Flight Software Engineer

Today, everything we send to space is constrained by what fits inside a rocket fairing. That's a fundamental bottleneck to building more capable spacecraft. Rendezvous Robotics is solving this problem with electromagnetic self-assembling tiles: modular spacecraft components that rendezvous, dock, and latch to assemble bigger and more powerful spacecraft than anything that can be folded to fit into a rocket.

We're a small team based in Golden, Colorado, executing on a clear path from flight demonstration to our first operational systems. Our work spans hardware, software, and systems engineering. We are looking for the best people in the world who want to build the next generation of advanced spacecraft.

Responsibilities & Ownership

• The flight software platform the rest of the stack runs on: the component framework, real-time scheduling, and the integration that wires subsystems together
• Hardware abstraction layers that enable board agnostic software development
• The real-time Linux our vehicles boot: image build pipelines, provisioning, device identity, process supervision, and the health and update services
• Firmware close to the hardware: deterministic control of sensors and actuators, and the serial protocols back up to the main compute
• Build, test, and CI for flight software, and bringing new boards into the software stack alongside the avionics team

Basic Qualifications

• Degree in computer science, computer engineering, or electrical engineering, or equivalent experience
• [Senior level only] 5+ years of relevant experience
• Strong C++ and/or C, with a real understanding of how software runs on hardware
• Embedded Linux: building, configuring, and debugging on resource-constrained systems
• Comfort at the lower layers: device drivers, serial buses (UART, SPI, I2C), and reading a datasheet to ground truth

Preferred Qualifications

• Component-based flight software frameworks such as F Prime, or other robotics and aerospace middleware
• Microcontroller firmware (STM32 or similar), real-time control, and RTOS or bare-metal work
• OS image build systems (Yocto, Buildroot) and provisioning or flashing pipelines
• Real-time scheduling, CPU pinning, and latency tuning
• CMake, CI for embedded targets, and hardware-in-the-loop testing

Compensation and Benefits

Engineer: $95,000 - $140,000

Senior Engineer: $140,000 - $175,000

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. In addition to the base salary, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options. You will receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, short- and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and paid parental leave. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year.