Flight Termination System Engineer

About Cowboy Space Corp:
Mission

Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space‑based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity’s most complex engineering challenges with a world‑class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.

Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space‑to‑earth and space‑to‑space), powering on‑orbit high‑performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport.

Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on‑demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In‑Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases.

Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co‑founded Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others.

This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you’re ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

Serve as the technical authority for the flight safety system that determines when and how our launch vehicle terminates flight. You'll own the Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) end to end: the Range and FAA relationship, the flight safety analysis, the safety‑critical avionics architecture, and the qualification and certification campaign. AFTS is one of the longest‑lead, highest‑consequence items on our path to first flight.

You will work closely with the avionics team to define the safety‑critical architecture including redundancy, navigation, power and telemetry. As a Staff‑level individual contributor, you'll set the technical direction for Cowboy's flight safety discipline, establish engineering methodologies and standards, make the build‑versus‑integrate decisions, and own the range and regulatory interface directly.

• Own the flight safety system as the discipline lead: architecture, analysis, qualification, and certification from concept through flight readiness.

• Actively participate in board‑and system‑level hardware design reviews, lead safety‑related discussions, and serve as the go‑to person for safety‑related hardware design decisions.

• Lead the AFTS relationship with Space Launch Delta 45 (Eastern Range) and the FAA/AST, and own the flight safety system approach within Cowboy's Part 450 application and associated safety data deliverables.

• Make the build‑versus‑integrate decision, including integration of CASS (Core Autonomous Safety Software), and define the safety‑critical avionics architecture in partnership with the…