Senior Flight Software Test Engineer - HITL

Senior Flight Software Test Engineer - HITL

Long Beach, California, United States

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 2026.

It is part of our stepping‑stone approach to continuous human presence in LEO. Our team is all‑in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time.

We’re looking for a Senior Flight Software Test Engineer – HITL
, reporting to the Manager of Flight Software Test
, 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 office.

• Develop Software In the Loop (SITL) and Hardware In the Loop (HITL) test execution code to run software on vehicle hardware and in SITL test environments.
• Assist with architecting the automated test framework for Vast and lead the implementation of cross‑functional testing across the company.
• Assist with architecting and building HITL test fixtures for avionics and other electrical and electronics hardware.
• Work with subject matter experts to develop and interface with high‑fidelity physics simulators and various devices for hardware and software in the loop simulations.
• Collaborate with Ground Software teams to complete the test loop from GSW commanding to HITL and to stream telemetry off the vehicle test assets, as well as HITL and Avionics Test Stand telemetry to the long‑term data infrastructure pipeline.
• Partner with Responsible Engineers across the organization to capture requirements for HITL test cases and understand the vehicle system.
• Develop unit, integration, and regression tests, and establish continuous integration framework for flight and ground software.
• Act as a technical leader for the team, mentoring junior engineers on the Flight Software Test team and across the Flight Software Team as a whole.

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering or another engineering discipline, or 10+ years of relevant experience.
• 5+ years of experience coding in C++ or Python.

• 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 Git Hub.
• Able to work in a Linux environment.
• Understanding of Linux kernel software and drivers.
• Confidence with 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.

• Willingness to work evenings and/or weekends to support critical mission milestones.

Pay Range:
California

$155,000 - $190,000 USD

Base salary will vary based on 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 and 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, up to 10 days of vacation for non‑exempt staff, paid parental leave, short‑ and long‑term disability insurance, life insurance, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, One Medical membership, Class Pass credits, personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health, and other…