(Senior) Manager, On-Board Embedded Firmware/Software, meoSphere

(Senior) Manager, On-Board Embedded Firmware/Software, meoSphere

SES

Betzdorf, Luxembourg

ROLE DESCRIPTION

Own the on‑board payload software for a high‑performance satellite communications system. You will set the architecture and technical direction, deliver flight‑ready software, and build the engineering team and practices required to scale from early demonstrations to series deployment—balancing new‑space agility with systems engineering rigor.

In your first twelve months, you and your team will architect, develop, test, and integrate a complete on-board software suite running on different equipment of a satellite payload and interfacing with satellite bus computer. Within two years, your on-board software will have flown in space. demonstrating cutting-space software designs.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Architecture & delivery

• Define on‑board software architecture for high‑throughput payload functions; select languages, RTOS/middleware, diagnostics, and observability;
• Lead implementation of real‑time data‑plane and control‑plane components (Rust/C/C++), including scheduling, resource management, and fault detection/isolation/recovery (FDIR);
• Own software integration on flight‑representative hardware; drive performance, determinism, and reliability.

Hardware/Software co‑design

• Partition algorithms across CPU/FPGA/DSP/ASIC; align with power/thermal/memory budgets and radiation constraints;
• Define high‑rate data movers, buffer management, and timing interfaces; ensure testability and maintainability.

Interfaces & interoperability

• Specify robust APIs and telemetry between on‑board functions and ground systems; ensure compatibility with modern network architectures (including NTN‑relevant concepts).

Quality, safety & security

• Establish flight‑software engineering practices: coding standards, code reviews, static/dynamic analysis, unit testing, continuous integration, and hardware‑in‑the‑loop regression;
• Bake in security‑by‑design, resilience to adverse conditions, and comprehensive observability for operations;
• Design for future in orbit upgradeability (secure OTA updates) without compromising mission safety.

People & ways‑of‑working

• Hire and coach senior engineers; create a culture of ownership, curiosity, and respectful challenge;
• Run crisp cadences (technical reviews, design controls) that accelerate delivery without bureaucracy.

COMPETENCIES, QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Deep experience (10+ years) in embedded/real‑time software for satcom payloads, avionics, or equivalent safety‑critical domains;
• Proficiency in RUST/C/C++, deterministic scheduling, and high‑reliability coding practices;
• Expertise with Linux systems programming and driver development;
• Experience in low level programming and hardware description languages such as VHDL, Assembly and/or Verilog;
• Experience with hard real-time embedded systems (bare-metal or RTOS);
• Strong understanding of RF/DSP/SDR building blocks and PHY/MAC‑like functions in high‑throughput systems;
• Hands‑on with HIL, EM/PFM‑style integration & test, and automated verification pipelines;
• Experience with cross-compilation, toolchains, and debugging tools (e.g., JTAG, GDB);
• Demonstrated leadership of senior engineering teams and delivery of mission‑critical systems.

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of satellite systems, payload operations, space-grade electronics, beam management and/or resource orchestration;
• Experience with 5G/NTN integration patterns and QoS/slicing concepts;
• Familiarity with aerospace/space software assurance frameworks and secure development lifecycle.

Mindset & values

• Owner’s mindset: ships, learns, iterates; knows when to prototype and when to harden;
• Pragmatic rigor: uses reviews and verification to go faster, not slower;
• Talent magnet: attracts and develops exceptional engineers; low‑ego collaborator across disciplines.

What success looks like (mid-term)

• A clear, documented on‑board software architecture with stable interfaces to RF/ASIC/Platform and Ground;
• Flight‑representative software executing on HIL benches with automated regression and performance telemetry;
• A staffed core team, healthy engineering practices, and demonstrable reliability and security posture.