Spacecraft Flight Computing Engineer

The Opportunity

We are supporting a well-funded space company developing a human-rated spacecraft with real flight hardware, real missions, and real technical ownership.

This role sits on a small, elite Flight Computing team responsible for the design and implementation of the spacecraft’s computing architecture — from custom flight computers through operating systems, low-level software, and fault-tolerant behavior.

This is not a traditional flight software role layered on top of vendor avionics. The team designs the computers, defines the operating environment, and owns how the system behaves under real-world faults.

You would work directly with the engineer who architected the fault-tolerant computing and networking systems for Falcon 9 and Dragon, including the hardware that interfaces with the International Space Station. 

What You’ll Work On

• Designing and implementing spacecraft flight computing systems with full hardware/software ownership

• Developing and tuning low-level software across bootloaders, operating systems, and device drivers

• Building fault-tolerant behavior that allows systems to continue operating through anomalies

• Working closely with custom flight computer hardware designed in-house

• Defining how compute, timing, and networking behave across spacecraft subsystems

• Participating in system bring-up, integration, debugging, and mission support

• Collaborating with a small group of highly capable engineers who value first-principles design

What We’re Looking For

We are open to exceptional engineers at multiple experience levels, provided they have strong fundamentals and real technical depth.

Strong indicators include:

• Deep experience with C/C++ in low-level or systems contexts

• Background in embedded systems, firmware, kernel-level Linux, or RTOS-based development

• Comfort working close to hardware (bring-up, debugging, timing, fault analysis)

• Experience designing or supporting real-time or safety-critical systems

• Engineers who build things because they’re curious — not just because it’s assigned

Prior spacecraft experience is not required. Engineers from adjacent domains (embedded systems, automotive safety, robotics, compute infrastructure, etc.) are welcome if they bring the right depth and mindset.

What Makes This Different

• Small, senior technical team — no large hierarchies, no busywork

• Minimal legacy code — engineers are empowered to fix or redesign what doesn’t make sense

• Modern, high-performance compute platforms, not legacy aerospace hardware

• Real authority over architecture and implementation decisions

• Direct mentorship and collaboration with one of the most experienced flight computing architects in the industry

• A rare blend of startup-level autonomy with the resources of a major space program

Location & Eligibility

• Based in the South Bay / Greater Los Angeles area

• Candidates must be U.S. persons due to regulatory requirements

• Relocation support may be available

Interested?

If you’re excited by the idea of building spacecraft computers the right way — with real ownership, real impact, and real technical peers — we’d welcome a conversation.