Senior Flight Software Engineer
Rocket Lab · Auckland, New Zealand · 3mo ago
ABOUT ROCKET LAB
Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.
While other companies talk about it, we do it!
ABOUT SPACE SYSTEMS AT ROCKET LAB:
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 trackers, separation systems, radios, and more. Our Space Systems team is made up of engineers, technicians, and designers who design, create, and put together our own satellites for missions across the commercial, government, and defense sectors, or who build and assemble satellite hardware and software that supports other satellite missions.
SENIOR FLIGHT SOFTWARE ENGINEER
As a Senior Flight Software Engineer in Rocket Lab's Space Systems Software team, you'll serve as a technical expert across three equally important areas of flight software development: support for current missions on orbit or in development; next-generation FSW for our future large, autonomous satellite constellations; and embedded software for our hardware product lines (e.g., Gauss thruster, reaction wheels, Frontier radios). Key expectations of the role include technical advisory, guidance, and direction, as well as technical risk identification and mitigation across all three domains. In particular, you'll guide a set of multi-disciplinary teams to deliver flight and embedded software on schedule and on budget.
This role requires you to combine technical excellence with strengths in technical planning and communication:
- You'll combine technical expertise in avionics hardware, avionics software, GNC, and/or communications with a broader awareness of several other spacecraft disciplines such as propulsion, thermal, power, structures, and mechanisms. Ideally, you have direct experience in the development, integration, and on-orbit operation of aerospace systems, as well as exposure to embedded software development on resource-constrained hardware.
- You'll be adept at managing to a plan, and comfortable adjusting in response to evolving requirements or external constraints, across a portfolio that spans sustaining engineering, new constellation development, and component-level embedded products.
- You'll be able to clearly describe the FSW and embedded software architecture to internal and external customers, and to inspire a team to deliver this vision.
Day to day, your key responsibilities could include:
- Architect flight software solutions in close collaboration with other subject matter experts (e.g., Avionics HW, Systems, GNC, Operations), balancing effort across:
- Anomaly resolution and sustaining engineering for current missions on orbit or in development.
- Next-generation FSW for our future large, autonomous satellite constellations — including C&DH, GNC/ACS, FDIR, mode management, telemetry, payload orchestration, and autonomy.
- Embedded software for our hardware product lines such as the Gauss thruster, reaction wheels, and Frontier radios, as well as star trackers, IMUs, EPS/battery management, and valve drives.
- Work closely with design engineers to rapidly assess conceptual designs, perform system trade studies, develop integrated design solutions, and formulate system margin strategy and performance parameters — with particular attention to autonomy, fault management, constellation-scale operability, and reuse of embedded software components across product lines.
Develop and maintain robust regression testing frameworks that span flight software and embedded software product lines, enabling rapid, reliable verification across current missions, new constellation builds, and component-level releases.
WHAT YOU'LL GET TO DO:
- Developing for 32-bit Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers.
- Developing for memory-constrained and code space constrained targets.
- Writing portable code that runs unchanged across targets (e.g., Cortex-M4, Cortex-M7, x86, PowerPC).
- Microcontroller programming in C/C++.
- Developing with real-time operating systems.
- Writing and maintaining device drivers.
- Working with embedded communication interfaces and protocols such as CAN bus (2.0 and FD), SPI, and RS-422.
- Writing safety critical code following similar rules to JPL's "The Power of 10" and MISRA C/C++.
- Developing for and on Linux/WSL and working comfortably in virtualized environments.
- Writing scripts and automated tests in Python.
- Working from datasheets and schematics, and collaborating regularly with electrical, systems, and test engineers
YOU'LL BRING THESE QUALIFICATIONS:
- Tertiary qualification in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or similar.
- Minimum of 5 years professional experience within a relevant discipline
- Excellent problem-solving skills
- Team player with a positive attitude
- Technical experience
- Working from datasheets and schematics alongside electrical, systems, and test engineers
- 32-bit Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers (e.g., Cortex-M4/M7)
- Memory- and code-space-constrained development
- C/C++ microcontroller programming
- Real-time operating systems
- Device driver development
- Embedded communication interfaces (CAN 2.0/FD, SPI, RS-422)
THESE QUALIFICATIONS WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE:
- Experience with Rust
- Experience with Robot Framework
- Experience with UDP/TCP networking
- Experience writing and maintaining bootloaders
- Experience with propulsion systems, especially electric propulsion systems
- FPGA experience or familiarity
- CI/CD experience using GitLab and TeamCity
- Experience with Docker/Kubernetes
If the above sounds like you apply now!
WHAT TO EXPECT
We’re on a mission to unlock the potential of space to improve life on Earth, but that’s not an easy task. It takes hard work, determination, relentless innovation, teamwork, grit, and an unwavering commitment to achieving what others often deem impossible. Our people out-think, out-work, and out-pace. We pride ourselves on having each other’s backs, checking our egos at the door, and rolling up our sleeves on all tasks big and small. We thrive under pressure, work to tight deadlines, and our focus is always on how we can deliver, rather than dwelling on the challenges that stand in the way.
Important information:
FOR CANDIDATES SEEKING TO WORK IN US OFFICES ONLY:
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Rocket Lab Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here.
Rocket Lab provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Rocket Lab, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for the application/interview process for a job in the United States should contact Giulia Johnson at g.biow@rocketlabusa.com.This dedicated resource is intended solely to assist job seekers with disabilities whose disability prevents them from being able to apply/interview. Only messages left for this purpose will be considered. A response to your request may take up to two business days.
FOR CANDIDATES SEEKING TO WORK IN NEW ZEALAND OFFICES ONLY:
For security reasons, background checks will be undertaken prior to any employment offers being made to an applicant. These checks will include nationality checks as it is a requirement of this position that you be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Under these Regulations, you may be ineligible for this role if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a country that is part of NATO, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality. For more information on these Regulations, click here ITAR Regulations.