Senior Flight Software Engineer

The role

You will own major parts of flight software for autonomous cargo aircraft from architecture through flight test. You will design, implement, and test deterministic, real-time embedded flight software in C++.

What you will do

• Own the architecture of major flight software subsystems
• Design and implement deterministic, real-time embedded flight software in C++
• Design fault detection and response for the aircraft
• Define software requirements and interfaces and trace them to tests
• Implement GNC team algorithms in flight code and verify against simulation
• Set the test strategy across unit tests, software-in-the-loop, and hardware-in-the-loop
• Build telemetry, logging, and command paths
• Lead software integration on the aircraft and support ground and flight testing
• Set coding standards and review practices and lead design reviews
• Mentor other flight software engineers

Required qualifications

• B.S. in computer science, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of professional C or C++ development on embedded, real-time, or safety-critical systems
• Owned a flight software subsystem or equivalent from architecture through fielded operation
• Took software through hardware integration and test on a real vehicle (aircraft, spacecraft, or automotive)
• Designed fault detection and response for a system where failure had safety consequences
• Led design reviews and set technical direction for other engineers

Nice to have

• Flight software experience on crewed or uncrewed aircraft, or on spacecraft
• RTOS or bare-metal development, with a deep understanding of scheduling, timing, and memory
• Experience designing redundant or fault-tolerant flight computer architectures
• Experience developing software under DO-178C or a comparable standard such as ISO 26262
• Experience supporting flight test or vehicle test campaigns
• Python for tooling, test automation, and flight data analysis
• Clear technical writing

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Meaningful early-stage equity
• Relocation support if applicable
• Employee Health Benefit Plans
• 6% Retirement matching
• Flexible PTO
• Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices
• AI tools and subscriptions

About the company

Poseidon Aerospace builds and operates full-size autonomous cargo aircraft capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine.