Flight Software Engineer

Terran Orbital • Irvine, CA

1d

About The Position

Terran Orbital is seeking an experienced Flight Software Engineer to join its spacecraft development team. Reporting to the Flight Software Engineering Manager, this role designs, develops, tests, and maintains mission-critical software that controls satellites and supports successful spacecraft operations in orbit. The engineer contributes across the spacecraft software lifecycle, from requirements definition and architecture through on-orbit commissioning and operations, working hands-on with spacecraft hardware and simulation environments alongside a multidisciplinary engineering team.

The position develops flight software for satellite functions and diverse mission payloads, and verifies software through testing and integration in simulators, hardware-in-the-loop testbeds, engineering development units, and flight-like hardware. The role also supports satellite commissioning and early operations, collaborates across engineering teams, and helps improve software development processes.

The posted salary range is $125,000–$150,000 USD. Terran Orbital lists company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 401(k) match, Flexible Time Off, life insurance, parental leave, tuition or education reimbursement, employee referrals, and company merchandise. The position operates in a professional office environment at a manufacturing company and is generally sedentary, with substantial computer use.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 2 years of experience developing C++ applications for embedded, real-time, or safety-critical systems (Level II).
• Strong understanding of embedded software concepts, including memory management, concurrency, and real-time constraints.
• Highly motivated and self-directed, with the ability to work effectively in a fast-moving team environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience with A.R.M. and Texas Instruments embedded processors and associated development environments.
• Proficiency with Linux development workflows and GNU toolchains such as Make, GCC, and GDB.
• Experience with Bash and Python for automation and tooling.
• Aerospace industry experience, particularly in satellite or space-mission software development.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain flight software modules for guidance, navigation, control, payload operations, power management, communications, autonomy, and fault protection.
• Develop software for mission payloads, including imaging systems, advanced sensors, and propulsion-based maneuvers such as aerobraking and lunar descent profiles.
• Write unit, integration, and regression tests using existing frameworks to ensure robust, reliable, and verifiable flight code.
• Integrate and validate software in high-fidelity simulators, hardware-in-the-loop testbeds, engineering development units, and flight-like spacecraft hardware.
• Collaborate with systems engineering, GNC, avionics, payload, and ground software teams to define software requirements, architecture, and interfaces.
• Participate in on-orbit commissioning and support early operations of newly launched satellites, including debugging, telemetry analysis, and software tuning.
• Contribute to improvements in development processes, including CI/CD pipelines, coding standards, and documentation.

Benefits

• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for the employee and dependents
• 401(k) match
• Flexible Time Off (FTO)
• Covered life insurance
• Maternity and paternity leave / competitive paid parental leave
• Tuition or education reimbursement
• Employee referral benefits
• Company merchandise (swag)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level