Senior Flight Software Engineer
About The Position
Vast is seeking a Senior Flight Software Engineer to own flight software development and verification for a new constellation-ready spacecraft bus — a product line designed to scale to hundreds of spacecraft per year. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location. You'll start with a proven heritage FSW baseline from prior Vast missions and a reusable ground segment — that's your foundation, not your ceiling. The heritage system was built for single-satellite missions. The real work is scaling it for a constellation product line: new GNC algorithms, updated C&DH, payload interfaces for multiple customer types, fault protection, and autonomy — all architected to work across a fleet, not just one spacecraft. As the product line scales to hundreds of spacecraft per year, you'll solve the constellation-specific FSW challenges — configuration management across payload variants, fleet software updates, and multi-satellite operations support. You're the primary stakeholder and customer of the HITL lab, driving its requirements and using it as your verification environment. You'll build and lead a small FSW team to execute all of this.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- 6+ years of embedded flight software development experience
- Spacecraft flight software development experience — C/C++ on Linux-based or embedded real-time systems
- Experience modifying and extending heritage flight software baselines (not just building from scratch)
- GNC software implementation — translating control algorithms into flight code with real-time constraints
- Experience defining HITL lab requirements and using HITL environments for FSW verification
- C&DH subsystem experience — command processing, telemetry, data storage, fault management
- Familiar with flight software V&V processes — unit test, SIL, HITL, integration test
- Comfortable owning an entire FSW subsystem on a fast timeline with a small team
Nice To Haves
- Able to obtain a security clearance
- ADCS flight software experience on spacecraft or real-time robotics systems
- Multi-satellite FSW configuration management — handling payload variants across a constellation
- Experience with Linux-based flight software architectures
- RTOS experience (RTEMS, FreeRTOS, Zephyr, or similar) for microcontroller nodes
- Ground segment integration and compatibility testing
Responsibilities
- Assess the heritage FSW baseline — catalog what's reusable, what needs modification, what's new for this mission
- Implement GNC software — attitude determination, CMG steering law, mode management, momentum management (the GNC lead defines the algorithms, you implement and verify them in flight code)
- Modify C&DH software — command and data handling, telemetry definitions, fault management updates for new bus architecture
- Develop payload interface software for multiple payload types across the manifest
- Build test and simulation infrastructure — unit test framework, software-in-the-loop (SIL) environment
- Drive HITL lab requirements — define what the lab needs to verify, serve as its primary stakeholder and customer
- Own flight software build, release, and configuration management processes
- Develop on-board fault protection and autonomy for the satellite bus
- Verify ground segment software interface compatibility (heritage ground segment, new bus)
- Solve constellation-scale FSW challenges — configuration management across payload variants, fleet software updates, and multi-satellite operations support
- Support on-orbit commissioning planning for FSW
- Build and grow an FSW team as the program scales — define roles and hire as complexity demands
Benefits
- company equity
- 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents
- generous paid time off
- paid parental leave
- short and long-term disability insurance
- life insurance
- access to a 401(k) retirement plan
- ClassPass credits
- personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health
- other discounts and perks
- snacks, drip coffee & onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge
- lunch subsidized
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
