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The Exploration Company is developing Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle designed for cargo transport and eventual human missions. We seek an experienced Principal Software Engineer to lead the mission tooling software stack—a critical suite of tools used across the Nyx project by software and engineering teams.
You will lead a high-performing team of software engineers in designing, implementing, testing, and integrating mission tooling software. Your responsibilities include owning the technical roadmap and execution for tools that directly support flight software and its simulation environment. Key deliverables include configuration data management, flight code autocoding, flight software test orchestration (HIL/SIL), and flight image deployment management.
You will combine deep technical expertise with strong leadership to deliver high-reliability tools under tight mission timelines. This includes driving architectural decisions, enforcing rigorous testing standards, and fostering a culture of ownership and cross-functional collaboration with GNC, avionics, system engineering, and mission operations teams.
Core responsibilities: lead and mentor engineers in design and integration; own technical roadmap including architecture and interfaces; set high standards for code quality and test coverage; drive development in Python 3.x; collaborate across flight software, systems engineering, and mission operations to define requirements and validate end-to-end behavior; participate in and lead code reviews and software audits.
Required qualifications: strong proficiency in Python 3.x and at least one system programming language; demonstrated ability to own complex technical problems and drive resolution; familiarity with software testing methodologies and simulation tools; excellent cross-disciplinary communication; focus on detail, quality, and testing; experience with CI/CD systems and build systems.
Nice-to-have: Bazel experience, understanding of math and physics, asynchronous programming experience, infrastructure-as-code familiarity.
The company values agility, open collaboration, transparency about risks, and a mission-driven culture democratizing space access. Relocation assistance and visa sponsorship are provided.
