Cowboy Space

Flight Software Engineer

$200K–$250K

Kent, Washington · On-site · Full-time · Posted Sep 15, 2026

Experience: 5+ years, or equivalent practical experience.
Education: Preferred: Bachelor's or advanced degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
Visa sponsorship: Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

About the job

Own and lead the architecture, development, testing, integration, and on-orbit operation of spacecraft payload flight software, primarily in Rust.

Design and test software for attitude and pointing state machines, command handling, and telemetry and data storage; establish team architecture and coding conventions.
Build fault-tolerant software and automated simulation and hardware-in-the-loop tests; collaborate on integration and investigate anomalies.
Lead and mentor engineers while supporting spacecraft integration, environmental testing, launch, and early-orbit operations.

5+ years developing flight software or software for other high-reliability, safety-critical systems, or equivalent practical experience.
Experience with software flown on orbit or equivalent deployment experience demonstrating judgment about flight-quality software.
Strong systems programming skills in Rust, C, or C++, and experience with real-time embedded systems, state machines or spacecraft software functions, and hardware/software integration on real hardware.
Demonstrated technical leadership in architecture, conventions, and mentoring.

Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
Production Rust experience, especially in embedded or systems contexts.

$200,000 – $250,000 annually (base salary)

Rust, C, C++

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