Space Robotics Software Engineer at Phenix Space

Cox Exponential • San Francisco, CA

3d

About The Position

Phenix Space is hiring a curious, systems-minded software engineer to develop software for robotic space systems. The role involves creating software that controls system movement, sensing, and decision-making, while understanding the hardware it operates. The engineer will collaborate across hardware, electronics, robotics, guidance, navigation and control (GNC), simulation, and the founding team.

The position covers flight and robot software, embedded and low-level systems, architecture and integration, and testing for space readiness. The engineer will own features end to end, from requirements and interfaces through hardware integration and flight, and test software through simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, bench, environmental, and flight testing. Phenix Space says the employee’s work is expected to fly to space within their first year.

Requirements

• B.S., M.S., Ph.D. in computer science, electrical, computer, aerospace, or mechanical engineering, or mechatronics; equivalent experience is also accepted.
• At least 3 years of production software development for physical systems such as spacecraft, robots, drones, or vehicles.
• Strong C or C++ skills for real-time and safety-critical systems, including embedded firmware on microcontrollers, plus Python.
• Experience with low-level communication protocols such as EtherCAT, CAN, SPI, I2C, and UART.
• Systems-level understanding of the hardware the software controls and how subsystems affect one another.
• Experience shipping and deploying software to hardware that must work outside the lab.
• Curiosity, a can-do attitude, and willingness to investigate any layer of the stack as needed.
• U.S. person status, required for export control (ITAR/EAR).

Nice To Haves

• Space flight experience, satellite integration, or in-space robotics.
• Experience with robotics, motion control, or actuation systems.
• Knowledge of radiation-tolerant software practices and space-grade processors.
• Perception experience with cameras or depth sensors.
• Startup experience and a record of taking ownership of unassigned problems.
• A track record of finding new approaches to difficult problems.

Responsibilities

• Develop flight software, including robot control, reasoning and task logic, telemetry, fault management, safe modes, and recovery.
• Implement real-time control loops for actuators and sensors, and sensor fusion to support those loops.
• Package, deploy, and test software on robotic systems.
• Develop embedded and low-level software, including firmware, drivers, hardware abstraction layers, and software for real-time buses such as EtherCAT and CAN.
• Develop software for compute systems constrained by power, thermal, and radiation limits.
• Drive system architecture and own features end to end, from requirements and interfaces through hardware integration and flight.
• Integrate software with hardware in collaboration with electronics, robotics, and GNC engineers.
• Test software through simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, bench, environmental, and flight testing, and iterate based on results.
• Work with hardware owners to enable rapid testing of new capabilities.

Benefits

• Opportunity to work on space infrastructure and physical AI for space.
• Work expected to fly to space within the employee’s first year at Phenix.
• Opportunity to set software architecture used for years.
• Work with a multidisciplinary team with experience at Dexterity, NASA JPL, SpaceX, Nimble, Boeing, Honeywell Space, and Capella Space, among others.
• Wide-ranging ownership across software, hardware, and testing, with room to grow into a technical leader.
• Opportunity to work on robot control, space-rated computing, and autonomy.

What This Job Offers

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