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Rocket Lab is seeking a Software Engineer to join the Neutron Flight Safety Systems team in Auckland, New Zealand. Neutron is Rocket Lab's new medium-lift, reusable launch vehicle currently under development.
You will develop and maintain safety-critical software for Neutron's autonomous Flight Termination System (FTS), which actively monitors flight progress and terminates flight if safety criteria are not met. The FTS interfaces with navigation systems, monitors and projects vehicle state, and activates termination systems when necessary.
Key responsibilities include:
- Develop flight code for the Flight Termination System in accordance with documented software development plans and coding standards
- Write unit tests for flight safety systems software and develop support code for build, deployment, testing, simulation, data analysis and operations
- Contribute to software requirements, architecture, design and algorithms, documenting assumptions and dependencies
- Develop and maintain traceability between software requirements, design, implementation and verification activities
- Document interfaces between flight safety systems software and underlying hardware and interfaced equipment
- Participate in internal and external reviews of software and supporting artifacts, and prepare technical reports for stakeholders
- Participate in formal and informal testing, analysis and reporting
- Contribute to identifying, documenting and mitigating flight safety system risks, and support system safety assessment activities
- Support test automation and integration of the flight safety system into integrated test, launch vehicle and launch operations
- Support operation of the flight safety system during integrated system tests and flight operations
- Read, comprehend and apply relevant regulatory standards, working alongside internal safety, reliability, quality and licensing teams
This is a mid-level role within a small, focused team. You will work to established development plans and coding standards, with senior engineers reviewing your work and helping you build certification and safety-critical experience.
Domestic and international travel may be required.
QUALIFICATIONS (Required):
- Bachelor's or Master's in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or demonstrated equivalent level of knowledge
- 3+ years' software development experience
- Proficiency in embedded systems development with C++
- Proficiency in Python for test and simulation support
- Exposure to safety-critical software systems and/or software development in a regulated environment (medical devices, avionics, rail signalling, automotive functional safety, industrial safety systems, nuclear or defence)
- Experience with deployment and CI tooling
- Proficiency in Git and working with issue trackers
- An eye for detail and genuine appetite for engineering rigour, documentation and evidence
- Excellent communication skills, with ability to explain technical decisions clearly to engineers and non-engineers
- Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
QUALIFICATIONS (Nice to Have):
- Experience with space launch vehicle flight safety systems (e.g., RCC-319)
- Experience working to recognised safety or software assurance standards (DO-178, IEC 62304, ISO 26262, IEC 61508, EN 50128)
- Experience with requirements-driven software design and requirements traceability
- Experience with Linux development environments
- Experience with build tools such as CMake or Bazel
- Experience with real-time operating systems or bare-metal development
- Experience with MISRA or similar coding standards and static analysis tooling
- Familiarity with hardware-in-the-loop testing and working hands-on with flight hardware
- Experience with serial and network protocols (CAN, RS485/422/232, Ethernet, SpaceWire)
- Exposure to liaising with regulators, certification bodies, or independent verification and validation organisations
- Knowledge of spacecraft, launch vehicles, or similarly complex autonomous systems
- Experience with test procedure or data review, quality reporting, and working in Jira
Note: For security reasons, background checks will be undertaken prior to employment offers. You must be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). You may be ineligible if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a NATO country, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality.
