Lead Flight Software Engineer
NewOrbit Space · Reading
Company
NewOrbit builds satellites that fly in very low Earth orbit, below 300 km, along with the electric propulsion that keeps them there.
Flying closer to Earth means sharper imagery from smaller optics, and an orbit that cleans itself: our satellites de-orbit within a month at end of life, leaving no debris.
Our AURA family of RF gridded ion thrusters powers our own NEO-1 satellite, with first flight planned for Q3 2028, and is also offered to other operators.
Electric propulsion is what lets our satellites hold very low orbits, and our AURA RF gridded ion thruster is at the centre of it.
Role
You’ll lead the team that owns the software that makes the spacecraft behave: real-time control flows, autonomy, mode management, FDIR, and the core flight applications that coordinate every subsystem.
You’ll design and implement robust flight-software services on RTOS or Embedded Linux - turning mission requirements into deterministic, testable software - then take it from simulation all the way to launch and on-orbit operations.
You’ll ensure our VLEO satellites stay safe and productive with strong fault tolerance, clean observability, and rapid iteration through over-the-air updates.
Key Responsibilities
Lead the flight software engineering team – recruit, coach, and direct the work of a team of software engineers to deliver the flight software elements of a novel spacecraft to operate in VLEO.
Own the on-board flight-software stack – design, implement and test real-time C/C++ on RTOS or Embedded Linux
Integrate subsystems end-to-end – define ICDs and build drivers/middleware over I2C/SPI/UART/CAN(-FD)/SpaceWire (as applicable).
Build spacecraft behaviors & autonomy – implement mode management, sequencing, and autonomous FDIR for safe and productive operations.
Deliver reliable real-time performance – manage concurrency, timing, CPU/memory budgets, and observability under tight constraints.
Build verification infrastructure – prototypes, SIL/HIL test harnesses, simulations, and telemetry analysis tooling to validate designs early.
Ship code from review to orbit – push through CI/CD, support integration and launch ops, and deliver secure over-the-air updates.
Work across disciplines – collaborate with avionics, AOCS, comms and mission teams to trade compute, power, thermal, storage and link budgets.
Key Requirements
5+ years’ experience in development of flight software for spacecraft, including experience in leading engineers with flight software deliverables.
Proven experience in building production embedded or real-time systems in C/C++ and/or Rust on RTOS or Embedded Linux for space systems.
Strong grasp of real-time software: scheduling, interrupts, concurrency primitives, determinism, and designing for constrained CPU/memory.
Proven ability to build reliable, testable systems: unit/integration testing, simulation-first development, HIL validation, and disciplined debugging.
Hands-on experience integrating with hardware via common interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN(-FD), GPIO, etc.) and practical lab debugging.
Solid software engineering fundamentals: architecture, code review, static analysis, CI/CD, configuration management, and observability/logging.
Ability to own systems end-to-end: from requirements and design through implementation, verification, operations support, and iterative improvement.
Nice-to-haves
Experience with spacecraft flight software frameworks, (e.g., cFS, F´, or building lightweight component-based equivalents).
Familiarity with autonomy and fault management patterns for radiation/SEUs, watchdog strategies, redundancy, and safe-mode design.
GNC/AOCS-adjacent experience: sensor/actuator pipelines, control-loop integration, estimation/filters, timing analysis.
Digital-twin / simulator / SIL-HIL experience for end-to-end behavior validation and regression testing.
On-orbit operations know-how: commissioning flows, anomaly response, telemetry triage, and OTA update strategies.
Why NewOrbit Space?
Pioneering space technology - Your work on our RF gridded ion thrusters and VLEO satellite platform will redefine satellite operations and challenge traditional LEO.
Ownership and impact - You'll have a level of ownership that's rare in the space industry, and you'll take part in the full lifecycle of satellite technology.
Equity and competitive salary - Alongside a competitive salary you receive a company ownership stake, so you share in the technology you help build and in our collective success.
Comprehensive benefits - Private health insurance with dental and optical cover, and annual health check-ups.
Hybrid working - One dedicated remote day per week.
Visa sponsorship and relocation support - We sponsor visas and provide relocation support for candidates moving to join us.
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