ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly Aerospace Inc. is an American end-to-end space transportation company committed to providing economical and convenient access to space for small payloads through the design, manufacture, and operation of reliable launch and spacecraft vehicles.

We are achieving this by supporting a work culture that empowers employees to dream big as they enable new technology innovations with game-changing efficiencies in LEO, on the Moon, and beyond. We are looking for incredibly passionate, bright innovators to join our team as we deliver game changing commercial products to space.

SUMMARY

As a Senior Software Test Engineer, you will play a key role in ensuring the reliability and mission readiness of Firefly Aerospace’s launch vehicle and spacecraft software systems. You will lead verification and validation (V&V) efforts across all-digital and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments, driving the quality and certification of Flight and Ground Software that control our rockets, spacecraft, and launch facilities.

You will design, implement, and evolve the test architecture supporting formal qualification and certification testing, including safety-critical software verification required by U.S. Space Force and FAA standards. You will also serve as a technical mentor and reviewer, guiding peers through disciplined software validation processes and helping shape Firefly’s software quality culture.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own and evolve the end-to-end test architecture for Flight and Ground Software, ensuring scalability, traceability, and integration across multiple simulation and HIL environments.
• Design and automate complex test frameworks that execute formal qualification and certification tests with full traceability to requirements and safety-critical compliance standards.
• Lead test planning and strategy for major releases, coordinating with Flight Software, Ground Systems, Simulation, and Systems Engineering to define verification coverage and acceptance criteria.
• Develop automated pipelines for continuous integration, regression testing, and qualification test reporting.
• Act as a senior peer reviewer for software changes, test procedures, and verification results, providing guidance on safety, performance, and design implications.
• Mentor and coach junior test engineers in test design, scripting, and safety-critical test documentation.
• Collaborate with certification and compliance stakeholders to ensure alignment with standards such as DO-178C, NASA NPR 7150.2C, RCC 319-19, and AFSPCMAN 91-710 Vol. 3.
• Champion test best practices across Firefly Aerospace, helping evolve tools, methodologies, and metrics for continuous improvement.

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field; or equivalent hands-on experience in aerospace or embedded systems testing.
• 7+ years of full-time experience in software verification and validation for mission- or safety-critical systems.
• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and/or Python, including automation, scripting, and integration with test frameworks.
• Experience designing, running, and automating tests under Linux environments.
• Hands-on experience with hardware-in-the-loop simulation and software/hardware integration testing.
• Proficiency with Git version control and CI/CD pipelines.
• Working knowledge of Agile software development, test case management, and defect tracking systems (e.g., Jira).

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DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or Systems Engineering.
• Prior experience leading test campaigns for flight- or launch-critical software systems.
• Deep understanding of real-time operating systems (e.g., RHEL 8 RT, RTEMS, or QNX).
• Experience with NASA Trick Simulation Environment or equivalent aerospace simulation frameworks.
• Familiarity with software certification processes per DO-178C, NASA NPR 7150.2C, or AFSPCMAN 91-710.
• Experience with Atlassian tools (Confluence, Jira, Bitbucket) and the GitFlow branching model.
• Strong communication and leadership skills; able to present verification results and recommendations to multidisciplinary teams and leadership.

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.