Lead, Mission Software Engineer

Description

The company is moving fast to build and deliver advanced defense systems, and it is assembling a strong team to turn new ideas into working capability.

This is an early-stage role with real ownership. Your work will shape the mission and the company's direction.

The company is looking for a Lead, Mission Software Engineer to define and build the software that ties its products into one integrated mission capability.

Mission software covers the whole product line, including weapons, launchers, command-and-control systems, sensors, mission planning tools, and external platforms. The engineers on this team build the software that lets operators and systems plan missions, share targeting and sensor data, command assets, prepare and employ weapons, and run a mission from start to finish.

As a lead, you will own major software capabilities and the technical architecture of this mission stack. You will work across product lines, define the interfaces between systems, and set the software patterns that let the products work together as one system.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will write, review, test, and commit production code, and you will also lead architecture, mentor engineers, and drive complex integrations from concept through flight test and fielding.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, development, integration, and deployment of mission software for weapons, launchers, C2 systems, sensors, and mission planning.
• Take major software capabilities from early requirements and architecture through implementation, integration, testing, and operational deployment.
• Build command-and-control software that connects operators, sensors, weapons, launchers, tactical networks, and external platforms.
• Define software architectures, APIs, data models, and interfaces so the company's products work together as one mission system.
• Build software interfaces between the company's products and aircraft, launchers, mission computers, fire-control systems, sensors, and government C2 systems.
• Implement communications across interfaces and protocols including Ethernet, TCP/UDP, CAN, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760, and other tactical interfaces.
• Turn operational concepts, system requirements, and ICDs into scalable architectures and production code.
• Build tools, simulators, and test infrastructure for software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and system-level testing.
• Lead debugging and root-cause analysis for complex problems that span application software, embedded systems, networks, avionics, sensors, and hardware.
• Write and review production code using modern Git workflows, automated testing, and continuous integration.
• Set strong engineering practices for code quality, testability, interfaces, and system architecture.
• Mentor software engineers and give technical guidance across mission software work.
• Work closely with flight software, avionics, guidance and navigation, vehicle engineering, test, and integration teams.
• Work directly with government customers, platform partners, operators, and external engineering teams during integration and fielding.
• Support integration and test work from lab testing through ground and flight test.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong software development experience in C++, Rust, Python, Go, C, or a similar language.
• Proven record of owning and delivering complex software systems or major software capabilities.
• Experience designing software architectures and interfaces for distributed or integrated systems.
• Experience leading development in a production codebase using Git, code review, automated testing, and CI/CD.
• Strong grasp of software architecture, APIs, networking, data serialization, concurrency, and distributed systems.
• Experience building software that interfaces with hardware, embedded systems, or external services.
• Experience debugging complex integrated systems across software and hardware boundaries.
• Ability to lead ambiguous technical efforts from initial definition through implementation and test.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work with software, hardware, systems, operations, and customer teams.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
• Preferred: experience developing mission planning, C2, fire control, targeting, autonomy, sensor integration, or weapon-system software.
• Preferred: experience leading software for weapons, launchers, aircraft avionics, autonomous systems, spacecraft, robotics, or other mission-critical systems.
• Preferred: experience with MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760, UAI, CAN, Ethernet, TCP/UDP, protobuf, tactical data links, or military mission systems.
• Preferred: experience with geospatial software, coordinate systems, targeting, route planning, trajectory generation, or mission-data processing.
• Preferred: experience architecting systems that integrate sensors, shooters, operators, and command-and-control systems.
• Preferred: experience with embedded or real-time software.
• Preferred: experience building Linux-based applications and services.
• Preferred: experience with SIL, HIL, vehicle-in-the-loop, or flight-test environments.
• Preferred: experience leading complex system-level integration and test campaigns.
• Preferred: experience mentoring and technically leading software engineering teams.
• Preferred: an active Secret or Top Secret clearance.

Conditions

Work spans the full mission stack, from sensing and targeting through mission planning, C2, launch, and weapon employment.

You will own critical software, set technical direction, and see those systems through integrated system test, flight test, and operational fielding.

You will help grow the Mission Software team by raising the technical bar and mentoring engineers.

The role may require access to classified information or restricted U.S. Government sites, systems, or information, as the company or U.S. Government requirements determine. If so, your employment may depend on obtaining and keeping the required clearance or authorization and meeting any citizenship or eligibility rules that apply. You will be told if and when these apply.

The role requires access to export-controlled information. Employment, or hiring of a contractor, depends on your ability to access that information without an additional export license from the Bureau of Industry and Security or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

Duties may change at any time, with or without notice. This description does not list every task the job may include.

The company is an equal opportunity employer.

Benefits

• The company offers a generous benefits package. Details are at the bottom of its Careers page.