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Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems. The Electron Flight Software team sits within the GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) department and develops software that operates launch vehicle and spacecraft avionics during launch and on orbit, collects and distributes telemetry and commands, and hosts guidance, navigation, and control algorithms—all developed in-house.
As Team Lead for Electron Flight Software, you will lead a team of five engineers creating, maintaining, and supporting software for the Electron launch vehicle, the Photon spacecraft, and associated ground communication systems. You will report to the Director of Electron Engineering and be based at the Auckland Production Complex. This is a hands-on leadership role where you will set long-term direction for Electron flight software, develop your team, and make decisions prioritizing vehicle reliability and efficiency while continuing to write and review code yourself.
Key responsibilities include:
**Own & Ship:** Set and manage long-term objectives for Electron flight software and deliver high-quality flight software on time. Lead software development for launch vehicle and spacecraft avionics embedded computers, ground segment communications, and avionics simulations including hardware-in-the-loop. Approve software requirements, architecture designs, and definition of ready for backlog items. Write code and unit tests, review merge requests, and document how the team's software products operate.
**Solve & Fix:** Continually reduce software-related risk to the vehicle and business, making risk/reward trade-off calls with input from quality, senior engineering, and production. Run trade studies and work through complex technical problems where standard approaches won't work. Identify risks early and change course when needed to keep development on track.
**Lead & Scale:** Lead a team of five flight software engineers and run stand-ups, architecture meetings, and stakeholder meetings that stay focused and useful. Recruit and retain talent within the team. Keep the wider business informed on status and blockers, and work across teams to clear them. Put forward plans for new ways of working, new equipment, and improved processes.
**Grow & Deliver:** Develop direct reports through regular 1:1s, performance reviews, goal setting, and ongoing two-way feedback. Create and approve training packages, deliver training on software products, and coach engineers on the job. Act as deputy for the Director when required, with minimal supervision.
You will thrive in ambiguous, fast-changing environments where requirements evolve rapidly. You balance speed with quality, moving quickly while maintaining appropriate rigor. No task is beneath you—you roll up your sleeves and do what's needed for mission success. You have a bias for action, getting hands-on with code, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight data to get results early. Domestic and international travel may be required.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or Electrical Engineering, or demonstrated equivalent level of knowledge
- 5+ years of experience in a software engineering related discipline
- Leadership experience in a software team with critical deliverables
- Strong C/C++ development skills
- Embedded software development experience
- Linux application development experience
- Networked application development experience
- Experience with Git and Jira, or another issue tracker
- Clear written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain technical topics to people with less experience in the field
**Bonus qualifications:**
- Linux kernel development
- Experience with Scrum methodologies
- FPGA development
- Python
**Expectations:** Ownership mentality with the ability to drive tasks and projects to completion independently. Thrive in ambiguous, fast-changing environments where requirements evolve rapidly. Balance speed with quality, moving quickly while maintaining appropriate rigor. No task is beneath you. Roll up your sleeves and do what's needed for mission success. Bias for action. Get hands on with code, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight data to get results early.
