Flight Software Systems Engineer Space Missions

80%-100%, Zurich, fixed-term

Led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, ETH Zurich | Space brings together space-related research, education and technology development across ETH Zurich. Working with academic, industrial and institutional partners, the initiative develops new space missions, instruments and technologies.

This position is offered as a fixed-term appointment for an initial period of two years, with the possibility of extension.

The objective of this initiative is to establish and grow a centralized pool of space engineering expertise within ETH Zurich | Space. This pool supports ETH Zurich-led space projects and technology programs, strengthening ETH Zurich's role in the Swiss and international space ecosystem.

As part of the specialized resource pool, you will provide flight software and software systems engineering expertise across multiple ETH Zurich space projects. You will contribute from early mission formulation and software architecture through implementation, integration, verification, launch preparation, and operations.

• Take technical ownership of assigned flight software developments and act as the primary software interface to systems engineering, avionics, payload teams, mission operations, and external platform providers.
• Translate mission concept of operations into spacecraft behaviors and define flight software architectures and functional decompositions
• Allocate hardware-software functions, and define associated software requirements and interfaces.
• Translate mission and system requirements into software specifications, interface control documents, operational concepts, and verification plans.
• Develop embedded flight software in C and C++ and supporting tools and test scripts (e.g., Python), including device drivers, telemetry and telecommand handling, onboard data management, application software, and fault-management functions.
• Integrate flight software with onboard computers, sensors, actuators, payload electronics, communication interfaces, ground systems, and externally supplied spacecraft platforms.
• Set up and maintain flat-sat flight software testbeds
• Perform software-related trade studies covering processing capacity, memory, timing, bandwidth, autonomy, reliability, and fault tolerance.
• Develop real-time, event-driven, autonomous, synchronization, and GNC-related software functions where required.
• Establish and maintain software baselines, configuration control, versioning, build automation, continuous integration, release management, and requirements traceability.
• Develop and execute flight software unit tests, conduct integration, software-in-the-loop, processor-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and system-level verification and validation activities.
• Support software risk management, anomaly investigation, non-conformance handling, and technical review boards.
• Support spacecraft and payload assembly, integration, and test activities, commissioning, in-flight software updates, telemetry analysis, and mission operations.
• Contribute to technical reviews, early-stage mission concepts, proposals, and software feasibility studies.
• Provide technical guidance to junior engineers, researchers, and student teams.

• Master’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, aerospace engineering, robotics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of professional experience in flight software, embedded software, or mission-critical software systems.
• Strong programming skills in C and C++ for resource-constrained embedded targets.
• Experience with real-time operating systems, embedded Linux, or bare-metal development.
• Experience in software systems engineering, including…