Flight Software Engineer – Lead

About the Role

Astra CoreX, Inc. (ACX) is seeking a Lead Flight Software Engineer to architect, develop, and own the onboard software stack for next-generation aerospace vehicles. You will work closely with Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C), avionics, and autonomy teams to design and implement real-time flight software responsible for mission sequencing, fault management, telemetry, and closed-loop control.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of flight software subsystems including mode management, fault detection/isolation/recovery (FDIR), command and telemetry handling, and health monitoring.
• Work with G&NC and avionics to integrate guidance, navigation, and control algorithms into real-time, resource-constrained environments using RTOS-based frameworks.
• Define and implement interfaces to sensors, actuators, and communication links including low-level drivers and middleware.
• Develop and maintain simulation and test infrastructure, including software-in-the-loop (SITL), hardware-in-the-loop (HITL), Monte Carlo analysis, and recorded flight data playback.
• Own flight software reliability and safety by performing hazard analyses, defining fault containment strategies, implementing watchdogs, safe modes, and redundancy management.
• Collaborate with vehicle engineering to define software requirements, architecture documents, ICDs, and verification plans for flight-critical functionality.
• Lead code reviews, integration efforts, and debugging sessions on embedded targets with cross-functional teams.
• Support integration and flight test campaigns, including pre-flight readiness, real-time telemetry monitoring, anomaly investigation, and post-flight data analysis.
• Mentor and guide junior flight software engineers, establishing best practices for coding standards, testing, and configuration management.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or another relevant field.
• 5–10 years of experience designing, implementing, and testing embedded or flight software for aerospace, defense, or autonomous systems.
• Strong experience with C and/or C++ for embedded, real-time systems; familiarity with Rust and Python for tools, test, or infrastructure.
• Hands-on experience developing software for microcontrollers or embedded processors, including working with RTOSes, interrupts, and hardware interfaces.
• Demonstrated experience with software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop testing, including building and using testbeds and simulators.
• Experience implementing fault management, mode logic, and safety-critical state machines in operational systems.
• Strong understanding of real-time constraints, concurrency, and resource management in embedded environments.
• Experience with configuration management, version control, and CI/CD pipelines for embedded software.
• U.S. citizen with eligibility for government security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with safety-critical software standards such as DO-178C or equivalent aerospace assurance processes.
• Background in autonomous mission planning, state estimation, or fault-tolerant control architectures.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, static analysis, and embedded test automation for flight-grade software.
• Experience mentoring engineers and defining system-level software interfaces across avionics, GNC, and mission teams.