Satellite Flight Software Engineer (Embedded Systems/SETA)

Work Location: Chantilly, Virginia or Seal Beach, California (on-site at either location)

Travel: Occasional travel to program integration and test locations

Clearance: Active TS/SCI with a current Polygraph Required

U.S. Citizen required

Position Overview

OMNI Consulting Solutions is seeking a Satellite Flight Software Engineer to provide Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) support to a Government team delivering advanced national security space capabilities. The engineer will provide independent technical assessment and engineering support across the architecture, development, integration, verification, qualification, deployment, and operation of onboard spacecraft flight software and embedded systems.

This position requires hands-on embedded and flight-software expertise. It is not an enterprise IT, cloud, web-development, satellite-operations-only, ground-software-only, or general systems-engineering position. The selected candidate must possess the technical depth to evaluate contractor source code, FPGA logic, device drivers, hardware/software interfaces, test environments, anomalies, and mission risks.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide independent SETA support to Government stakeholders overseeing spacecraft flight-software and embedded-system development, integration, qualification, and operations.

• Assess flight-software architectures, source code, FPGA implementations, device drivers, board-support packages, hardware abstraction layers, and hardware/software interfaces.

• Review software requirements, designs, interface-control documents, code-review findings, FPGA artifacts, build and release products, test plans, procedures, results, discrepancy reports, and verification evidence.

• Evaluate command and telemetry processing, mode and state management, timekeeping, data handling, autonomy, redundancy management, fault detection and recovery, and spacecraft safe-mode behavior.

• Assess spacecraft processors, microcontrollers, FPGAs, memory, sensors, actuators, payload electronics, communication buses, and radiation-mitigation approaches.

• Support HIL and other integrated test activities, technical reviews, test-readiness reviews, qualification and acceptance testing, and operational-readiness assessments.

• Investigate integration failures, flight-software defects, spacecraft anomalies, and mission events; assess root cause, corrective actions, regression testing, and closure evidence.

• Monitor contractor execution, interfaces, dependencies, technical performance, schedules, and risks; identify issues early and recommend practical mitigation actions.

• Prepare concise engineering assessments, risk evaluations, briefings, and decision-support products for Government program and mission leadership.

Core Technical Requirements - Required

Candidates must demonstrate experience with the following:

• Real-time and bare-metal systems: Real-time operating systems (RTOS), embedded Linux, and bare-metal programming for spacecraft processors and microcontrollers. Relevant RTOS platforms may include VxWorks, RTEMS, FreeRTOS, or comparable environments.

• Microcontrollers and FPGAs: Integration of flight software with microcontrollers, processors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), memory, sensors, actuators, payload electronics, and other spacecraft hardware.

• Device drivers and low-level interfaces: Development, integration, review, or troubleshooting of device drivers, board-support packages, interrupt handling, memory-mapped input/output, timing functions, and hardware abstraction layers.

• Hardware-in-the-loop testing: Planning, execution, or evaluation of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), processor-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, testbed, and flat-sat testing and spacecraft hardware/software integration.

• Fault-tolerant systems: Fault detection, isolation, and recovery; redundancy management; watchdogs; safe modes; graceful degradation; error detection and correction; autonomy; and recovery from hardware or software faults.

• Radiation-tolerant design: Understanding of radiation effects on spacecraft electronics and software, including single-event effects, total ionizing dose considerations, memory protection, error detection and correction, memory scrubbing, fault containment, redundancy, and software-based mitigation strategies.

Required Languages and Engineering Tools

• Hands-on proficiency with both C and C++ for embedded or real-time systems.

• Experience using or evaluating Rust for embedded, real-time, safety-critical, or mission-critical applications.

• Working capability with VHDL or Verilog sufficient to develop, integrate, review, or assess FPGA logic and hardware/software interfaces.

• Proficiency with Python for scripting, automation, test execution, data reduction, or engineering analysis.

• Hands-on experience with JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, or comparable laboratory debugging and diagnostic equipment.

Required Space Standards and Protocols

• Familiarity with SpaceWire architectures, interfaces, and data communications.

• Familiarity with MIL-STD-1553 avionics data buses and command/response communications.

• Experience with Controller Area Network (CAN bus) interfaces and embedded communications.

• Knowledge of Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) telemetry and telecommand standards, packet structures, and spacecraft command-and-data-handling interfaces.

• Familiarity with applicable NASA or comparable flight-quality, software-assurance, workmanship, and safety standards, including NASA-STD-8739.8, Software Assurance and Software Safety Standard, and, when hardware interconnections are within scope, NASA-STD-8739.4, Workmanship Standard for Crimping, Interconnecting Cables, Harnesses, and Wiring.

Additional Required Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance with a current polygraph at the time of application.

• U.S. citizenship.

• Bachelor's degree and at least 9 years of relevant experience, or a master's degree and at least 7 years of relevant experience.

• Degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related STEM discipline.

• At least 4 years of direct experience designing, developing, integrating, verifying, testing, or technically assessing onboard spacecraft flight software or embedded software for satellite bus or payload systems.

• Strong understanding of flight-software architecture, requirements, interfaces, configuration management, build and release management, integration, verification, validation, and qualification testing.

• Ability to diagnose issues across processor, FPGA, firmware, device-driver, bus, subsystem, and payload boundaries and communicate defensible recommendations to technical and non-technical leaders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with NASA core Flight System/core Flight Executive (cFS/cFE) or comparable spacecraft flight-software frameworks.

• Experience supporting Intelligence Community, U.S. Space Force, Department of Defense, NASA, or other national security space programs.

• Experience supporting a Government program office or serving in a SETA role.

• Experience supporting launch, early-orbit, on-orbit operations, anomaly response, or mission-event investigations.

• Familiarity with model-based systems engineering, secure software development, software assurance, and DevSecOps practices for classified or mission-critical systems.

Work Environment

• Full-time, on-site work in either Chantilly, Virginia or Seal Beach, California.

• Occasional travel to integration, test, or mission-support locations may be required.

• Collaboration with Government, contractor, hardware, firmware, software, integration-and-test, cybersecurity, and operations teams across the spacecraft lifecycle

Why Join OMNI?
OMNI Consulting Solutions is a boutique consulting firm specializing in creating game-changing value and simple solutions for complex demands. OMNI is built on the idea that change moves the world forward, and through creative and entrepreneurial leadership OMNI maintains a bold reputation within the DoD/Aerospace community and across the various other industries we support.

As an OMNI employee, you can be assured of extensive growth opportunities, inordinately competitive salary compensation packages, and the unparalleled support of the OMNI family. We are an equal-opportunity employer, and our benefits packages are designed to meet the needs of all our employees and dependents:

• Medical Coverage

• Dental Benefits

• Vision Benefits

• Life Insurance

• 401(k) Retirement Plan with Employer Matching

• Fully Vested on Day 1 of Employment

• Paid Time Off & Sick Leave

• Company Sponsored Social Events

IS IT A MATCH?

If you are interested in this position or other opportunities at OMNI, please let us know! We only need your resume and some basic details to get things started.

Even if you aren't a match, we may still be interested! We will keep your resume on-file and will let you know if something matching your skills comes along.

Job Code (6.26.3)