Fligth Software Engineer (M/F)

Astroscale France is looking for a Flight Software Engineer (M/F)

This role with significant technical ownership will focus on the design, development and validation of safety-critical Flight Software enabling autonomous rendezvous, proximity operations (RPO), and robotic servicing missions, including debris removal and life extension. 

You’ll join a team developing cutting-edge autonomous spacecraft performing complex in-orbit operations that have not yet been achieved at commercial scale. 

️Responsibilities :  

    Flight Software 

• Design, develop and validate onboard Flight Software for Astroscale spacecraft, ensuring deterministic real-time execution under constrained onboard resources. 

• Define and maintain software interfaces (ICDs) with spacecraft subsystems. 

• Integrate GNC and Computer Vision algorithms into real-time onboard software, ensuring deterministic execution and system-level consistency. 

• Contribute to and influence the onboard software architecture and hardware-software partitioning. 

• Implement robust fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) mechanisms. 

• Develop and execute Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test campaigns in support of mission validation. 

     Wider responsibilities 

• Liaise with GNC and Computer Vision teams to integrate their work on the Flight Software. 

• Support coordination of Flight Software activities across subsystem teams to ensure coherent system integration. 

• Attend and support reviews with potential partners or clients. 

• Support knowledge transfer across Astroscale teams globally. 

Expected results

• Deliver Flight Software that meets mission performance, safety, and reliability requirements. 

• Achieve successful integration with spacecraft subsystems and mission simulations. 


• Contribute to on-time delivery of Flight Software for mission milestones (e.g. PDR, CDR, launch readiness). 

‍Experience and Qualifications  

Essential: 

• Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, software engineering, or relevant engineering / science discipline. 

• 5 years’ experience in software development for real-time embedded systems (C/C++). 

• Experience designing deterministic, multi-threaded real-time software. 

• Knowledge of hardware solutions and hardware interfacing (drivers). 

• Experience with software version control systems (e.g. Git) and continuous integration pipelines (e.g. Gitlab). 

• Strong debugging skills across software, hardware interfaces, and system-level interactions. 

• Proactive and self-managing, able to plan and effectively lead areas of responsibility whilst contributing collaboratively within a close-knit team. 


• Fluent in French and English


• Be eligible and registered to work within Europe 
  

Desirable:  

• Experience developing software for the aerospace sector, including on platforms such as VxWorks or RTEMS. 

• Experience across all stages of the mission design lifecycle, from initial concept through design, test, and operations. 

• Familiarity with UML. 

• Familiarity with commonly used protocols and standards for communications, such as CCSDS, CAN, Spacewire. 

• Knowledge of the cFS software framework. 


• Development on Linux-based systems. 

⚙️ Core competencies

• Demonstrates behaviours in line with Astroscale values (mission and people focused, transparent, innovative and pioneering, diverse and customer focused).


• Proactive, able to build working relationships, mentoring & knowledge sharing
  

Location

Astroscale France (Toulouse), with some hybrid working

What we offer

At Astroscale, we believe that when people feel supported, they can focus on achieving extraordinary things.

• Premium family health insurance (Mutuelle) 100% funded by the company


• 100% employer-funded disability & life insurance coverage (Pervoyance)


• Salary maintained from day one of sick leave


• Hybrid working (up to 2 days remote per week)


• Remote work allowance


• Paid child sickness leave


• Additional family and caregiving leave

About Astroscale 

Astroscale is the global leader in on-orbit servicing, dedicated to the secure and sustainable development of space. The company delivers a variety of innovative and scalable on-orbit servicing solutions, including life extension, refurbishment, upgrades, in-situ space situational awareness, end-of-life, and active debris removal. Since its first successful launch in March 2021, Astroscale has proven rendezvous and proximity operations technologies in orbit during the ELSA-d and ADRAS-J missions. Astroscale spacecraft have been selected for pioneering missions with JAXA, the U.S. Space Force, the European Space Agency, the UK Space Agency, and Eutelsat. As more satellite operators adopt on-orbit servicing to routinely inspect, relocate, remove, and extend the life of spacecraft, the potential of a circular space economy — and a future of no waste in space — is being unlocked. Headquartered in Japan, Astroscale has a global presence with subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Israel. Find out more about Astroscale at www.astroscale.com.