Advanced Space

The team at Advanced Space is leading humanity back to the Moon and pioneering innovative solutions in the space industry. This team is seeking a Senior Ground Software Architect responsible for standing up spacecraft Command and Control and Mission Planning capabilities for lunar missions. Advanced Space is a rapidly growing, privately held business that operates with core values that reinforce: we are customer-obsessed and mission-focused; when we see it, we solve it; we are one team, motivated by our vision; and we bring technical excellence and inexhaustible curiosity. This role will be based in Westminster, Colorado, and an ideal candidate for this role will love not just the responsibilities but will also have a passion for the exploration, development, and settlement of space. We invite you to join our dynamic team and contribute to the success of the team at Advanced Space.

This role will span from design of ground architecture through implementation and mission operations, requiring hands-on knowledge of spacecraft operations and communications. Advanced Space’s mission is to become the industry leader for cislunar operations, for all missions on and around the Moon.

The Ground Software Architect will lead a coordinated effort to plan and develop long-term ground system functionality, networking interfaces, and mission planning functionality. The position will own technical interface with vendors and partners, ensuring development of mature, flight-operations ready interfaces. These services will need to seamlessly handle real-time command and telemetry handling, integrating both off the shelf services and design of custom services to meet program needs and build a roadmap to enhanced autonomous operations.

Responsibilities of the Senior Ground Software Architect will also include data management between ground segments, data-at-rest management, contact planning and management, and spacecraft activity planning. The individual in this role will collaborate with IT and networking engineers, DevOps engineers, flight dynamics engineers, systems engineers, and spacecraft operations team.

This position includes the following duties and responsibilities:

• Establishing requirements
• Build and enforce ground development schedule
• Driving software development
• Coordinating ground system integration and test
• System maintenance
• Generate software architecture solutions for new project needs, perform software engineering analyses, document findings, communicate results to engineering and program management staff, give technical presentations, and manage technical effort schedules.
• Formulate plans, typically long-term, and coordinate software solutions development and deployment including documentation, reporting, publishing, and making technical and other presentations to ensure the viability of the solutions in an evolving environment.
• Communicate with colleagues and management throughout solution development and deployment cycles.
• Participation in the development of new business opportunities and expansion of existing business opportunities.
• Participation in the preparation of proposals, proposal work statements and specifications, operating budgets, and financial terms/conditions of contract(s), related to software development for spaceflight mission and ground systems
• Some travel and occasional extended work schedules may be required.
• Perform other duties as assigned or required.
• Demonstrate extensive technical expertise and application of software engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice with the ability to organize, plan, schedule, conduct, and coordinate workloads of an engineering unit to meet established deadlines or milestones with experience in project leadership.

 A successful candidate should have the following skills:

• Must espouse values of the company to see a problem to solve it, be customer focused and bring inexhaustible curiosity
• Must possess the ability to understand new concepts quickly and apply them accurately throughout an evolving environment.
• Ability to organize, schedule, and coordinate work phases and, determine the appropriate approach at the task level or, with assistance, at the project level and to provide solutions to a range of complex problems.
• Must have strong communication, computer, documentation, presentation, and interpersonal skills; ability to work independently and as part of a team; ability to lead a team of less experienced professional employees on semi-routine tasks. Able to work extended hours as required.
• Must be able to interface effectively with other engineers of various disciplines, including astrodynamics, navigation, and space systems design engineers, and interpret, debug, and modify complex heritage software following rigorous process and coding standards.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills to effectively interface with other departments, customers, government representatives, and/or professionals.
• Willingness to mentor more junior software engineers/interns and develop a cohesive, well-coordinated software development team.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering or a related technical field
• 5 to 10+ of experience with spacecraft ground software system, system architecture and/or mission control systems
• Experience working with commercial ground station providers
• Experience in scripting languages, including Python & Bash
• Familiarity with Linux
• Knowledge of Docker or other containerization services
• Ability to own all aspects of software engineering and product development
• Clear documentation of technical issues and solutions

Desired Skills:
-    Experience with spacecraft commissioning & operations
-    Experience with cislunar spacecraft communications
-    Experience with NASA and US government spacecraft and mission requirements
-    Experience with COSMOS or other C2 softwares
-    Experience developing with Ruby
-    Knowledge of AWS or cloud-based architectures, experience with CI/CD pipelines in Gitlab
-    Troubleshooting, test, and integration of ground data system products
-    Ability to provide input and feedback for system requirement development, implementation of requirements, and verification testing
-    Ability to obtain a TS/SCI clearance

Eligibility requirements

Applicants must be a US Person (citizen or Green Card Holder/permanent resident, or protected individual/asylum).

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base Salary Range: $105,000 - $170,000, based on team member role and experience
• Signing bonus
• Company provided health insurance 
• 401K plan upon eligibility  
• Unlimited vacation time and extensive flexibility
• Company and individual incentives quarterly
• Pet insurance
• Relocation assistance

Advanced Space, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Advanced Space, LLC recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.