Principal Software Engineer (TeraWave RF and Optical Systems)

Location: Onsite in the Greater Seattle Area, Bay Area, or San Diego, California; temporary remote work may be approved while the local site is developed. Relocation assistance is available. Travel may be required up to 10% of the time. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals, U.S. permanent residents, or lawfully admitted refugees or asylees.

Salary: $230,773–$323,081.85 annually for California and Washington applicants; ranges may differ by site.

Company

An aerospace company developing reusable space vehicles and next-generation space-based communications systems for global connectivity.

What you will do

• Own software architecture and design for system areas, conduct trade studies, build prototypes, and represent architectural decisions in cross-team discussions.
• Lead the design and implementation of multi-threaded embedded software in C++ for Linux, RTOS, and bare-metal environments running on multi-core SoCs.
• Collaborate with hardware, silicon, and systems engineering teams to lead integration campaigns, troubleshoot issues, and deliver system features.
• Define scaling, fault-tolerance, recovery, performance KPI, and resource-optimization strategies.
• Establish embedded software development, testing, troubleshooting, CI/CD, TDD, and automation practices.
• Mentor senior software engineers and provide technical leadership across delivery and architecture efforts.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of embedded software development experience using C/C++ on Linux, RTOS, or bare-metal platforms.
• Strong C++ object-oriented design and implementation skills.
• Hands-on embedded debugging experience with tools such as JTAG, SWD, CoreSight, Lauterbach/Trace32, J-Link, or J-Trace.
• Experience with Linux networking, inter-core communications, high-speed data-plane interfaces, DMA/RDMA, or RoCE.
• Experience leading software teams and mentoring senior engineers; excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice to have

• 10+ years of embedded software development experience for mission-critical systems, plus a master’s degree or PhD.
• Experience with satellite communications, space-based networks, cellular wireless, or terrestrial telecommunications.
• Experience with software-defined radios, RF and optical transceivers, antenna control, or proprietary and merchant silicon drivers.
• Knowledge of formal verification and radiation-hardened computing environments.

Culture & Benefits

• Safety-focused, collaborative, inclusive environment centered on solving complex aerospace challenges.
• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability coverage.
• 401(k) with company match of up to 5% and an Education Support Program.
• Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours per week.
• Up to four weeks of paid time off and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Paid parental leave and potential role-dependent bonuses.