Senior/Principal Mission Software Engineer
Hermeus
Senior/Principal Mission Software Engineer
Hermeus
Develops hypersonic defense aircraft and engines
Salary Range: 128250 to 156750 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)
The Mission Systems Engineering team develops the Mission Management System—the software platform connecting mission subsystems, autonomy services, operator interfaces, communications links, and telemetry across Hermeus aircraft and ground systems.
As a Senior/Principal Mission Software Engineer, you will architect, build, integrate, and validate critical portions of this platform. You will work across software, avionics, communications, autonomy, simulation, and flight operations to solve complex problems in distributed, hardware-connected environments.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role with the opportunity to define foundational architecture and directly influence how Hermeus aircraft are commanded, monitored, tested, and expanded with new mission capabilities.
Own major Mission Management System capabilities from architecture through integration, testing, and operational use
Design and develop high-performance C++ software for command and control, telemetry, mission workflows, and subsystem coordination
Define scalable architectures, interfaces, APIs, protocols, and message schemas
Integrate autonomy services, sensors, payloads, radios, tactical datalinks, and third-party systems
Make technical decisions involving performance, reliability, latency, fault tolerance, and extensibility
Diagnose complex issues across distributed software, networks, embedded hardware, avionics, and communications systems
Partner with systems, avionics, autonomy, networking, flight-test, and operations teams
Build and improve simulation, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and system-integration environments
Lead design reviews, code reviews, technical trade studies, and integration activities
Identify technical risks and drive solutions in environments where requirements are still evolving
Mentor engineers and establish strong software architecture and development practices
Support ground and flight-test campaigns, including real-time troubleshooting
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field
7+ years of professional software-development experience for Senior-level consideration
10+ years of relevant experience, or an equivalent record of technical leadership and impact, for Principal-level consideration
Advanced proficiency with modern C++, including C++17 or newer
Experience designing and delivering complex, production-quality software systems
Strong knowledge of concurrency, memory management, software architecture, and performance-oriented development
Experience with distributed, real-time, embedded, robotic, aerospace, or other hardware-connected systems
Experience with TCP, UDP, multicast, and socket-level network programming
Ability to define architectures, interfaces, protocols, and system boundaries in ambiguous environments
Experience integrating software with hardware, external services, or independently developed subsystems
Strong debugging skills across software, networking, and hardware interfaces
Ability to clearly communicate technical decisions, risks, and tradeoffs across multidisciplinary teams
Demonstrated ownership through design, implementation, integration, testing, and deployment
Experience with mission systems, command-and-control software, mission planning, ground-control systems, autonomy platforms, or operator-facing applications
Aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous vehicle, or spacecraft experience
Experience with RF communications, SATCOM, line-of-sight radios, or tactical datalinks
Familiarity with publish/subscribe architectures or middleware such as DDS, ZeroMQ, ActiveMQ, or Kafka
Experience integrating third-party sensors, payloads, autonomy services, radios, or mission subsystems
Knowledge of avionics architectures, aircraft networks, telemetry, and command-and-control workflows
Linux software development and deployment experience
Experience developing fault-tolerant or degraded-mode behaviors for distributed systems
Experience with simulation, SIL, HIL, system-integration labs, ground tests, or flight tests
Familiarity with standards such as DO-178C, ARINC, FACE, OMS/UCI, STANAG, or MIL-STD
Experience establishing technical direction or influencing execution across multiple teams
Experience working in a startup or rapid-prototyping environment
Due to U.S. Government requirements associated with access to Controlled Cryptographic Items (CCI) and related controlled information, this position is limited to U.S. citizens. U.S. permanent residents (Green Card holders) are not eligible for this role.
The salary range listed for this role is intended as a general guideline. Final compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including role scope and responsibilities, relevant experience, education and training, key skills, market data, and business needs.
At Hermeus, compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. We offer competitive pay, equity, and a range of benefits designed to support our team.
Hermeus designs and builds high-Mach and hypersonic aircraft for defense, using uncrewed test platforms and a reusable propulsion system. Its core approach centers on the Quarterhorse testbed and the Chimera engine, a turbine-based combined cycle that starts in a turbojet mode for runway takeoff and transitions to a ramjet for speeds above Mach 5. The company differentiates itself with rapid, hardware-focused prototyping drawn from a spaceflight background and a clear path to production through government contracts with the DoD, DIU, and ABMS programs. Its near-term goal is to mature Quarterhorse and Darkhorse into production-capable systems for defense missions, while its long-term vision includes Halcyon, a 20-seat commercial airliner flying transatlantic routes in about 90 minutes.
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