At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in May 2026. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us.
Vast is looking for a Principal Flight Software Test Engineer, reporting to the Senior Director of Avionics Software, to support the development of the automated testing systems that will be required for the design and build of artificial-gravity human-rated space stations. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.
Responsibilities:
- Develop new and optimize existing software codebases and systems which will be used to test flight software running on the Vast family of spacecraft
- Mentor junior software engineers to help build a strong and capable team
- Own the lifecycle of software, including rolling out to operations, managing configurations, maintaining and upgrading, and supporting end-users
- Configure and optimize automated testing and deployment systems
- Work closely with Systems Engineering and other engineering departments to build a strong understanding of the station
- This is a hands-on role where you will be writing and shipping code used in production
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering or other engineering discipline
- 15+ years of experience coding in C++ or Python
- Proven track record of leading the technical direction for the development of software test frameworks, Hardware-in-the-Loop test assets, or Avionics/Electronics testing for complex safety critical systems
- Excellent System Design skills
- Proficiency in PyTest
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Experience working in a continuous build and test environment
- Familiarity with Git, Cmake, and GNU tools
- Knowledge of CI/CD and issue tracking tools such as the Atlassian Suite (JIRA, Bitbucket, Confluence) and Github
- Able to work in a Linux environment
- Understanding of Linux kernel software and drivers
- Confident with use of command line based tools
- Experience with Embedded Systems
- Fault-tolerant and safety-critical software design
- Experience developing software for complex systems such as spacecraft, aircraft or autonomous vehicles
- Network programming experience
- Experience working with satellite communications or telemetry systems
- Familiarity with power supplies, electronic loads, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and digital multimeters
- Knowledge of and experience using Data Acquisition (DAQ) systems such as National Instruments.
Additional Requirements:
- Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones
- Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted
Salary Range: California
$214,100—$283,800 USD
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Base salary will vary depending on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand. Salary is just one component of our comprehensive compensation package. Full-time employees also receive company equity, as well as access to a full suite of compelling benefits and perks, including: 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 10 days of vacation for non-exempt staff, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, free catered meals and snacks and beverages, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, ClassPass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other discounts and perks.
U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS
The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. This status includes U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
Vast is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vast is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Top Skills
What We Do
Vast is developing artificial gravity space stations to expand humanity across the solar system.
Vast’s mission is to enable large populations of humans to live and work in space, permanently.
Our solar system has the resources and room for humanity to thrive and expand without destroying Earth’s biosphere. Unlocking these resources requires in-space infrastructure and industry at an unprecedented scale.
We are building a world-class team to engineer the human experience in space.
Why Work With Us
We're developing artificial gravity space stations to expand humanity across the solar system in order to enable large populations to live and work in space. Not only is what we're working on groundbreaking, but the team prides itself on living by our values of respect, curiosity, action, and excellence making it a lot more fun to achieve our goal.
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