Ground Software Engineer II

Rocket Lab Corporation•Long Beach, CA

1d•$108,000 - $148,000•Onsite

About The Position

Rocket Lab is seeking a Ground Software Engineer II for its Space Systems team, based at the company’s global headquarters in Long Beach, California. The role serves as a technical authority for spacecraft ground software across Space Systems missions and contributes to the end-to-end architecture of ground systems, supporting scalability, reliability, and mission success for internal teams and external customers. The work is highly visible, with deliverables supporting internal leadership, the board of directors, and investors. The engineer will own and evolve major parts of Rocket Lab’s web-based spacecraft operations platforms, collaborate with flight software developers, mission operations personnel, and systems engineers to translate mission needs into scalable designs, and deploy, configure, and optimize the Rocket Lab Ground Data System for different mission profiles. The role also establishes monitoring, alerting, and reliability frameworks; provides architectural guidance for mission resilience, integration, and maintainability; and advises leadership on ground software strategy, risks, and emerging technologies. The position may involve prolonged sitting, standing, walking, and computer work, as well as occasional exposure to moderate noise, dust, and fumes in production areas. Rocket Lab offers competitive base pay and company stock, along with medical, dental, vision, retirement, leave, insurance, and other benefits. The listed California base-pay range is $108,000–$148,000 USD; level and base salary are determined case by case.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or another technical discipline.
At least 2 years of relevant professional software development experience.
Experience architecting web-based software systems at scale.
U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
Active Secret clearance or ability to obtain and maintain one.

Nice To Haves

Active TS clearance.
Strong systems-level thinking and ability to balance technical trade-offs across performance, security, and maintainability.
Full-stack development experience, including backend technologies such as Python, Golang, and/or Rust; frontend technologies such as Typescript and Angular; and databases such as InfluxDB, PostgreSQL, or equivalent.
Experience with end-to-end testing frameworks such as Playwright.
Aerospace background supporting satellite, spacecraft, constellation, or launch vehicle ground or mission operations.
Experience designing with Python web frameworks such as FastAPI or equivalent.
Deep knowledge of microservice architectures and distributed systems.
Demonstrated leadership in end-to-end system design and delivery with engineering teams.
Ability to produce clear, well-structured, and well-documented software designs.
Familiarity with database architecture, schema design, and optimization.
Expertise in Git-based workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and Kubernetes orchestration.
Understanding of modern authentication and authorization frameworks such as OAuth.
Knowledge of CCSDS standards, including Space Packet Protocol, COP-1, and CFD.

Responsibilities

Own major parts of the architecture and evolve Rocket Lab’s web-based ground software platforms for spacecraft operations.
Partner with flight software developers, mission operations personnel, and systems engineers to translate mission needs into scalable ground system designs.
Deploy, configure, and optimize the Rocket Lab Ground Data System for diverse mission profiles.
Establish monitoring, alerting, and reliability frameworks to detect and mitigate issues proactively.
Provide technical direction and architectural guidance to support mission resilience, system integration, and long-term maintainability.
Advise leadership on ground software strategy, risk areas, and emerging technologies.

Benefits

Company stock as part of total compensation.
Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount on company stock.
Medical plans, including HMO, PPO, and a zero-cost HDHP option with a company HSA contribution.
Dental and vision coverage.
Paid vacation and sick time.
11 paid holidays.
Flexible spending and dependent care accounts.
Paid parental leave.
Disability and life insurance.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Subsidized EV charging.
Onsite fitness centers where available.
Discounted gym memberships.
Complimentary snacks and beverages.
50% employee discount on the company merchandise store.
Other employee discounts.