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EraDrive is building autonomy software and hardware for spacecraft, enabling them to see, decide, and act with minimal human control. The company's software is already flying in space, and they are expanding into a product family covering rendezvous, on-orbit inspection, and space-based sensing.
You will be an early member of the engineering team, owning the core firmware and embedded software foundation of Era-Node, the company's flight autonomy module. This is a 0→1 role where you will take the embedded architecture from concept through orbital deployment. You will define the firmware architecture, write low-level hardware interfaces, and implement deterministic state machines that interface star trackers and compute systems with the host spacecraft.
Key responsibilities include:
- Own end-to-end embedded software architecture for Era-Node, developing bare-metal and RTOS-based firmware in C/C++
- Optimize low-level compute pipelines, memory access patterns (DMA), and hardware accelerators to maximize performance for onboard GNC algorithms and AI/ML computer vision models
- Write and optimize device drivers for image sensors, compute modules, memory devices, and spacecraft interfaces
- Develop deterministic state machines and low-level logic for precise timing systems, interrupt routines, and hardware synchronization across optical sensors and compute nodes
- Implement robust serial communications software stacks (RS-422, SpaceWire, CAN, SPI, I2C, UART) for inter-board and spacecraft-to-payload links
- Implement software-level fault tolerance and radiation mitigation strategies, including watchdog timers, memory scrubbing, and Single Event Upset (SEU) error handling
- Lead board bring-up for custom hardware using JTAG/SWD debuggers, oscilloscopes, and logic analyzers
- Architect microsecond-precise software timing and hardware triggering systems for flight cameras and robotic lab testbeds
- Develop hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test platforms integrating flight computers and sensors
- Support environmental test campaigns (thermal vacuum, vibration) with automated test scripts and diagnostic firmware
You will bridge the gap between hardware and high-level autonomy, optimizing low-level compute pipelines to ensure onboard AI and GNC algorithms run with maximum efficiency and minimal latency. You will work closely with payload hardware and autonomy teams to manage hardware resources in the radiation-prone space environment.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Degree in computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechatronics, or closely related field
- Proven experience developing embedded software for custom hardware from initial bring-up through deployment, preferably for space, aerospace, robotics, or high-reliability applications
- Deep understanding of hardware-software interfaces and low-level state machine design
- Deep proficiency in bare-metal and RTOS-based C/C++
- Experience optimizing embedded systems for computationally heavy workloads (GNC, computer vision, AI/ML), including hardware acceleration, SIMD, memory bandwidth optimization, and real-time constraints
- Extensive hands-on experience implementing and debugging device drivers for serial communications protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, RS-422/RS-485)
- Strong fundamentals in microcontroller/microprocessor architectures, memory management, bootloaders, and interrupt-driven programming
- Direct experience writing software for space, including handling radiation effects (SEUs), implementing fault-tolerant code, and designing for systems that cannot be physically reset or repaired
- High comfort level using embedded debugging tools (JTAG, SWD, GDB) and lab test equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers)
- Clear communication and documentation habits with ability to collaborate with electrical, systems, and autonomy engineers
BONUS:
- Experience with edge AI/ML accelerators, GPU programming (CUDA), or Neural Processing Units (NPUs) in space or high-reliability contexts
- FPGA development experience (Verilog/VHDL) or writing software that interfaces closely with FPGAs
- Experience with embedded Linux, custom kernel modules, or device tree configuration
- Experience writing core flight software or firmware for successfully deployed spacecraft payloads
