Embedded Flight SoftwareEngineer
Role Description
We are seeking an Embedded Flight Software Engineer with deep expertise in low-level
embedded software, FPGA interfaces, drivers, and bootloader development to join our
flight program team. This is a full-time, in-office role for an experienced professional with
a hands-on experience in FSW development. In this role, you will design and
implement low-level drivers, BSPs, and boot systems while managing memory
architectures and FPGA hardware interfaces. You will bridge the gap between low-level
hardware and high-level FSW logic, ensuring reliable spacecraft boot behavior, fail-safe
recovery, and deterministic bus communications in space environments.
Key Responsibilities
Develop low-level C/C++ drivers, Board Support Packages (BSPs), and hardware
interfaces for microcontrollers, FPGAs, and standard communication buses.
Design and implement stage-1 and stage-2 bootloaders, robust boot behaviors,
partition swapping logic, and fail-safe recovery modes.
Architect memory management strategies across volatile and non-volatile memory
(NOR/NAND Flash, SRAM, EEPROM) to preserve data integrity across reboots.
Configure low-level communication protocols and bus interfaces (e.g., SPI, I2C, CAN,
UART, SpaceWire, or PCIe) between compute units, peripherals, and payloads.
Implement telemetry collection, time synchronization, and task scheduling within
RTOS or embedded OS environments.
Implement hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing and debugging on flatsats using logic
analyzers, oscilloscopes, and FPGA emulator tools.
Manage the codebase using modern version control systems and contribute to CI/CD
workflows for automated testing and continuous integration.
Implement comprehensive test campaigns on testbeds and flight units to verify software
performance under flight-like conditions.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate subsystems with the spacecraft
main compute element.
Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Document design processes, test results, and system performance.
Embedded Flight Software Engineer
Provide technical guidance on FSW architectures to fellow engineers, fostering a
culture of excellence and innovation.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s or advanced degree in computer science, aerospace engineering, or similar
field.
5+ years of embedded software engineering experience, with exposure to low-level
driver development, hardware integration, or bootloaders.
Strong proficiency in C, C++, embedded Linux, and Real-Time Operating Systems
(RTOS).
Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git) and automated testing/CI
workflows.
Strong ability to collaborate effectively in a flexible environment while maintaining a
positive and professional attitude.
Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Must possess or be willing and eligible to obtain a United States Department of
Defense Top Secret security clearance.
Desired Qualifications
Experience writing custom drivers for FPGA logic blocks or hardware interfaces (such
as I2C, CAN, SPI, UART, or SpaceWire).
Experience with hardware-level communication protocols and hardware/software
integration.
Experience working in clean room environments and adhering to ESD protocols.
Demonstrated experience with custom bootloader design, memory controller drivers,
Flash file systems, and image verification/recovery techniques.
Company Description
We are a Los Angeles-based spacecraft technology company established to capitalize on
a rapidly evolving space landscape and the urgent need to deliver resilient orbital
capabilities to maintain and increase our national science and security interests. We
combine serious space flight experience with an open minded, first-principles approach,
leveraging advanced computational design and Industry 4.0 practices to deliver custom
Embedded Flight Software Engineer spacecraft and mission solutions with industry paramount speed, precision, and reliability.
We seek to enable every payload and mission with a fully custom, purpose-built
spacecraft bus, designed and delivered using our patent-pending, automated
computational design platform, with paramount reliability.
Benefits
We offer comprehensive benefits including paid medical healthcare for employees,
flexible vacation policy, sick days, 401k matching option, pregnancy leave, family leave,
holiday pay, military service leave, dental care, vision care and other benefits.
Equal Opportunity
We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of an
applicant’s age, disability, sex, race, religion, gender, national origin, veteran status or any
other legally protected characteristic. The Company will provide reasonable
accommodations to an applicant with a disability or religious belief to enable the
applicant to apply for the position.
Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
Sibusisiwe Mlaba