{"id":20840,"url":"https://alion.io/job/cowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer","title":"Senior Software Engineer","company":{"id":8929,"name":"Cowboy Space","domain":"cowboyspace.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/cowboyspace","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":5,"ghost_share":0.2,"stale_share":0.4,"repost_share":0.2,"time_to_fill_p50_days":47,"computed_at":"2026-10-23T05:54:15Z"}},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Kent, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":150000,"max":200000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":200000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Rust","optional":false},{"name":"TPU","optional":false},{"name":"Linux","optional":true},{"name":"TCP/IP","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-05-11T00:41:39Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-02","last_verified_at":"2026-10-24T00:58:13Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":166,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":165},"description":"About Cowboy Space Corp:\nMission\nCowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity’s most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.\nBackground\nCowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport.\nCurrent energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases.\nBaiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others.\nThis is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation ’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.\nAbout the Role:\nWe are looking for a Software Engineer to help build critical systems that power our space-based compute platform. You will work across the stack-from flight and mission software to ground systems and simulation tools-contributing to software that operates in highly constrained, high-reliability environments.\nThis is a high-growth role with the opportunity to gain ownership quickly and work closely with experienced engineers across hardware and software.\nResponsibilities:\nDesign, develop, and rigorously test high-reliability, low-latency flight software for our space-based compute platform and satellite subsystems.\n\nImplement and maintain critical mission software for on-orbit operation, including command and data handling (C&DH), fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR), and secure communications.\n\nWork across the stack from low-level embedded systems to higher-level mission logic, utilizing systems-level languages (C++, Rust, Python).\n\nDevelop software for ground systems, simulation environments, and hardware-in-the-loop testing to support integration, validation, and on-orbit operations.\n\nCollaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including hardware, GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control), and constellation operations, to define and implement software interfaces and ensure seamless system-level functionality.\n\nMaintain detailed technical documentation, including software design documents, interface control documents, and comprehensive test plans.\n\nParticipate in code reviews, design reviews, and implement continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines to ensure the robustness and safe deployment of flight and ground software.\n\nBasic Qualifications:\n5+ years of experience in software engineering (internships and relevant projects count)\n\nBachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field\n\nProficiency in at least one systems-level language (C++, Python, or Rust)\n\nExposure to one or more of the following:\nEmbedded systems\n\nDistributed systems\n\nRobotics or autonomous systems\n\nAerospace or hardware-adjacent software\n\nStrong fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and system design basics\n\nEagerness to learn and operate in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment\n\nPreferred Qualifications:\nProven experience working with real-time systems, multithreading, or concurrency in production environments\n\nDeep familiarity with Linux systems, including debugging, profiling, and performance tuning\n\nExperience building or operating distributed systems or networked applications (e.g., TCP/IP, sockets, or service communication)\n\nExperience with simulation environments or software interacting with physical systems (robotics, aerospace, automotive)\n\nExposure to control systems, GNC, or autonomy stacks in a practical setting (not just academic)\n\nExperience working on high-reliability or safety-critical systems with strong testing and validation practices\n\nExperience designing or maintaining CI/CD pipelines for complex systems (including automated testing, integration with hardware or simulation environments, and safe deployment practices)\n\nCompensation and Benefits\nThe salary range for this position is$150,000 - $200,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.\nEquity in Cowboy Space Corp.\n\nEmployees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance\n\n401(k) retirement savings plan\n\nPaid time off\n\n10 paid holidays per calendar year\n\nPaid parental leave\n\nRelocation assistance if applicable\n\nDaily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks\n\nITAR Requirements\nExport Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.\n\nDisclaimer\nThis job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.\nCowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7374,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Parental leave","Relocation assistance","Retirement plans","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Satellite Manufacturing","Space Services","AI Compute & Inference"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-05-11T00:41:39Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":14,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.493,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":165,"expected_fill_days":47,"reasons":["conf:3","velocity","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-23T05:54:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":200000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/cowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/cowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-24T01:12:26Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":1963,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-25T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":8929},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=8929"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fcowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fcowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fcowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/cowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fcowboyspacecorp-sr-software-engineer"}]}