Job brief: Senior Flight Software Engineer II - Secret Clearance

What JoRoute checked · Checked by JoRoute

• Listed on Rocket Lab's own job board. JoRoute does not take listings from job ads or recruiters.
• First seen by JoRoute 2026-11-04 (3 days ago); last confirmed on the board 2026-11-07.
• The apply link opens job-boards.greenhouse.io, the address Rocket Lab's board gives for this job.
• No other listing with this title and place on this board in the last 90 days.
• No layoff notices (WARN) under this name in the state files JoRoute reads.

What the listing says · Employer's own words, not checked

• Pay: $151,000 to $227,000 a year
• Job type: Not stated
• Where: Long Beach, CA · RL Headquarters
• Posted: 2026-10-30

What the job asks · Employer's own words, not checked

Level: Senior. The title says "Senior".

Must have

• SENIOR FLIGHT SOFTWARE ENGINEER II - SECRET CLEARANCE
• To be successful in this role, you must want to see your software make a big impact on the way we explore space and use it as a platform for discovery and innovation.
• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, or equivalent technical degree
• Active Secret Clearance, with ability to obtain TS/SCI
• 8+ years of demonstrated applicable experience in embedded software development
• U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements

Main duties

• Develop application software to run within a Real Time Operating System (RTOS) and/or embedded Linux
• Develop hardware drivers to interface to Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), Star Trackers, Reaction Wheels and other spacecraft sensors and actuators
• Develop and maintain comprehensive unit tests to run within a Continuous Integration framework
• Collaborate with hardware-in-the-loop test engineers to verify and validate combined software and hardware functionality
• Collaborate with systems engineers and embedded systems engineers in developing, documenting and validating requirements

Lines copied from the posting, not rewritten. "Preferred" or "nice to have" items are not listed as must-haves.

How it compares · Compared by JoRoute from listings

• Typical listed pay for software engineer jobs in California: $205k a year (902 listings, 45 employers). This listing is 8% lower.
• Across Rocket Lab's 452 open listings, 24% of those with a posting date were first posted more than 60 days ago. How Rocket Lab hires

What nobody outside the employer knows · Not known

• Whether the role is already filled or on hold: employers often leave listings up.
• How many people applied, and who reads the applications.
• Where in the published range an offer would land.

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