Senior Spacecraft Software Systems Engineer

We are seeking a Senior Spacecraft Software Systems Engineer to lead the definition, coordination, verification, and delivery of spacecraft software systems for advanced space observatory missions. 

This role will support the current mission through design maturity, AI&T, launch readiness, commissioning, and operations, while also helping establish software systems engineering practices for future missions. 

This is a software-focused systems engineering role with hands-on flight software involvement. The role requires strong technical judgment, requirements ownership, interface discipline, vendor oversight, and end-to-end mission thinking, while also contributing directly to flight software activities where needed. This may include reviewing and developing software requirements, supporting software architecture trades, writing or reviewing scripts and test tools, supporting FSW integration, debugging software-interface issues, reviewing code or software implementation details, contributing to test automation, and supporting software validation in flatsat, simulator, EGSE, AI&T, and operations environments. 

The role spans flight software behavior, command and telemetry, onboard autonomy, FDIR, software-related ICDs, emulators/simulators/flatsats, verification, operations readiness, and selected hands-on FSW activities. The candidate will translate mission, spacecraft, payload, ground, and operations needs into clear software requirements, interface definitions, command and telemetry products, FDIR behavior, verification plans, test infrastructure, and practical implementation support. 

The candidate will work closely with spacecraft bus, payload, telescope, instrument, ground system, mission operations, science, AI&T, and vendor teams to ensure software behavior is robust, testable, operationally usable, and aligned with mission success. 

Key responsibilities for this role include the following: