Mission Software Engineer II

Overview In this role you will own Varda’s ground segment software that enables spacecraft operations. You will work across telemetry, commanding, data distribution, and mission control interfaces to support reliable space operations. You’ll build and maintain real-time, observable services, develop operator-facing UIs, and create simulation and test tooling to accelerate safe, iterative flight software development. This is a hands-on position that combines flight software with ground systems in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment. You’ll contribute to scalable, self-service tooling and robust deployment across lab, test, and mission networks to advance Varda’s orbital infrastructure mission. Compensation / Benefits Health & Wellness: medical, dental, vision insurance for employees and dependents Flexible PTO + 12 paid holidays 100% company-paid insurance + FSA/HSA options Equity incentives; 401(k) with 6% employer match Relocation support Gym/fitness stipend + wellness reimbursements Responsibilities Develop and maintain high-reliability ground segment services for telemetry ingestion, distribution, and commanding Deliver operator-grade mission control interfaces and dashboards to optimize operations Build simulation and test automation tools for flight software, device emulation, and automated scenarios Design and productionize the mission platform with CI/CD, artifact management, infrastructure-as-code, and observability tooling Create robust deployment patterns for lab benches, test stands, and mission networks with safe rollout/rollback and air-gapped deployment options Key requirements Bachelor's degree in computer science, math, physics, engineering or equivalent 3+ years of experience in development of spacecraft or safety-critical software Proficiency in Python and solid systems fundamentals (concurrency, networking, performance, reliability)Experience building real-time data acquisition, scaling, and distribution services with low-latency messaging and time-series stores Hands-on experience with CI/CD, dependency/build systems, and infrastructure-as-code End-to-end observability (logging, metrics, tracing)Experience with Docker/Kubernetes and release management for controlled networksoperationally-focused decision-makingclear communication for cross-functional teamsability to design user-centric UIs and dashboardsC++ (preferred)Ansible NiceGUI