Senior Flight Software Engineer

About Varda

Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. 

From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind. 

Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital. 

Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has an office in Washington, D.C.  

Join Varda, and work to finally create a bustling in-space ecosystem.

About This Role

The Flight Software team is responsible for determining how our spacecraft behaves and operates in orbit, and building reliable software to ensure it happens. The team is responsible for all phases of development, starting from requirements capture through test, and flight operational support. 

Responsibilities

• Develop reliable flight software to determine how the spacecraft, satellite bus, and reentry capsule operate through the entire mission
• Own all aspects of software development, from design, testing, and integration

Requirements

• Teamwork, communication, and problem solving in a collaborative environment
• Scope projects including requirements capture and initial design trades given open-ended problems
• Write quality structured bare metal, RTOS, or Linux based software for embedded processors in C and C++
• Build highly reliable and available software systems
• Ensure system quality and performance through software test, verification, and validation (V&V) techniques

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent practical experience.
• At least 5 years of software development experience.
• Experience with one or more general-purpose programming languages, such as C, C++, Python.

Preferred Skills And Experience

• Experience developing and testing real-time embedded systems.
• Experience with safety-critical software, especially for aerospace applications.
• Strong understanding of computer architecture, operating systems, data structures, and computer networking.
• Solid working knowledge of math and physics.
• Ability to work independently and communicate effectively.

• Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.  Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. At present, some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than “U.S. Persons” as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our current policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license. 

  “US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)

   Learn more about the ITAR here.  

Benefits