Senior Flight Software Engineer - Spacecraft
About the job
- A Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, or Doctorate degree in Software or Computer Engineering from an accredited university or institution.
- At least 5 years of industry experience in spacecraft software development; a Master's degree may count as two years of experience.
- Hands-on development and troubleshooting experience with software systems and hardware such as motors and power distribution units.
- Experience with C, C++, Python, or other languages in an aerospace context.
- A strong understanding of space missions from conception through flight and disposal.
- Familiarity with spacecraft mission design, including events, pointing modes, maneuver planning, sequencing, and operations.
- Experience with spacecraft failures in post-CDR testing and on-orbit, root cause analysis, and recovery.
- Experience with design for reliability, spaceflight redundancy, and fault detection, identification, and recovery.
- Space software experience with attitude dynamics, coordinate frame transformations, vector mathematics, radiative heat transfer, spacecraft propulsion, space communication systems, and power systems.
- Experience with communication protocols such as TCP/IP or UDP for software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop laboratory development and space flight.
- Experience interfacing a variety of open-source software to create an integrated system.
- Embedded software experience, particularly for space missions.
- Ability to implement physical first principles as scripts or spreadsheets.
- Experience with software release, revisioning, and configuration processes.
- Familiarity with configuration management tools, defect tracking tools, and peer review.
- Experience with trades and processes for handling radiation tolerance in software on automotive-grade parts.
- Familiarity with continuous integration, test, and delivery systems.
- A strong understanding of multithreaded applications and resource management.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Eligibility to work under United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations as a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, conditional resident, asylee, refugee, protected individual, or person eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.
- Design and implement software to build and integrate mission systems, including satellites, ground stations, and mission operations centers.
- Design, develop, code, test, debug, and document system software.
- Review code and system designs.
- Analyze code for efficiency, stability, and scalability.
- Integrate and validate new product designs.
- Support software quality assurance and optimize input/output performance.
- Provide post-production and in-orbit customer support.
- Interface with hardware design and development engineers.
- Assess third-party and open-source software.
- Develop software to monitor, test, and control spacecraft subsystems, including attitude, command and data handling, navigation, thermal, and power.
- Perform software-in-the-loop testing through all stages of the development process.
- Define software requirements, develop initial architecture and block diagrams, implement software, conduct code reviews, and perform validation and verification.
- Identify simplifying solutions to simulate complex problems and explain key results and decisions to the team.
- Direct, mentor, and grow a team of spacecraft engineers in developing a new satellite system.
- CubeSat and SmallSat experience, including LEO, MEO, GEO, and beyond.
- Hands-on experience with spacecraft instrumentation, subsystems, and test laboratories.
- Experience with JPL F’, NASA cFS, and other commercial space software frameworks.
- Experience with ground system software engineering for space missions.
- Experience in a team leadership role on a space software program.
- Experience in other non-space safety-critical software programs.
- Experience with network security.
About the company
CesiumAstro develops end-to-end space and airborne communications systems, including active phased array antennas, software-defined radios, and complete payloads. Its technology enables electronically steered beams for inter-satellite links, high-rate downlinks, lunar and deep-space communication, and 5G/NTN networks. It ships plug‑and‑play, commercially manufactured hardware and SDR software as a full-stack solution, reducing development time and cost. The company targets both government programs (NASA, DoD) and commercial space ventures, aiming to make space-based connectivity more accessible and adaptable.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
Series C
Total Funding
$780M
Headquarters
Bee Cave, Texas
Founded
2017
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- EXIM and J.P. Morgan backed $300 million financing funds the Bee Cave factory and Texas hiring.
- April 21, 2026 Missile Defense Agency work validates Skylark for national-security modernization.
- The $470 million Series C gives CesiumAstro cash to industrialize manufacturing and scale deliveries through 2027.
What critics are saying
- Three 2026 acquisitions create integration drag and culture clashes before 2027 product revenue lands.
- CesiumAstro still depends on U.S. defense buyers, EXIM financing, and Bee Cave buildout finishing on time.
- L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed can crush margins on phased-array programs; CesiumAstro loses share fast.
What makes CesiumAstro unique
- CesiumAstro vertically integrates antennas, radios, semiconductors, and mission software under one roof.
- Its 2026 Jariet, Vidrovr, and 1Aardvark buys deepen full-stack space-defense autonomy.
- Skylark and Element target software-defined, mobile-ready links across missiles, satellites, and airborne platforms.
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The Export-Import Bank of the United States has signed a $300 million credit agreement with CesiumAstro, an Austin-based space and defence connectivity specialist. The agreement, announced on 9 September, aims to consolidate the company's design, manufacturing, assembly and test operations into a single 270,000-square-foot US facility currently under construction. The financing includes a $20 million revolving credit facility from JP Morgan, making it EXIM's largest loan approval under its "Make More in America" initiative. CesiumAstro is the only company to receive a second credit agreement under the programme. EXIM previously approved $185 million in financing to CesiumAstro in January 2026, later increased to $280 million. Founded in 2017, CesiumAstro recently secured a $470 million Series C funding round.
CesiumAstro buys 1Aardvark to add mission software for defense space. * 1Aardvark is a service-disabled veteran-owned and HUBZone-certified business in Manassas, Virginia * Its work covers missile defense and missile tracking programs * The deal follows CesiumAstro's purchases of Vidrovr and Jariet Technologies this year CesiumAstro has acquired 1Aardvark, adding mission software and systems engineering to a portfolio built around satellites and communications payloads. CesiumAstro announced the deal Tuesday. 1Aardvark, based in Manassas, Virginia, builds software, algorithms and systems engineering for national defense programs. It holds service-disabled veteran-owned small business and HUBZone certifications. What does 1Aardvark bring to CesiumAstro? 1Aardvark's software supports missile defense and missile tracking work. The company builds systems that enable distributed platforms to coordinate and execute missions in contested or disconnected environments. CesiumAstro expects the pairing to yield spacecraft that adjust to changing conditions and keep operating when connectivity degrades. Shey Sabripour, founder and CEO of CesiumAstro, said defense space systems increasingly require software that can adapt and make decisions. According to Ryan Kenward, president of 1Aardvark, joining CesiumAstro extends the company's work pushing mission capability to the edge. How does the deal fit CesiumAstro's acquisition strategy? The 1Aardvark deal lands days after CesiumAstro closed its purchase of Jariet Technologies, a semiconductor firm focused on millimeter-wave radio frequency system-on-chip designs. That deal gave the company in-house chip capability to pair with its phased-array antenna and payload work. The company also acquired Vidrovr in March, an AI firm specializing in real-time multimodal signal analysis. Vidrovr co-founder Joe Ellis oversees integration of machine learning tools into the CesiumAstro portfolio. CesiumAstro closed a $470 million Series C round in February and took $200 million in Export-Import Bank financing in January to acquire a 270,000-square-foot West Austin facility.
CesiumAstro’s purchase of Virginia-based 1Aardvark advances its strategy to deliver more resilient, software-defined communications and onboard systems for government missions, strengthening its position in the defence...
CesiumAstro acquires Jariet Technologies, expanding semiconductor capabilities across SATCOM, electronic warfare, radar and space systems.