About the Role

Muon seeks a Systems Engineer (Software) to join our Mission Engineering team. At Muon, we are developing multiple missions to help understand and act on Earth and Climate Intelligence. In this role you will support multiple Muon missions, have a “big-picture” view of mission execution, spanning the full lifecycle of mission design - from initial formulation with the Business Development team, through execution with the space vehicle hardware and software teams, to on-orbit validation and mission performance monitoring with the Operations team.

While supporting all subsystems, this position has a special emphasis on software, ensuring our flight and ground software and data processing architectures are robust, well-defined, and seamlessly integrated into the complete mission design. You will be responsible for interacting with customers and cross-functional team leads to develop requirements and ICDs, work with other Systems Engineers to perform system modeling, develop test plans with AI&T teams, and identify and reduce risk across the program with Program Managers. 

Muon is a lean and agile team, so keys to success in this role are your ability to “right-size” analysis and processes for differing levels of system maturity and risk, your flexibility to work with changing demands and schedules, and your effective communication of technical content to a diverse audience.

Responsibilities

• Support the conceptualization, design and development of multi-mission spacecraft systems, providing technical expertise and driving cross-functional decision making and trades
• Tailor the Muon mission design process to specific mission/program needs, with a focus on understanding and meeting the development needs of flight software (FSW), ground software (GSW), data product, and data pipeline teams
• Translate mission and system-level requirements into clear, verifiable, and actionable requirements and capabilities for software teams, and identify opportunities for building platform capabilities that can be applied across multiple-missions.
• Collaborate with software teams to map capabilities against architectures to identify re-use vs technology deltas, generating high-level documentation such as system states/modes, operational concepts for software-driven functionality, and data flow diagrams.
• Drive clarity in the definition and documentation of key software interfaces, both internal and external facing (e.g. onboard processing ICDs, customer tasking APIs)
• Define mission CONOPS and manage subsystem budgets, including not just traditional power/mass/data, but also software resources (e.g. compute utilization, data bus loading)
• Support the development and execution of software V&V and end-to-end test plans, including the use of simulation and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test environments
• Identify and mitigate internal and external mission risks, communicating impacts effectively
• Assess and coordinate design changes across disciplines throughout the program lifecycle
• Plan and prepare for design, test readiness, and flight readiness reviews
• Monitor on-orbit spacecraft and ground systems to ensure mission success and that customer requirements are met
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of engineering processes, tools, and methodologies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in mission development and operations

Qualifications 

• B.S. or higher degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related engineering field plus 5 years of experience working in a multi-disciplinary environment with a demonstrated focus on software systems engineering for complex systems
• Familiarity with mission design principles, spacecraft systems, and remote sensing instruments/pipelines
• Experience managing requirements for a multi-disciplinary project
• Strong understanding of software architecture principles and the ability to translate system-level needs into software definition
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to collaborate with multiple engineering disciplines
• Proficiency in a high-level programming language (e.g., Python, Julia) for system modeling, simulation, and data analysis
• Excellent communication, presentation, and coordination skills
• Ability to rapidly change roles/responsibilities while working in a high-paced, rewarding work environment

Nice-to-have Skills

• Familiarity with embedded systems (Linux and RTOS frameworks)
• Familiarity with modern, IP connected embedded architectures such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, avionics or aerospace.
• Familiarity with common aerospace communication protocols and standards (e.g., CCSDS, SpaceWire, CAN bus)
• Knowledge of software quality practices, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and automated testing
• Experience with data pipelines, databases, and cloud computing infrastructure
• Remote sensing instrument experience across multiple modalities (e.g. optical, multispectral, RF), and their associated data pipelines

Salary

The salary range for this role is $130,000 - $194,000 and will depend on a candidate's skills, geographic location, qualifications, and experience as defined during the interview process.

About Muon Space

Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.

Taking Care of Our Team

At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, we provide equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too.  Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.