including commanding, telemetry, and implementation of control algorithms running on custom hardware that flies the world's first reentry vehicle designed for turning space into a viable transportation layer for Earth.

You will be a key member of the Arc Vehicle team.

This role is all‑encompassing, and includes the complete lifecycle of the vehicle's software including:

• Owning critical software components for a new vehicle, from initial concept through design, implementation, testing, and deployment.
• Writing and testing software for spacecraft, including drivers, networking, fault management, and attitude control interfaces.
• Assisting in creating and executing tests, including HITL (hardware in the loop) and HOOTL/SITL (software in the loop) testing, integration testing, and unit testing.
• Assisting with the growth and development of the software organization, including conducting interviews and mentoring/onboarding other engineers and interns.

We're a mission‑driven team passionate about pushing the limits of space exploration. While there may be moments when the excitement calls for extended hours or weekend work, we prioritize creating an environment where our engineers feel inspired, supported, and constantly challenged to grow.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Typically 5+ years of applicable experience developing software in a systems‑level language like Rust, C++, or
  
  C.
• Experience working in a Linux development environment.
• Experience with tools and processes related to software development such as version control, code reviews, issue tracking, and CI/CD environments.
• Experience building code deployed to real hardware in a compute‑restricted environment.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Capable of working in a dynamic, fast‑paced startup environment.

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Prior experience in design and test of qualified aerospace or space‑flight software.
• Hardware in the Loop (HITL) test experience.
• Experience collaborating with GNC engineers and developing interfaces to sensors (IMUs, GPSs, Star Trackers, etc.).
• Experience with networking concepts (TCP, UDP, Ethernet, etc.).
• Experience with low‑level communication protocols (CANbus, UART, I2C, RS422/485, etc.).

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in‑office presence.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $139,000 - $200,000. Pay grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual…