Senior Ground Software Engineer

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

As a Ground Software Engineer at Firefly Aerospace, you will design and build the mission-critical systems that operate our spacecraft and from the ground. This role requires full-stack expertise to deliver robust web applications, backend services, databases, and cloud infrastructure that power spacecraft commanding, telemetry, and real-time control.

You will develop ground systems that interface directly with our vehicles, supporting everything from pre-launch checkout to on-orbit operations. With strong skills in modern software technologies and a deep understanding of real-time control systems, you will create reliable, secure, and scalable software that ensures Firefly missions succeed from liftoff to lunar landing.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, implement, and maintain spacecraft ground software systems, spanning front-end, back-end, databases, and cloud services.
• Develop real-time control interfaces for commanding and telemetry visualization.
• Build and maintain React-based web applications for operator consoles and mission control tools.
• Develop backend services in Python and integrate with spacecraft APIs and communication protocols.
• Design, optimize, and maintain database solutions for mission telemetry and historical data.
• Deploy and manage containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes.
• Implement cloud infrastructure and scaling solutions in AWS for mission operations.
• Integrate CI/CD pipelines and DevOps best practices to accelerate development and deployment.
• Collaborate with flight software, GNC, and systems engineering teams to ensure seamless end-to-end vehicle integration.
• Contribute to operations software for rehearsals, test campaigns, and live mission execution.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• BS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience as a full-stack software engineer.
• Proficiency in modern JavaScript frameworks (React, Node.js) and Python.
• Strong experience with databases (SQL and/or NoSQL).
• Experience deploying applications with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Hands-on experience with AWS services (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, etc.).
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI, Jenkins, or similar).
• Familiarity with DevOps practices including monitoring, observability, and infrastructure as code.
• Experience developing and integrating real-time control systems.
• Strong knowledge of networking, APIs, and secure software design.

Desired:

• MS in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field.
• Experience with spacecraft or aerospace ground systems.
• Background in real-time data visualization and operator console development.
• Experience with mission simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, or flatsat test environments.
• Familiarity with aerospace communication standards (CCSDS, telemetry/command formats).
• Security certifications or experience with mission-critical cybersecurity.
• Active security clearance or eligibility to obtain one.