Varda Space Industries
Spacecraft Flight Software Engineer II
About this role
Varda seeks a Flight Software Engineer II to develop and maintain reliable flight software for spacecraft, satellite buses, and reentry capsules operating in orbit. The role spans the full software lifecycle—from requirements and design through testing and on-orbit operations—working with embedded C++ on bare metal, RTOS, and Linux platforms.
What you'll do
- Develop reliable flight software controlling spacecraft, satellite bus, and reentry capsule operation throughout the mission
- Write structured, quality C++ software for embedded processors using bare metal, RTOS, or Linux
- Own full software lifecycle including design, testing, and integration
- Scope projects by capturing requirements and performing design trades for open-ended problems
- Conduct software test, verification, and validation to ensure system quality and performance
- Collaborate with team members to communicate, problem-solve, and deliver solutions
What they're looking for
- C++ development with strong language fundamentals
- Embedded systems and real-time software development
- Safety-critical software design and testing
- Spacecraft or similar mission-critical system experience
- Requirements capture and systems engineering
- Python or Rust programming
- Knowledge of communication protocols (SPI, I2C, CAN, EtherCAT)
- Analog and digital electronics fundamentals
Benefits
- Health and wellness coverage
- Stock options and/or long-term cash awards
- Financial well-being support
- Perks supporting life beyond work
- On-site work environment in El Segundo, CA with production facility access
- Benefits packages designed for full-time employees
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Varda Space Industries
Varda Space Industries builds commercial spacecraft and orbital manufacturing systems for missions in low Earth orbit, including reentry capsules and satellite buses. The company is hiring mission operations engineers, software engineers (ground segment, flight, and embedded), and manufacturing engineers to develop mission-critical systems, operational infrastructure, and scalable production capabilities.
- Website
- varda.com
Likely interview questions
- Walk us through your experience developing flight software for a spacecraft or safety-critical system from concept through launch.
- Describe a time you had to design and test real-time embedded software—what challenges did you face and how did you solve them?