Job Description
Flight Software Engineer Location: Hawthorne, CA (near LAX)
Relocation: Available
Team Size: ~20 engineers
Compensation: $90,000-$205,000 + equity (based on performance, level, and location)
About the Mission Imagine a world where solar power doesn't shut off at sunset.
We are building a constellation of autonomous spacecraft designed to reflect sunlight back to Earth after dark-unlocking nighttime solar energy for the first time in history.
This is not theoretical.
We are launching our first spacecraft in 2026, backed by top-tier investors and led by engineers who have built and flown real hardware in orbit.
If you want to write software that will operate a fleet of autonomous spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, this is that opportunity.
What You'll Build As a Flight Software Engineer, you will design and deploy the software that powers every spacecraft in our constellation. Your work will span:
- Autonomous decision-making and onboard control
- Real-time embedded C/C++ on ARM microcontrollers
- Embedded Linux systems for mission-critical operations
- Guidance, navigation, and control (GNC)
- Command and data handling
- Fault detection, isolation, and recovery
- Over-the-air updates to on-orbit vehicles
- Hardware-in-the-loop testing and day-in-the-life simulations
You will own your systems end-to-end-from concept and architecture to implementation, testing, and on-orbit performance.
This is a role for engineers who want to see their code fly.
What You'll Do - Develop autonomous flight software for a new class of spacecraft
- Build the infrastructure for rigorous testing and large-scale deployment
- Implement real-time control loops, state estimation, and system health monitoring
- Design fault-tolerant software using watchdogs, voting logic, ECC, and FDIR
- Work directly with electrical, mechanical, and mission operations engineers
- Support on-orbit operations and deliver OTA updates to live spacecraft
- Contribute to architecture decisions that shape the entire constellation
Minimum Requirements - Demonstrated excellence on a comparable software project (autonomy, robotics, flight software, or high-reliability embedded systems)
- 3+ years of professional C/C++ experience
Ideal Experience You don't need all of these, but the strongest candidates will have several:
- BS in CS, EE, ME, or Aerospace Engineering
- Flight software experience for spacecraft or similar high-reliability systems
- ARM microcontroller development
- Embedded Linux (Yocto, Buildroot, custom kernels)
- Strong debugging, unit testing, and integration testing skills
- Networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, CAN, UART, SPI, I2C)
- Fault-tolerant software design (watchdogs, voting logic, ECC, FDIR)
- Exposure to MISRA-C, JSF, DO-178C, or similar standards
- Experience in fast-paced, high-ownership engineering environments
Who Thrives Here We hire
outliers -people who have done something exceptional, unusual, or bold.
Not just "good engineers," but people who have demonstrated intensity, creativity, and a track record of doing hard things.
Examples of backgrounds that stand out:
- Built a complex robotics or embedded system solo
- Led major engineering projects early in your career
- Designed custom hardware or flight computers
- Worked on spacecraft, rockets, drones, or autonomous vehicles
- Promoted rapidly due to exceptional performance
- Achieved something rare in any domain-technical or otherwise
If you've done something that made people say, "I can't believe you pulled that off," we want to talk to you.
Why This Role Is Different - Your code will fly on every spacecraft we launch
- You will work directly with founders and senior engineers
- You will have ownership over major subsystems
- You will see your work go from idea → hardware → orbit quickly
- You will help define a new category of space technology
This is a chance to build something the world has never seen before.
Job Tags
Relocation, Night shift