Embedded Software Engineering Lead

Embedded Software Engineering Lead

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.

Background

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Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure.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-founding 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.

The Embedded Software Engineering Lead at Aetherflux will lead the embedded software team in developing and maintaining real-time software for our satellite constellation. This role is responsible for the overall quality, reliability, and fault tolerance of the embedded software infrastructure across satellite control, power beaming operations, and ground receiver systems. You will manage and mentor a team of embedded software engineers to establish development standards, conduct architecture and code reviews, and ensure robust software practices that support Aetherflux's space-based power transmission platform.

• Team Lead
  :
  Lead embedded software team developing flight-critical and avionics systems through mentorship, performance management, and career development.

• Project Management
  :
  Plan and coordinate firmware releases, including task breakdowns, sprint management, timeline tracking, and communication to program stakeholders.

• Flight Software Architecture
  :
  Design and lead development of fault-tolerant and high-performance software for mission-critical operations.

• Real-Time Embedded Software Development
  :
  Design, implement, and test embedded software for onboard satellite control, real-time data processing, communication, and laser power transmission.

• Hardware Integration
  :
  Work with hardware engineers to integrate embedded software with spacecraft avionics, sensors, actuators, and communication systems.

• Testing & Simulation
  :
  Work with hardware and test teams to build software-in-the-loop (SITL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) environments for software validation.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

• 2+ years of experience as the lead of an embedded software development team.

• 5+ years of experience as an embedded software engineer, particularly for aerospace or satellite applications.

• Proficiency in C, C++, and/or Rust for embedded systems.

• Experience developing bare-metal embedded…