Senior Flight Software Engineer

Capella Space is a pioneer in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite technology and space-based signal intelligence. We empower government, commercial, and research organizations around the world with high-resolution, timely Earth insights that drive better decisions - across defense and intelligence, disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, environmental protection, energy, and more.

As a U.S.

-based company, Capella designs, builds, and operates an advanced constellation of commercial SAR satellites in orbit today. Our satellites are backed by a fully automated tasking, collection, and delivery platform, delivering fast, reliable insights when and where our customers need them most. As a subsidiary of IonQ, a global leader in quantum computing, Capella is charting the future of Earth observation.

Together, we’re on a mission to bring quantum computing to space - unlocking ultra-secure, encrypted uplink and downlink capabilities, reducing latency, and enabling powerful on-orbit analytics. This visionary integration of advanced remote sensing and quantum technology will support customers with the highest level of data fidelity, security, and speed.

At Capella, we don’t just imagine what’s possible - we build it. We’re a mission-driven team fueled by curiosity, grit, and a shared commitment to redefining the limits of space innovation. Our environment is fast paced, rooted in humble collaboration. Every team member plays a critical role in shaping the future of our technology and our industry. If you're ready to roll up your sleeves and help solve problems that others call impossible—we're the place for you.

We believe great ideas can come from anywhere, and we thrive on diverse perspectives that help us move faster, think deeper, and push the boundaries of innovation. Whether you're new to the space industry or a seasoned expert, you'll find a team that values creativity, integrity, and bold thinking. Join us as we build the future of SAR—and take quantum to space.

About the Role

As a software engineer on the Flight Software team, you will be writing the software that runs our satellite fleet in space! You will interact daily with other software engineers, FPGA developers, electrical engineers, and various other subsystem owners to develop, maintain, and implement new features for the spacecraft software. You will have a demonstrable track record of working with complex systems, understanding systems architecture, and setting the engineering development plan making complex radar technologies easy to use.

Role Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain flight software for satellite systems.

• Collaborate with EE, FPGA, and ground software engineers to ensure seamless integration between hardware and software.

• Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to team members.

• Write and maintain unit and integration tests to ensure robustness and reliability of the software.

• Develop software documentation and provide cross-training to other team members.

• Troubleshoot and resolve software issues in a timely manner.

• Participate in the software development life cycle, from requirement analysis to deployment.

• Support integration and operations teams with software-related queries.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or related field of study.

• At least 7 years relevant work experience.

• Ability to support a design through all software life cycles including initial schematic review and architectural tradeoffs, preliminary and detailed design, implementation, integration, and test.

• Experience working with real-time embedded systems - both hardware and software, including low-level drivers.

• Proven experience with ARM NEON SIMD architecture, including instruction-set usage, vectorization strategies, and performance profiling on ARM Cortex A-series or embedded platforms.

• Hands on experience developing, testing, and debugging hard real-time software (bare-metal or RTOS).

• Familiarity with embedded Linux, Linux kernel modules, and standard Linux tools.

• Strong knowledge of programming compiled (C, C++) and scripted…