Senior Flight Software Engineer

Our Electron rocket has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 230 satellites to orbit, all while we work to develop Neutron, our upcoming medium-lift, reusable launch vehicle for larger constellation deployment. Our Space Systems business designs and builds our e...

While other companies talk about it, we do it!

Rocket Lab’s Space Systems team is responsible for every satellite and satellite component made by Rocket Lab: from complete satellites destined for missions to the Moon and Mars, to the individual components and subsystems that make up a satellite like solar panels, flight software, reaction wheels and star tracker...

Architect flight software solutions across three domains: sustaining engineering for current missions on orbit, next-generation FSW for autonomous satellite constellations (including C&DH, GNC/ACS, FDIR, mode management, and autonomy), and embedded software for hardware products like thrusters, reaction wheels, radios, star trackers, and IMUs
Lead system trade studies and design solutions in collaboration with Avionics Hardware, GNC, and Operations teams, balancing technical excellence with schedule and budget constraints across a diverse portfolio
Develop and maintain robust regression testing frameworks that span flight software and embedded software product lines, enabling rapid, reliable verification across missions and component releases
Guide multi-disciplinary engineering teams through anomaly resolution, technical risk identification and mitigation, and delivery of complex aerospace systems from concept through on-orbit operation
Define technical standards and best practices for the team, facilitate architecture meetings, approve designs, and communicate FSW architecture clearly to internal and external stakeholders
Mentor junior engineers through code reviews, training delivery, and on-the-job coaching while role-modeling professional behavior and technical excellence

Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or similar, with minimum 5 years of professional experience in a relevant discipline
Deep technical expertise in C/C++, avionics software, embedded systems development on resource-constrained hardware, and ideally direct experience with aerospace system development, integration, and on-orbit operations
Strong software development skills including REST APIs, Linux development environments, TypeScript/JavaScript, NodeJS, Angular or similar frontend frameworks (React, Vue), Git, and Python
Excellent problem-solving and communication abilities, with proven capacity to manage complex projects, adjust to evolving requirements, clearly articulate technical concepts, and inspire teams to deliver
Cross-functional collaboration mindset with awareness of spacecraft disciplines such as propulsion, thermal, power, structures, GNC, and mechanisms, and ability to work effectively across diverse teams
Ownership mentality and positive attitude, willing to tackle any problem, see challenges as motivation, maintain professionalism under pressure, and consistently demonstrate a "how can I help?" approach 
Experience with Docker/Kubernetes
Network programming expertise (Sockets/WebSockets)
Familiarity with NodeJS/NPM build systems and tooling
Elasticsearch experience