Senior Flight Software Engineer — TT&C - Project Sunrise – Orbital Data Centers

Blue Origin•Littleton, CO

17h

About The Position

Blue Origin’s Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE) team supports the company’s mission of enabling millions of people to live and work in space. The team develops future engineering workflows, shared solutions and standards, and manufacturable designs while emphasizing simplicity and lower costs. This role supports Project Sunrise, a constellation of orbital data centers. As the Senior Flight Software Engineer for Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C), you will develop the software that provides the primary communications link to the satellites. You will own the TT&C software stack, from low-level drivers interfacing with radio hardware through application logic that packetizes and routes data. Development can begin on commercial off-the-shelf transponders so the core software can be built and validated before final flight hardware is available. This is a hands-on role integrating hardware and software to deliver a robust, reliable communications system.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
At least 5 years of experience in embedded software development.
Strong C/C++ programming skills in a real-time, resource-constrained environment, such as an RTOS or bare-metal system.
Demonstrated experience developing software for communication systems, including work with radio hardware, modems, or transponders.
Experience writing low-level device drivers for interfaces such as SPI, I2C, or UART.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or PhD in a relevant field.
Deep understanding of RF communications, digital signal processing, and communication protocols.
Experience with spacecraft communication protocols such as CCSDS Space Packet Protocol, TM/TC Space Data Link, and SDLS security.
Hands-on experience testing and debugging hardware/software interfaces using lab equipment such as spectrum analyzers and oscilloscopes.
Familiarity with software-defined radios (SDR).
Familiarity with software assurance standards such as NASA-STD-8739.8, NPR 7150.2, ECSS-Q-ST-80C, or DO-178C, and embedded coding standards such as the JPL Institutional Coding Standard, MISRA C/C++, or CERT C/C++.
Passion for building and testing the end-to-end communications chain, from the operator’s keyboard to the spacecraft and back.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and verify flight software for the Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C) subsystem.
Develop and maintain device drivers and software interfaces for spacecraft radio transponders.
Implement command-processing logic, including command decoding, validation, and execution.
Build telemetry and data-handling software to collect, packetize, and downlink vehicle state-of-health and mission data.
Develop and execute TT&C software test plans, beginning with commercial transponders and progressing to flight hardware in an integrated lab environment.
Collaborate with ground software and mission operations teams to ensure end-to-end communications-link compatibility and performance.
Support on-orbit commissioning and troubleshooting of the TT&C subsystem.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Basic and supplemental life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Short- and long-term disability.
401(k) with company match of up to 5%.
Education Support Program.
Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours per week.
Up to four weeks of paid time off per year based on weekly scheduled hours.
Up to 14 company-paid holidays.
Depending on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on individual contributions or other factors.