Satellite Bus Flight Software Systems Engineer | On-site Opportunity | Fastwater Staffing

📍Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
📄Employment Type: Contract-to-Permanent (Preferred) / Contract
🏢Work Arrangement: On-site preferred
🚀Start Date: Immediate
💰Compensation:TBD -- based on skills and experience

Important Screening Requirements

• Must be legally eligible to work inCanada.
• Must be capable of obtaining the requiredsecurity clearance.
• English proficiency is required. French is considered an asset.
• Candidates must have strong experience withfault-tolerant embedded systems supporting LEO, MEO, and/or GEO spacecraft missions.

About the Role

We are seeking an experiencedSatellite Bus Flight Software Systems Engineer to lead and support the system-level definition, architecture, integration, verification, and operational readiness of flight software for current and next-generation spacecraft platforms.

This is asystems engineering and technical leadership role at the intersection of spacecraft architecture, platform subsystems, embedded flight software, avionics, mission operations, and verification. You will ensure that spacecraft bus flight software meets platform and payload functional, performance, autonomy, safety, reliability, and operational requirements throughout the full spacecraft lifecycle—from early architecture and detailed design through integration, launch preparation, commissioning, and on-orbit operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate functional, performance, safety, and security requirements into flight software requirements and architecture.
• Allocate requirements to software modules and execution threads while maintaining bidirectional requirements traceability.
• Define Flight Software (FSW) architecture, including:
  • RTOS
  • Initialization
  • PUS services
  • Autonomy
  • Health monitoring
  • Fault management
  • Payload interfaces
• DefineFDIR algorithms, isolation logic, recovery actions, safe-mode sequencing, and redundancy management.
• Guide the integration of FDIR logic into flight software.
• Develop and maintainInterface Control Documents (ICDs) for payload, platform, and ground-segment interfaces.
• Support Satellite Reference Database development and validation.
• Collaborate with payload, platform, ground-segment, and mission-operations teams to identify and resolve integration issues.
• Develop and support Flight Software Verification Plans and integration testing.
• SupportSIL, HIL, fault-injection, performance, and security testing.
• Support verification and test automation frameworks, test case development, results analysis, and test-report certification.
• Support spacecraft mode and operational procedure development.
• Analyze on-orbit telemetry and support software updates and operational improvements.
• Support SOOH development and operator training.
• Participate in major design reviews, includingSRR, PDR, CDR, MRR/TRR.
• Mentor junior engineers and serve as a technical liaison with customers, partners, and vendors.
• Contribute to engineering standards, process improvements, technology roadmaps, and lessons learned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree inElectrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Embedded Systems, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience working withfault-tolerant embedded systems onLEO, MEO, and/or GEO satellite missions.
• Experience with:
  • CCSDS
  • ECSS
  • PUS services
  • MIL-STD-1553
  • SpaceWire
  • RS-422/485
  • CAN
  • Ethernet
• Experience withreal-time computing cores and/or embedded Linux.
• Experience withauto-coding or automated code-generation workflows.
• Strong understanding of aerospace systems engineering fundamentals.
• Hands-on experience supportingsystems integration, testing, troubleshooting, and problem resolution.
• Experience withConfluence andJIRA.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to break down complex technical challenges into fundamental components.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills inEnglish.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with end-to-end spacecraft flight software development and integration.
• Experience withFDIR, spacecraft autonomy, safe-mode management, and redundancy management.
• Experience supportingspacecraft commissioning and on-orbit operations.
• Experience withSIL/HIL, fault injection, and automated verification frameworks.
• Experience integrating flight software with spacecraft payloads, avionics, and ground systems.
• French language proficiency.
• Experience supporting satellite programs from early concept and architecture through launch and on-orbit operations.