Senior Ground Software Engineer I
About The Position
Rocket Lab is hiring a Senior Ground Software Engineer I 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, helping define and evolve end-to-end ground-system architecture to support scalability, reliability, and mission success for internal teams and external customers. Deliverables are highly visible and support internal leadership, the board of directors, and investors. The engineer will own major areas of Rocket Lab’s web-based ground software platforms for spacecraft operations, 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 across mission profiles. The role also establishes monitoring, alerting, and reliability frameworks; provides architectural guidance for 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. U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements, and the successful candidate must hold an active Secret clearance or be able to obtain and maintain one.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or another technical discipline.
- At least 5 years of relevant professional software development experience.
- Proven track record architecting web-based software systems at scale.
- Strong systems-level thinking and ability to balance technical trade-offs across performance, security, and maintainability.
- 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.
- Full-stack development experience, including backend development with Python, Golang, and/or Rust; frontend development with 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 proactively detect and mitigate issues.
- 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.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
