{"id":747536,"url":"https://alion.io/job/spacekinetic-lead-flight-software-engineer","title":"Lead Flight Software Engineer","company":{"id":685289,"name":"Space Kinetic","domain":"spacekinetic.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/spacekinetic","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":93,"open_postings":34,"ghost_share":0.029,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":134,"computed_at":"2026-11-03T05:54:40Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["El Segundo, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":220000,"max":275000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":275000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"CCSDS","optional":false},{"name":"Linux","optional":false},{"name":"MIL-STD-1553","optional":false},{"name":"NASA cFS","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"RTOS","optional":false},{"name":"Rust","optional":false},{"name":"SpaceWire","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2025-09-05T16:40:55Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-12","last_verified_at":"2026-11-03T05:07:32Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":423,"trust":{"level":"ghost","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale","company_stale"],"days_open":423},"description":"A New Paradigm For Space Operations.\nWho We Are: \nSpace Kinetic is a dual use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations - one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attainable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo, we are focused on creating something entirely different - an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on. Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures - where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a ‘one-to-many’ system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster.\nThis is not a role for someone looking for a traditional 40-hour work week. Space Kinetic is building ambitious, first-of-its-kind technology, and that requires urgency, ownership, and a high level of commitment to changing the foundational assumptions for everything we do in space.\nWhat You’ll Do:\nThe Lead Flight Software Engineer will serve as the technical leader for the development, integration, and validation of mission-critical software for Space Kinetic’s electromechanical spacecraft systems. You will own low-level and high-level software from initial architecture and requirements through qualification, flight operations, and on-orbit maintenance. This role requires deep experience with embedded real-time systems, software reliability, and spacecraft operations, along with the ability to lead a team in a fast-paced prototyping environment with an aggressive path to flight.\nJob Responsibilities:\nLead flight software architecture and development for spacecraft control, autonomy, communications, telemetry, command, GNC interfaces, fault management, and safety systems.\nDefine software requirements, interfaces, development roadmaps, and verification strategies in partnership with systems, electrical, GNC, test, and mission engineering teams.\nDevelop reliable, deterministic, and fault-tolerant software using C/C++ or Rust in RTOS, bare-metal, or embedded Linux environments.\nLead software and code reviews, integration, testing, and qualification activities in alignment with applicable spaceflight and mission-assurance standards.\nSupport simulation, spacecraft-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and ground-software integration environments.\nMentor software engineers, establish coding and design standards, and improve development tools, processes, and best practices.\nSupport mission-readiness reviews, anomaly resolution, flight operations, and on-orbit software updates.\nWhat It Takes:\nBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.\n5 to 10 years of experience developing embedded or real-time software for space, aerospace, robotics, or other mission-critical systems.\nExperience leading software development across the full system lifecycle, from requirements and architecture through integration, qualification, and operations.\nStrong proficiency in C/C++, with experience using Python or similar scripting languages for automation and testing.\nExperience with RTOS, bare-metal programming, or Linux-based embedded systems.\nStrong understanding of deterministic timing, concurrency, fault tolerance, software reliability, and resource management in constrained environments.\nAbility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.\nWhat We’d Love:\nExperience with flight software frameworks such as NASA cFS, F´, or custom architectures.\nFamiliarity with model-based systems engineering and interface control documentation.\nKnowledge of spacecraft communication protocols such as CCSDS, SpaceWire, or MIL-STD-1553.\nWhere You’ll Be: \nThe position is onsite at our headquarters in El Segundo, CA. Domestic travel may be required (up to ~20% of the year). \n\nWhat We Offer: \nEquity-Based Compensation\n401(k) retirement plan with a 3.5% company match\nHighly Competitive PTO\nPaid company holidays + winter break \nComprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance\nUnique Performance-based bonus opportunities\nITAR Requirements: \nTo conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here \nEqual Employment Opportunity: \nSpace Kinetic provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, disabilityor any other legally protected status. \nThe annual base salary for this role is below. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education/experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity. \nPay Range\n$220,000—$275,000 USD","description_format":"text","description_chars":5536,"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","Retirement plans","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Missiles","Space Services"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T14:41:29Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":8,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.3,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":423,"expected_fill_days":134,"reasons":["conf:0","ghost","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-11-03T05:54:40Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":275000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/spacekinetic-lead-flight-software-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/spacekinetic-lead-flight-software-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-03T06:46:18Z","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":9424,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-04T00:00:00Z"}},"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":685289},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=685289"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fspacekinetic-lead-flight-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%2Fspacekinetic-lead-flight-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%2Fspacekinetic-lead-flight-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/spacekinetic-lead-flight-software-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fspacekinetic-lead-flight-software-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":747536}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"spacekinetic.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":747536},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}