ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Embedded Flight Software Engineer Jobs in San Jose, CA

Astranis

Flight Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Flight Software Engineer As our Flight Software Engineer, you will support the the development ... Experience with building bare-metal embedded system software * Experience with reading schematics ...

Astro Mechanica

Flight Software Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$90K - $160K/yr

Astro Mechanica is seeking a Flight Software Engineer to join our growing team. The ideal candidate ... Support integration of software with embedded hardware and real-time systems * Write clean ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

All JobsEmbedded Flight Software Engineer JobsEmbedded Flight Software Engineer Jobs in San Jose, CA

Embedded Flight Software Engineer information

See San Jose, CA salary details

$82K

$179.8K

$203.9K

How much do embedded flight software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 22, 2026, the average yearly pay for embedded flight software engineer in San Jose, CA is $179,764.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $154,100.00 and $202,800.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is an embedded flight software engineer?

Embedded Flight Software Engineers design, develop, test, and maintain software that runs on embedded computer systems within aircraft, spacecraft, or satellites. They work closely with hardware engineers to ensure that the software interfaces correctly with sensors, actuators, and control systems used for flight operations. Their responsibilities often include programming in languages like C or C++, debugging real-time systems, and ensuring compliance with safety and reliability standards. This role is critical in ensuring the safe and efficient operation of aerospace vehicles.

What are some common challenges embedded flight software engineers face when working on spacecraft projects?

Embedded Flight Software Engineers often work under strict reliability and safety requirements, which means testing and validation are critical and highly rigorous. They frequently collaborate with hardware engineers to ensure software and hardware integration is seamless, and must manage constraints such as limited processing power and memory. Additionally, they need to adapt to changing project requirements and tight deadlines, all while staying up-to-date with evolving aerospace standards and technologies. These challenges make strong problem-solving skills and effective communication essential in this role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as an embedded flight software engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as an Embedded Flight Software Engineer, you need a strong background in computer science or engineering, proficiency in C/C++ programming, and experience with real-time operating systems (RTOS) and embedded systems. Familiarity with aerospace standards, software development tools (such as Git, Jenkins), and certifications like DO-178C for software safety are typically required. Exceptional problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective teamwork are valuable soft skills in this role. These competencies ensure reliable, safe, and efficient software for mission-critical aerospace applications.

What is the difference between Embedded Flight Software Engineer vs Embedded Systems Engineer?

AspectEmbedded Flight Software EngineerEmbedded Systems Engineer
CredentialsBachelor's or higher in Electrical, Computer Engineering, or related; experience with aerospace standardsBachelor's or higher in Electrical, Computer Engineering, or related; similar certifications often preferred
Work EnvironmentSpacecraft, satellites, aerospace industry, safety-critical systemsConsumer electronics, automotive, industrial devices, various industries
Industry UsagePrimarily in aerospace and defense sectorsBroad industry application including automotive, medical, consumer electronics
Search & Comparison IntentOften compared due to specialized embedded software in aerospaceMore general embedded systems roles in various sectors

Embedded Flight Software Engineers focus on developing software for aerospace applications like satellites and spacecraft, requiring specialized knowledge of aerospace standards. In contrast, Embedded Systems Engineers work across multiple industries, designing software for everyday devices. While both roles involve embedded programming, the industry focus and application environments differ significantly.

What are popular job titles related to Embedded Flight Software Engineer jobs in San Jose, CA?

For Embedded Flight Software Engineer jobs in San Jose, CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Embedded Flight Software Engineer jobs in San Jose, CA look for?

The top searched job categories for Embedded Flight Software Engineer jobs in San Jose, CA are:

What cities near San Jose, CA are hiring for Embedded Flight Software Engineer jobs?

Cities near San Jose, CA with the most Embedded Flight Software Engineer job openings:

Embedded Flight Software Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Embedded Flight Software Engineer job openings in San Jose, CA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $179,764 per year, or $86.4 per hour.

Navigation Engineer (Embedded Software)

Logos Space

Mountain View, CA • On-site

$190K - $280K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 9 days ago

Job description

Navigation Engineer (Embedded Software)
About Logos Space
Logos Space is building a proliferated Low Earth Orbit (pLEO) constellation to deliver resilient, high-performance connectivity to enterprise and government users worldwide. As part of that effort, the Navigation team is designing and building the software and infrastructure for spacecraft timing, astrodynamics, maneuver planning, orbit determination, and related navigation workflows used across flight and ground systems.
Position Summary
The Navigation team at Logos Space is building the onboard software that enables spacecraft navigation capabilities to operate reliably in flight. This role focuses on the design, implementation, integration, and validation of embedded flight software for the spacecraft navigation system, including sensor interfaces, onboard data handling, real-time execution, fault detection and recovery, and interfaces to adjacent spacecraft subsystems.
In this role, you will help build the navigation flight software stack from the ground up, spanning low-level device integration, flight application logic, autonomy, telemetry, command handling, and system-level validation. The work will span embedded C/C++ development, hardware-software integration, real-time data management, flight fault handling, and coordination with astrodynamics, estimation, GNSS, timing, avionics, mission operations, and ground software teams.
Depending on level, you will contribute to or independently own well-scoped portions of the onboard navigation software stack, such as device drivers, sensor data acquisition, real-time message handling, estimator integration, flight mode logic, telemetry and command interfaces, fault detection and recovery, deterministic replay, or hardware-in-the-loop validation infrastructure.
We are looking for engineers who can work well in a fast-paced environment, turn incomplete requirements into practical flight software, and take ownership of software that must operate reliably on orbit.
Responsibilities
  • Develop and maintain embedded flight software for onboard navigation capabilities in modern C/C++.
  • Design and implement low-level software interfaces for navigation-related sensors, timing sources, processors, avionics, and spacecraft data buses.
  • Develop device drivers, board support interfaces, and hardware abstraction layers for flight and test environments.
  • Implement real-time onboard data acquisition, validation, buffering, timestamping, routing, and persistence for navigation-relevant telemetry and measurements.
  • Integrate onboard estimation, propagation, timing, and sensor-processing components into a reliable flight software application.
  • Design, implement, and validate flight software interfaces to command and telemetry systems, vehicle state management, fault management, guidance and control, mission operations, and ground software.
  • Implement FDIR logic for navigation-related sensors, software tasks, data flows, timing behavior, estimator health, and off-nominal spacecraft conditions.
  • Build autonomous recovery behavior for degraded navigation modes, sensor dropouts, invalid data, processor resets, timing discontinuities, and interface failures.
  • Develop deterministic, resource-conscious software for embedded Linux, RTOS, PREEMPT_RT, or bare-metal flight environments.
  • Optimize onboard software for reliability, bounded latency, memory usage, deterministic execution, and graceful degradation under flight constraints.
  • Define and implement software data models, message schemas, configuration handling, telemetry products, command interfaces, and onboard data management workflows.
  • Support hardware-software integration across common spacecraft interfaces.
  • Build simulation, software-in-the-loop, processor-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and deterministic replay infrastructure to validate onboard navigation behavior before flight.
  • Develop unit tests, integration tests, regression tests, fault-injection tests, interface tests, and automated validation pipelines for flight software releases.
  • Work closely with astrodynamics, state estimation, GNSS, timing, avionics, flight software, ground software, and mission operations teams to define clean interfaces and integrated workflows.
  • Support board bring-up, sensor integration, spacecraft integration and test, environmental test, commissioning, flight-data investigations, and anomaly response as needed.
Basic Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related STEM field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 5+ years of relevant professional experience developing embedded software, flight software, avionics software, robotics software, spacecraft software, or other high-reliability real-time software. Strong project or graduate research experience may substitute for some professional experience.
  • Proficiency in modern C++ for embedded or resource-constrained software development.
  • Experience developing software for embedded systems.
  • Working knowledge of hardware-software interfaces.
  • Working knowledge of software integration with sensors, avionics, timing sources, or spacecraft subsystems.
  • Experience building automated tests, simulation tools, hardware-in-the-loop tests, or other validation infrastructure for embedded systems.
  • Experience with Linux-based development environments, Git, CMake or similar build systems, and automated testing workflows.
  • Working knowledge related to debugging numerical or floating-point issues.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications
  • 8+ years of relevant experience and the ability to independently own technical workstreams.
  • Experience developing flight software for spacecraft, launch vehicles, aircraft, autonomous systems, robotics, or other mission-critical embedded platforms.
  • Experience with spacecraft avionics, flight processors, board bring-up, sensor integration, or flight hardware integration and test.
  • Experience implementing FDIR, redundancy management, degraded-mode operation, watchdog handling, or autonomous recovery logic.
  • Experience with navigation-related flight software, GNSS receivers, timing systems, etc.
  • Experience designing telemetry and command interfaces, onboard data products, configuration systems, and operational software workflows.
  • Experience with deterministic replay, fault injection, Monte Carlo testing, software-in-the-loop, processor-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, or mission operations support.
  • Experience with high-reliability software practices, requirements traceability, code reviews, static analysis, CI/CD, and release processes for flight or safety-critical systems.
  • Familiarity with CCSDS, spacecraft command and telemetry systems, flight data handling, or ground-to-flight software interfaces.
  • Ability and willingness to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance

Even if you don't meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We value strong fundamentals, sound judgment, and growth potential, and we know great candidates do not always match every item on a job description.
Additional Information
Logos Space is an equal opportunity employer and values creativity, curiosity, and diverse perspectives. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Employment offers are contingent on the candidate's ability to access export-controlled information in accordance with U.S. law.

Apply