About the company

OrbitAID Aerospace is building the foundation for a new era of on-orbit servicing and refueling, enabling satellites to operate longer, maneuver more freely, and deliver greater value in space. At the core of this vision is the development of standardized docking and refueling technologies and a future network of orbital fuel stations, transforming how spacecraft are designed, launched, and sustained in orbit.

Our long-term goal is to make space operations more flexible, resilient, and sustainable—where satellites are serviced, upgraded, and refueled rather than replaced. We are a small, driven team that values strong engineering fundamentals, ownership, and hands-on problem solving. At OrbitAID, you’ll work closely across disciplines, move quickly from concept to hardware and software, and contribute directly to building the space infrastructure that will power the next generation of missions.

Role Overview

The Flight Software Engineer is responsible for developing, integrating, and validating real-time embedded software for mission-critical satellite applications. This role focuses on reliable, deterministic, and fault-tolerant onboard software that interfaces directly with spacecraft hardware and supports safe operations throughout the mission lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain real-time flight software using C and C++ for satellite onboard systems
• Integrate software with flight hardware, including processors, sensors, actuators, and communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, Ethernet, LVDS)
• Perform software verification and validation activities, including unit testing, integration testing, and system-level testing
• Support hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) simulations and flight test readiness
• Debug and troubleshoot software issues using JTAG debuggers, logic analyzers, and telemetry analysis tools
• Participate in peer code reviews, configuration management, and CI/CD workflows
• Collaborate with avionics, GNC, mission operations, and systems engineering teams to ensure seamless integration

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field
• Proficiency in C and C++ for embedded and real-time systems
• Hands-on experience with RTOS platforms such as FreeRTOS, RTEMS, or QNX
• Strong understanding of:
• Task scheduling and real-time constraints
• Inter-process communication (IPC)
• Semaphores, mutexes, and synchronization
• Memory management in embedded systems
• Knowledge of interrupt handling, DMA, and memory-mapped I/O
• Familiarity with cross-compilation toolchains and build systems (GCC ARM, Make, CMake)

Preferred / Highly Desired Skills

• Experience with flight software frameworks such as F´ (F Prime), Core Flight System (cFS), or custom flight stacks
• Familiarity with fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) concepts and redundancy management
• Strong understanding of software testing methodologies, including unit, integration, and system validation
• Experience with HIL and SIL simulation environments
• Knowledge of spacecraft communication standards and protocols such as CCSDS, DVB-S2, or similar

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting on-orbit operations or flight testing
• Knowledge of assembly language for low-level hardware access or performance-critical routines
• Experience working on CubeSat or small satellite missions
• Familiarity with space-grade software development standards and best practices