Principal Embedded Software Engineer

Rocket Lab Corporation • Tucson, AZ

6h

About The Position

Rocket Lab Optical Systems is seeking a Principal Embedded Software Engineer in Tucson, Arizona, to design flight software supporting spacecraft for Tranche 3 of the U.S. Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. The role supports payload flight software development for Space Systems programs, with a focus on deploying novel algorithms in austere environments on size-, weight-, and power-constrained sensor systems.

The engineer will provide technical leadership throughout the software lifecycle, from requirements generation through implementation, testing, and deployment. The role includes shaping software architecture and standards, driving performance-oriented software development using accelerator technologies, leading cross-functional teams, mentoring engineers, and supporting technical planning and delivery.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or computer engineering.
• 12 or more years of embedded software engineering experience.
• Experience designing complex multithreaded applications.
• Experience designing flight software.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with high-performance and parallel processing.
• Exposure to novel architectures, including FPGA and CUDA.
• Familiarity with flight software system management.
• Experience with algorithm implementation.
• Exposure to Python and MATLAB.
• Familiarity with numerical computing principles.

Responsibilities

• Support development of payload flight software for Space Systems programs.
• Deploy novel algorithms in austere environments on size-, weight-, and power-constrained sensor systems.
• Lead cross-functional teams in defining technical requirements and delivering integrated solutions.
• Provide technical leadership in software design and development, from requirements generation through implementation, testing, and deployment.
• Define and influence software architecture, design patterns, interfaces, and technical standards to ensure scalable, maintainable, and extensible solutions.
• Drive performance-oriented programming fundamentals using a variety of accelerator technologies.
• Mentor engineers at different experience levels, provide technical guidance, and foster engineering excellence and continuous improvement.
• Support technical planning, effort estimation, risk identification, dependency management, and milestone delivery.
• Communicate technical status and risks to stakeholders.

What This Job Offers

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