Flight Software Engineer I – Electron

About the role

Rocket Lab is seeking a Flight Software Engineer I to develop, maintain, and support flight software for the Electron launch vehicle and its associated ground‑based communication systems. You will work within a multidisciplinary engineering team that designs and builds rockets, spacecraft, and payloads for a wide range of missions.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and support flight software for the Electron launch vehicle and ground communication systems.
• Design and implement embedded software for launch‑vehicle and spacecraft avionics computers.
• Create and execute unit tests in response to bug‑fixes and feature requests.
• Develop and maintain documentation for software operation and deployment.
• Participate in and approve code reviews, ensuring adherence to coding standards and best practices.
• Facilitate and contribute to software architecture meetings and approve architecture designs.
• Refine and prioritize product backlog items, defining clear “ready” and “done” criteria.
• Lead and participate in scrum activities, including stand‑ups, retrospectives, and sprint planning.
• Manage and report scrum metrics such as velocity and sprint retrospectives.
• Conduct trade studies and approve software requirements.

Required profile

• Demonstrated ability to develop, maintain, and support flight software for launch vehicles.
• Experience designing embedded software for avionics computers.
• Proficiency in creating and executing unit tests.
• Strong documentation skills for software operation and deployment.
• Experience with code review processes and adherence to coding standards.
• Ability to contribute to software architecture discussions and decisions.
• Familiarity with agile scrum practices and backlog management.

Required skills