Staff Software Engineer, Flight Software

At Relativity Space, we have two audacious goals: to build the next great commercial launch company with Terran R and to become America's leading force in additive manufacturing innovation. Both contribute to our long-term vision of creating humanity’s industrial base on Mars, paving the way for interplanetary life to expand the possibilities of the human experience. This journey begins right here on Earth – where we design, build, and fly rockets to deliver customer payloads to orbit. Terran R, our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, fulfills the growing demand for launch capacity, thanks to our iterative approach that accelerates design, testing, and development while minimizing costs. Our groundbreaking research and development in 3D printing pushes the boundaries of large-scale additive manufacturing.Your journey with us is more than just a job – it’s an opportunity to shape the future of aerospace technology, additive manufacturing, and the human experience alongside a community of passionate, creative individuals. Join us on this extraordinary journey, as we work together to transform our vision into reality.About the Team:The Flight Software team is responsible for developing real-time and mission-critical software to support the Terran R program, including engine testing, stage testing, static fire, and launch operations. The team manages the full software lifecycle, collaborating with GNC, Propulsion, and Avionics teams to define requirements, develop software, perform unit testing, develop CI/CD pipelines, and test against various platforms with physics simulations. This team ensures the delivery of reliable and robust software that directly controls the Terran R rockets to reach orbit and perform Entry, Descent, and Landing.About the Role:As a Staff Flight Software Engineer, you will be a technical leader with a high level of autonomy, tackling core flight software products that impact the Terran R program. You will set standards and best practices for the team and mentor junior engineers.Architect and deliver core flight software focusing on system and performance requirements such as latency, jitter, and control frequency.Collaborate closely with GNC engineers to integrate complex algorithms for vehicle ascent, re-entry, descent, and landing.Work with Embedded Software Engineers and Avionics to integrate sensor data (GPS, IMU, Radar) and control vehicle equipment (valves, thrust vector controls, landing fins).Develop telemetry systems that prioritize, filter, store, encode/decode, and route data through ground stations and data centers.Support development and integration of testing infrastructure like HITL, HOOTL, physics, and fluid simulations.Maximize team velocity by defining processes, adopting modern tools, and mentoring engineers.About You:Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical, Computer, Aerospace Engineering, or related field with 7+ years of experience.Extensive experience in delivering production-level, real-time embedded software.Expertise in Rust, C++, or other system languages.Strong knowledge of algorithms, data structures, and OS concepts.Experience with software development processes including source control, bug tracking, and CI/CD.Nice to Haves:Experience developing fault-tolerant systems and knowledge of voting and state synchronization.Experience with systems-level programming, networking protocols, and safety standards certification.At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be based on experience and qualifications. We offer competitive salary and equity, generous PTO and parental leave, an annual learning stipend, and more. For details, visit here.Hiring Range: $194,000 — $249,000 USDWe are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability. #J-18808-Ljbffr