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Salary: USD 150,000 - 200,000 / annual
Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to serve as Chief Software Engineer for a major constellation program based in Littleton, Colorado. This is a senior technical leadership role focused on designing, developing, and delivering mission-critical software systems for space-based applications.
You will lead the design and evolution of end-to-end software architecture for both flight and ground systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, security, and mission success. Key responsibilities include:
- Define and evolve software architecture for flight and ground systems
- Design and develop flight software for spacecraft operating within Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) such as VxWorks or embedded Linux
- Implement hardware drivers for spacecraft sensors and actuators (IMUs, Star Trackers, Reaction Wheels)
- Architect and deploy web-based ground software platforms for spacecraft operations
- Develop unit tests within continuous integration frameworks and collaborate with hardware-in-the-loop test engineers
- Provide technical direction and mentorship to engineering teams
- Act as trusted advisor to leadership on software systems and mission requirements
- Support on-orbit operations and ensure software performance in harsh environments
You will work across systems teams, software engineers, and stakeholders to ensure mission success in aerospace and defense applications.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or related technical discipline
- 12+ years of professional software development experience, including embedded systems and ground software
- Proven expertise architecting scalable and reliable software systems for aerospace or defense applications
- Proficiency in C and C++ for embedded software development and Python for testing
- Experience with digital and analog inputs/outputs (DIO/AIO)
- Experience integrating hardware, implementing ICDs, and debugging
- Experience deriving flight software architecture from electrical design, reading master ICD lists and/or schematics
- Experience with RF ground-to-space communication
- U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements
- Active TS/SCI clearance required
NICE-TO-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS:
- Advanced degree in aerospace engineering, computer science, or related field
- Strong systems-level thinking with ability to balance technical trade-offs
- Experience with CAN/CAN-FD, SpaceWire, UDP/TCP protocols
- Experience leading teams and working with program management
- Expertise in microservice architectures, distributed systems, modern web frameworks (FastAPI)
- Full-stack development: Golang/Rust (backend), Typescript/Angular (frontend), InfluxDB/PostgreSQL (database)
- Familiarity with CCSDS standards (Space Packet Protocol, COP-1, CFD)
- Experience designing software for autonomous vehicles in harsh environments
- Expertise in Git workflows, CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes orchestration
- Understanding of modern authentication/authorization frameworks (OAuth)
