About the job
At The Exploration Company, we are at the forefront of space innovation, designing, manufacturing, and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital vehicle set to revolutionize space travel. Our vision is to enable future refueling in orbit, allowing us to transport cargo and eventually, human passengers.
As the Lead Flight Software Engineer, you will take ownership of the complete flight software lifecycle, including simulation environments, essential supporting tools, and software testing setups necessary for the vehicle's operation, validation, and certification.
This dynamic leadership role requires hands-on involvement as you guide four teams comprising approximately 20 engineers. You will remain technically engaged, influencing architecture, making trade-offs, and driving critical design decisions. Your primary responsibility is to deliver reliable and certifiable software in a fast-paced, resource-conscious startup environment.
What You Will Do
You will define and refine the overall flight software architecture, ensuring its robustness, scalability, and alignment with mission and safety requirements. Your leadership will drive key architectural and system-level decisions while you review critical designs and code, ensuring that technical trade-offs are made intentionally and transparently.
You will build strong collaborations between flight software, avionics, GNC, systems engineering, and safety teams, proactively identifying and resolving integration risks. You will shape the verification and validation ecosystem, incorporating SIL, HIL, Monte Carlo campaigns, and automated testing pipelines, ensuring that simulation and testing are integral components of the program.
Aligning software development plans with program milestones and vehicle integration timelines will be part of your role. You will represent flight software during major program reviews and external technical discussions, including certification dialogues with NASA and other stakeholders, ensuring a professional interface with IV&V organizations.
In parallel, you will cultivate and lead a high-performing organization. Your role includes coaching team leads, developing senior engineers, establishing engineering standards, and fostering a culture of ownership and accountability. Setting clear expectations, making tough decisions, and prioritizing functional software over documentation will be key to your success, all while maintaining a focus on certification objectives.

