{"id":1749583,"url":"https://alion.io/job/darwin-recruitment-staff-flight-software-engineer","title":"Staff Flight Software Engineer","company":{"id":2211481,"name":"Darwin Recruitment","domain":"darwinrecruitment.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/darwinrecruitment","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":null,"truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":6,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-17T05:46:00Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"staff","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"inferred","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Jira","optional":false},{"name":"Linux","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"C","optional":true},{"name":"FreeRTOS","optional":true},{"name":"RTOS","optional":true},{"name":"U-Boot","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-29T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-20","last_verified_at":"2026-10-03T16:17:12Z","board_verified":false,"closed_at":null,"days_open":81,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":81},"description":"We are seeking an experienced Staff Flight Software Engineer to join a growing Satellite Embedded Software team developing next-generation spacecraft. This is a hands-on technical leadership role focused on the design, development, and delivery of mission-critical embedded software, with primary responsibility for satellite imaging payload and Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) software.\nAs a senior individual contributor, you’ll play a key role in shaping software architecture, mentoring engineers through technical leadership, and delivering robust flight software that supports satellite missions from development through on-orbit operations. Working alongside embedded software, systems, hardware, mission operations, and programme teams, you’ll contribute to multiple spacecraft programmes from concept through deployment.\nThe preferred location for this role is Washington State with a hybrid working arrangement.\nKey Responsibilities\nProvide technical leadership and subject matter expertise for ADCS and imaging payload flight software.\nDesign, develop, maintain, and enhance embedded software for spacecraft systems.\nDrive software development activities using Agile methodologies and project management tools such as Jira.\nParticipate in sprint planning, technical reviews, stand-ups, and programme planning activities.\nCollaborate closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver reliable, mission-critical software features and resolve defects.\nEnsure software is thoroughly verified through documentation, testing, inspection, and analysis to demonstrate compliance with system requirements.\nPartner with Systems Engineering to develop, refine, and maintain software requirements.\nContribute to continuous improvement of software development processes, coding standards, testing strategies, and release procedures.\nSupport additional flight software development activities as required.\nRequired Qualifications\nBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.\n10+ years of experience developing and maintaining commercial or embedded software in production environments.\nExpert-level proficiency in C/C++ and Python, with a focus on writing clean, maintainable, and reliable code.\nExtensive experience developing embedded systems, ideally using Embedded Linux and associated build systems such as Buildroot or Yocto.\nDemonstrated experience providing technical leadership and working across multidisciplinary engineering teams to successfully deliver complex products.\nStrong analytical, debugging, and root cause analysis skills.\nExcellent written and verbal communication skills.\nAbility to work effectively with minimal supervision in a collaborative engineering environment.\nEligibility to support programmes that may require U.S. citizenship.\nPreferred Qualifications\nMaster’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.\nExperience with embedded Linux board bring-up.\nFamiliarity with hardware communication interfaces including GPIO, I2C, SPI, CAN, USART, PHY, SpaceWire, Camera Link, RS-422, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, DMA, or PCIe.\nExperience developing software for Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS), including FreeRTOS.\nKnowledge of U-Boot or other embedded bootloaders.\nExperience within the space industry or working with spacecraft hardware and embedded systems.\nExperience developing software supporting ADCS or Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems.\nDarwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to 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