Skip to content

Principal Engineer, Ground System Software

220k – 330kWashington, DCOnsite8+ YOE
Summary

Principal Engineer leading software architecture and systems engineering integration for complex, mission-critical ground systems. Requires 8+ years software engineering and 3+ years architecture/leadership experience.

About the role

Software Architecture & Development

  • Participate in the development of software architectures for complex, distributed, and mission-critical systems.
  • Engage in software design activities from concept through deployment and sustainment.
  • Work with software responsible engineers to develop and model high-quality, scalable, maintainable software solutions using modern programming languages, frameworks & System Modeling Tools.
  • Develop, review and maintain architecture diagrams to support government reference architectures.
  • Engage with internal stakeholders to develop software architecture behavior diagrams/documents to support customer deliverables.
  • Communicate technical concepts effectively to engineering, program management, and customer stakeholders.

Systems Engineering Integration

  • Collaborate with systems engineers to derive software requirements from system-level requirements and operational needs.
  • Ensure software solutions maintain traceability to stakeholder, system, and subsystem requirements.
  • Participate in architecture trade studies and technical decision-making activities.
  • Support system decomposition, interface definition, and allocation of requirements.
  • Contribute to system design reviews including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and related technical milestones.
  • Work closely with hardware, network, test, and integration teams to ensure end-to-end system performance.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical field.
  • 8+ years of software engineering experience.
  • 3+ years of software architecture or technical leadership experience.
  • Proficiency in a strongly typed programming language (e.g. C#, TypeScript, Java, C++) with exposure to lower-level systems or protocol integration.
  • Familiarity with software development lifecycle (SDLC) methodologies.
  • Understanding of systems engineering processes and standards.
  • Experience with requirements management and traceability practices.
  • Experience using version control and CI/CD tools.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, aviation, automotive, telecommunications, or other complex systems domains.
  • Experience with GCS software, mission planning tools, or real-time visualization platforms.
  • Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodologies.
  • Experience with systems engineering tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler / MagicDraw, IBM DOORS Next, Jama Connect, Stell, JIRA, Confluence.
  • Experience with cloud-native architectures, containerization, and orchestration technologies.
  • Familiarity with Autonomy Government Reference Architectures, Open Mission Systems and Universal Command & Control Interface.

Desired Skills

  • Ability to operate effectively across multiple engineering disciplines.
  • Strong systems thinking and problem-solving abilities.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to translate complex system requirements into practical software solutions.
  • Experience balancing technical, programmatic, and operational constraints.
  • Strong leadership and collaboration skills.
  • Interface Control Documents (ICDs) development and management.
Skills
C#TypeScriptJavaC++CI/CDVersion ControlModel-Based Systems EngineeringCameo Systems ModelerMagicDrawIBM DOORS NextJama ConnectJIRAConfluenceCloud-native ArchitecturesContainerization
Similar roles at this salary range
All Embedded Engineering jobs →
Turion Space

Staff Spacecraft Systems Engineer

Lead spacecraft architecture and technical baseline as Chief Program Engineer for GEO Space Domain Awareness missions. Own system-level budgets, requirements traceability, and verification across full lifecycle while mentoring teams and interfacing with customers.

190k – 260kIrvine, CAEmbedded EngineeringOn-site12+ YOESTKGMAT
Rigetti Computing

IC Layout Automation Software Engineer

Develop and maintain software systems for IC layout generation supporting superconducting quantum circuit design and fabrication. Requires strong Python skills, GDSII experience, and familiarity with EDA tools and lithography processes.

190k – 220kFremont, CAEmbedded EngineeringOn-siteGDSIIgdspy
Zoox

Staff Software Engineer – Cloud & Embedded Systems Configuration

Staff engineer building core platform services for configuration and runtime settings across an autonomous vehicle fleet, spanning embedded systems and cloud microservices. Requires 8+ years in device/edge and cloud systems with strong Python/Java/Kotlin and Kubernetes experience.

219k – 263kFoster City, CAEmbedded EngineeringHybrid8+ YOEC++Java
Crusoe

Senior Staff Controls Engineer, Platform

Lead architect and governance authority for Crusoe's facility control systems software and data architecture. Own telemetry strategy, enterprise scaling plans, and technical standards for AI infrastructure.

180k – 205kDenver, COEmbedded EngineeringOn-site10+ YOEGitMSSQL
Nuro

Staff/Senior Software Engineer, Onboard Infrastructure

Build and optimize onboard infrastructure and performance for Nuro's self-driving vehicles. Requires 5+ years experience, strong C++ skills, and expertise in distributed systems, computer architecture, or robotics platforms.

194k – 352kMountain View, CAEmbedded EngineeringOn-site5+ YOEC++eBPF