Sr. Software Engineer

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our team in Washington, DC. You’ll own various capabilities across our product lines and play a critical role in bringing novel technologies to market. In a given week you could switch between embedded C on a Xilinx Zynq SoC (bare-metal, FreeRTOS, or embedded Linux), Python tooling for test automation and data analysis, ground-support and test-station software that talks to hardware over Ethernet or serial, and the CI, build, and version-control infrastructure behind it.

You will have enough hardware fluency to read a schematic, sit at the bench with a scope, and debug where software meets hardware. You will also write code others can maintain, set up the practices around it, and contribute to company strategy. We're a close-knit, mission-aligned team that likes building side by side in our DC office, and we're looking for someone with startup DNA who moves fast and wants real ownership of the hardware flying on the next generation of spacecraft.

With an oversubscribed funding round just closed and several high-stakes projects underway with NASA and the U.S. Space Force, we're paving the way for the future of spaceflight, and this is your chance to help build it from the ground up.

At Magma Space, we're on a mission to deliver the most precise spacecraft pointing ever achieved. We're developing groundbreaking control actuators, including magnetically levitated reaction wheels and control moment gyroscopes that drastically reduce onboard vibrations while delivering unmatched momentum. But our vision goes beyond hardware. We're at the forefront of integrating AI-enhanced software for real-time environment monitoring with novel sensing capabilities.

Our goal is to provide satellites with an unprecedented level of stability, agility, and accuracy, enhancing their capabilities like never before.

We're proud to be supported by NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and other Defense organizations, who see Magma's technology as critical to the success of the next generation of space missions. With three orbital tech demonstrations in the next 18 months, we're gearing up to take the space sector by storm.

Join us at Magma Space and make a lasting impact on the booming space economy!

Key Responsibilities

• Develop embedded C on a Xilinx Zynq SoC (bare-metal, FreeRTOS, or embedded Linux).
• Build Python tooling for test automation and data analysis.
• Develop ground-support and test-station software that communicates with hardware over Ethernet or serial.
• Own the CI, build, and version-control infrastructure (Dev Ops).
• Debug at the hardware–software boundary: read schematics and work at the bench with a scope.
• Establish and champion software practices — code review, testing, and documentation.
• Collaborate closely with GNC, electrical, and mechanical teams.
• Own specific software-based capabilities for Magma’s product suite and clearly communicate technical concepts across cross-functional teams.
• Occasional travel required to support program and customer needs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 6+ years of software engineering experience.
• Proficiency in embedded C and Python.
• Hardware fluency: able to read a schematic and debug at the bench with an oscilloscope.
• Experience writing maintainable code and setting up code review, testing, and documentation practices.
• Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or asylee/refugee) due to ITAR/EAR export control requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in spaceflight, defense, or other high-reliability environments.
• FPGA or SoC experience (VHDL/Verilog, Vivado, processor-to-logic interfaces) is a…