Senior Ground Software Engineer I
About The Position
As a Senior Ground Software Engineer I based at Rocket Lab’s Littleton, Colorado site, you will serve as a technical authority for spacecraft ground software across Space Systems missions. You will help define and evolve end-to-end ground-system architecture, supporting scalability, reliability, and mission success for internal teams and external customers. The role is highly visible, with deliverables supporting internal leadership, the board of directors, and investors. You will own major parts of the architecture and evolution of Rocket Lab’s web-based ground software platforms, collaborate with flight software developers, mission operations personnel, and systems engineers, and deploy and optimize the Rocket Lab Ground Data System across different mission profiles. You will also establish monitoring, alerting, and reliability frameworks, provide architectural direction for mission resilience and maintainability, and advise leadership on ground software strategy, risks, and emerging technologies.
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.
- U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
Nice To Haves
- 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.
- Strong systems-level thinking and ability to balance technical trade-offs across performance, security, and maintainability.
- 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 or cash incentives may be available.
- Employee Stock Purchase Program with discounted stock.
- Medical insurance.
- Dental insurance.
- Vision insurance.
- 401(k) retirement plan options.
- Paid vacation.
- Paid holidays.
- Paid sick leave.
- Paid parental leave.
- Other discounts and perks.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
