Spacecraft Flight Computing Engineer

Here at The Exploration Company, we are building spacecrafts for humanity.

The Exploration Company is seeking a highly skilled Spacecraft Flight Computing Engineer with expertise in real-time, fault-tolerant computer systems running a RTOS and/or Linux. This role is focused on hands-on hardware and software development, with an emphasis on building systems resilient to radiation effects in space environments. The engineer will also apply knowledge of IP networking, including Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP), to enable deterministic, synchronized communication across spacecraft subsystems.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain real-time embedded computing systems for spacecraft avionics.

• Apply fault-tolerant computing techniques to ensure reliable operation in the presence of radiation-induced upsets and anomalies.

• Develop and optimize our RTOS and Linux-based real-time operating environments, including kernel configuration, bootloader, device drivers, and system-level performance tuning.

• Perform hardware design tasks, including schematic capture, PCB layout, and component selection using Altium Designer, with emphasis on radiation-tolerant design practices.

• Develop, synthesize, and validate FPGA designs (VHDL/Verilog), incorporating mitigation strategies such as TMR, ECC, and scrubbing.

• Design, configure, and troubleshoot IP networking protocols, with focus on TSN for deterministic networking and PTP for precise time synchronization across spacecraft systems.

• Conduct system integration, hardware/software debugging, and fault injection testing to verify robustness under radiation and fault conditions.

• Collaborate closely with flight software, avionics, and systems engineering teams to define computing, networking, and interface requirements.

• Support mission operations through anomaly resolution and post-flight analysis of radiation-induced effects such as SEUs and TID.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python for embedded software development and automation.

• Hands-on experience with real-time systems and Linux-based embedded computing.

• Practical expertise in fault-tolerant computing methods (redundancy, checkpoint/restart, graceful degradation).