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Salary: USD 100,000 - 200,000 / annual
Cowboy Space Corp. is building orbital infrastructure to power and connect the space economy. Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (Robinhood co-founder) and backed by leading investors, the company operates Low Earth Orbit satellites that collect sunlight and enable new capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute to transmitting energy via infrared lasers and delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data.
This role owns the design, build-out, and operation of hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) test infrastructure that exercises real flight software against real or emulated spacecraft hardware, including the satellite bus, flight computer, and other subsystems. Currently, HITL coverage lives with engineers who carry it alongside other responsibilities; this dedicated role makes it a core function that every flight program can rely on.
Key responsibilities include:
- Design and operate HITL test infrastructure for spacecraft hardware and flight software validation
- Extend and harden existing test tooling into a reusable platform serving multiple concurrent flight programs
- Develop hardware emulation and simulation of spacecraft subsystems where physical hardware is unavailable
- Build automation for test orchestration, scheduling, and reporting integrated into CI workflows
- Stand up, configure, and maintain HITL test racks with power, data, and instrumentation interfaces
- Define interfaces and conventions enabling flight software and systems engineers to add tests independently
- Partner with flight software, electrical, and systems teams to define test coverage and validate releases
- Investigate test failures, distinguish infrastructure issues from genuine defects, and drive root cause analysis
- Manage configuration, versioning, and traceability of test environments for reproducibility
- Document infrastructure and champion adoption across the company
Required: 3+ years in test infrastructure, embedded software, hardware/software integration, or related discipline. Strong programming in Python, C/C++, or similar languages. Hands-on experience testing software against physical hardware with lab equipment (power supplies, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers). Experience with embedded communication interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet). Track record building reusable tools and frameworks. Familiarity with version control, CI, and automated test workflows.
Preferred: Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or related field. Experience with HITL testing for spacecraft, aircraft, automotive, or robotics. Experience designing test racks and lab infrastructure at scale. Hardware emulation/simulation experience. Experience supporting multiple teams from shared platforms. Understanding of flight software concepts (real-time systems, fault detection, command/telemetry). Cross-boundary debugging and communication skills. Fast-paced, high-ownership environment experience.
