Staff Flight Software Engineer, Interplanetary Sciences Program

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team: 

The Interplanetary Sciences Program was established to expand access to scientific exploration across our solar system. Its mission is to make planetary research faster, more affordable, and more capable than ever before by rethinking how science missions are designed, built, and operated. The program aims to enable scientists to send instruments to distant worlds without decades of development or prohibitive costs. By creating a sustainable model for interplanetary exploration, we are transforming space science from an occasional event into a continuous process of discovery that accelerates knowledge, broadens participation, and inspires the next generation of explorers.

About the Role:

As a Staff Flight Software Engineer within the Interplanetary Sciences Program at Relativity Space, you will take ownership of the design, development, and deployment of flight-critical software that governs how our spacecraft behaves and operates from concept through flight. 

You will be responsible for building robust, reliable embedded software that enables autonomous deep-space missions and real-time spacecraft control. This role requires an engineer who thrives on full-system ownership, moves fluidly between architecture and implementation, and brings rigorous engineering discipline to every phase of development from requirements capture to operational flight support. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:  

• Design, implement, and test flight software for spacecraft command, control, and autonomy across all mission phases
• Own full lifecycle software development: requirements capture, architecture, design, implementation, integration, test, and flight operations support
• Collaborate with avionics, GNC, propulsion, and mission operations teams to ensure seamless integration between software and spacecraft hardware
• Develop and execute verification and validation (V&V) processes to ensure flight safety, reliability, and mission success
• Support on-vehicle and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, debugging, and mission simulations

About You:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field
• 7+ years of experience developing, testing, and delivering embedded or real-time flight software
• Strong proficiency in C++ and solid understanding of memory management, concurrency, and embedded systems design 
• Experience with RTOS or Linux-based embedded development, software integration, and system-level testing 
• Proven ability to scope open-ended problems, execute autonomously, and deliver high-quality, flight-ready software 
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced team environment, demonstrating adaptability and problem-solving skills 

Nice to haves but not required:   

• Experience developing software for spaceflight, launch vehicles, or planetary spacecraft 
• Familiarity with deep-space communication protocols and autonomy frameworks 
• Experience with Python or Rust for tooling, testing, or simulation support 
• Background in hardware-in-the-loop testing, embedded networking, or fault-tolerant system design 
• Knowledge of NASA or other aerospace software development and verification standards, applied in a modern new-space context 

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$181,000—$271,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].

Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.