Senior Spacecraft Ground Systems Software Engineer

Responsibilities

• Own Ground Segment Services by developing high-reliability services for telemetry ingestion, scaling, distribution, and commanding.
• Deliver operator-grade mission control interfaces and dashboards to optimize operations and reduce cognitive load.
• Build simulation and test automation tools, including flight-software simulations and device emulators.
• Design and productionize the mission platform, including CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and hardware-in-the-loop frameworks.
• Create robust deployment patterns and rollout strategies for lab benches, test stands, and mission networks.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Math, Physics, Engineering, or equivalent technical experience in safety-critical software.
• 5+ years of experience in the development of spacecraft or similar safety-critical software.
• Expertise in Python and a strong understanding of core language concepts.
• Strong systems fundamentals including concurrency, networking, performance, and reliability.
• Experience building real-time data acquisition, scaling, and distribution services.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD, dependency/build systems, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with end-to-end observability (logging, metrics, tracing).

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in C++, Ansible, and/or NiceGUI.
• Experience with DAQ and closed-loop control in lab or test environments.
• Prior work on CI/testing/simulation tools integrated with flight software teams.
• Knowledge of ground systems standards and security in mission networks.
• Experience building mission-grade UIs with structured command workflows and alarming.

Benefits

• Salary range: $169,000 - $217,000 annually.
• Equity in a fully funded space startup.
• 401(k) matching.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Health insurance, including Vision and Dental.
• On-site lunch and snacks, with dinners provided twice a week.
• Maternity / Paternity leave.

About the Company

Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind by creating the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth.