Senior Staff Flight Software Engineer
Fruition Group USAbout the role
Senior Staff Flight Software Engineer
This role is suited to an engineer who has moved beyond simply delivering individual flight-software components and is now capable of setting technical direction for an entire flight-software domain.
We are seeking a Senior Staff Flight Software Engineer to provide technical leadership for the development of mission-critical flight software supporting next-generation space systems. This is a highly hands-on role for an engineer who can operate at both system architecture and implementation level, while influencing engineering direction across flight software, geospatial intelligence and spacecraft systems.
Responsibilities
Provide technical leadership and architectural ownership for flight software across the spacecraft lifecycle, from requirements and architecture through implementation, integration, verification and on-orbit operations.
Define robust, scalable software architectures for mission-critical, resource-constrained spacecraft systems.
Lead development of real-time embedded flight software, establishing technical standards, coding practices and software development methodologies.
Work closely with avionics, electrical, systems and mission operations teams to define interfaces and resolve complex cross-disciplinary problems.
Own software architecture decisions around command and data handling, telemetry, fault management, scheduling, communications and spacecraft autonomy.
Lead technical trade studies and drive decisions around performance, reliability, fault tolerance and maintainability.
Establish and review software requirements, design documentation, verification strategies and qualification approaches.
Mentor senior engineers and provide technical direction without necessarily having direct management responsibility.
Drive resolution of complex technical issues across development, integration and operational environments.
Support hardware/software integration, processor bring-up, hardware-in-the-loop testing and system-level validation.
Technical Requirements
8-10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with significant experience in embedded, aerospace or other safety/mission-critical environments.
Demonstrated ownership of flight software architecture and technical leadership on complex spacecraft or embedded systems.
Strong hands-on experience with C/C++ and real-time embedded software development.
Experience with RTOS environments, embedded Linux and/or bare-metal development.
Strong understanding of spacecraft avionics, processors, communications, telemetry and command systems.
Strong systems-level understanding with the ability to work across software, electrical, avionics and spacecraft architecture.
Experience with version control, CI/CD and automated software testing.
Experience with Earth-observation or remote-sensing spacecraft.
Experience developing flight software for LEO satellite constellations or high-volume spacecraft programmes.
Experience with spacecraft autonomy, onboard processing or intelligent payload management.
Experience with FPGA/CPU architectures, SpaceWire, CAN, UART, SPI, I2C or high-speed spacecraft data interfaces.
Responsibilities
- Provide technical leadership and architectural ownership for flight software across the spacecraft lifecycle
- Define robust, scalable software architectures for mission-critical spacecraft systems
- Lead development of real-time embedded flight software
- Work closely with avionics, electrical, systems and mission operations teams
- Own software architecture decisions around command and data handling
- Lead technical trade studies and drive decisions around performance and reliability
- Establish and review software requirements and design documentation
- Mentor senior engineers and provide technical direction
Qualifications
- 8-10+ years of professional software engineering experience
- Significant experience in embedded, aerospace or safety/mission-critical environments
- Demonstrated ownership of flight software architecture
- Strong hands-on experience with C/C++ and real-time embedded software development
- Experience with RTOS environments and embedded Linux
- Strong understanding of spacecraft avionics and communication systems
- Experience with version control, CI/CD and automated software testing
- Experience developing flight software for LEO satellite constellations
Skills mentioned
About Fruition Group US
Fruition Group US is a specialist advanced engineering recruitment partner, placing exceptional talent across the US market. We work across four core disciplines — Hardware and Electromechanical, Software Autonomy and Intelligence, Systems Safety and Test, and Operations Manufacturing and Programmes — and our consultants are skillset-led across every one of them. That means deep market knowledge, cross-sector perspective, and the ability to identify skills that transfer across disciplines in ways generalist recruiters miss. Our core markets reflect where advanced engineering is moving fastest: advanced air mobility, autonomy, robotics, space, batteries, and energy storage. These are the sectors being shaped by the forces redefining the industry — electrification, AI, next-generation aerospace, semiconductors, and the rise of intelligent systems. Advanced engineering runs on three pillars: exceptional people, world-class processes, and cutting-edge technology. These pillars push the boundaries of what's possible, shaping how the world moves, powers, protects, and connects. We operate at the heart of this ecosystem — placing the people that make all three work. We understand that the right person doesn't just fill a role. They transform a process, elevate a technology, and unlock what comes next. That's why every search we run is built around genuine understanding of the capability our clients are building — and the talent that will take it further. We partner with ambitious companies and exceptional engineers who are building the technologies that will define tomorrow. Our mission is simple: connect brilliant people with pioneering organisations to drive progress.