Satellite Software Architect

About Aerospacelab

Our mission is supported by an ambitious vertically integrated approach: design & manufacture of small satellites combined with development of earth observation services.

Since its creation in 2018, the company has already grown substantially. Our team gathers more than 25 engineering expertise, from hardware design to software development & data science.

In 2026, Aerospacelab counts offices in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Toulouse (France), Lausanne (Switzerland) and US West Coast with more than 350 full-time employees, with the ambition to position itself as the European leader in small satellites.

Role Overview

Contemporary satellites are commonly constructed in a modular fashion, divided into distinct units, each dedicated to a specific function. In adopting a vertical integration approach, Aerospacelab, as a satellite manufacturer, designs a variety of these units, including the embedded software running on them.

As we continue to expand our team, we are seeking a talented and motivatedSatellite Software Architect to define and own the software architecture across our satellite platforms,from the flight software running on the on-board computer down to the unit-level firmware running in our radios, cameras, optical transceivers, network switches, and other sensors and actuators.

As Satellite Software Architect, you will be the technical authority bridging the individual unit development teams — working closely with our Embedded Software Engineers, EE and FPGA engineers — and the satellite-level system architecture. You will define how software components, interfaces, and data flows come together across units into a coherent, reusable, and maintainable satellite software architecture, while making sure local design choices stay consistent with platform-wide standards.

Beyond unit and platform software design, you will interact with satellite operators, AOCS, and Verification & Validation teams to push forward satellite automation, and you will define the satellite flight software development roadmap in line withthecompany roadmap. Because our satellites are already flying, a key part of the role is closing the loop: feeding lessons learnt from in-orbit operations back into the architecture and the roadmap.

You will be involved across the full satellite development cycle, from architecture definition and design trade-offs, through implementation support and code reviews, to integration, validation, and in-orbit operations support.

At Aerospacelab, our motto is work hard, play hard. We strive to innovate, in a fun and inclusive work environment. We work in short cycles — no waiting for years before seeing code go live and get valuable feedback. Expect an exciting job, where you will learn constantly and contribute to building state-of-the-art software architectures that will rapidly make their proof in orbit.

Key Activities

• Define and own the end-to-end satellite software architecture,spanning the flight software running on the on-board computer and the unit-level embedded software running in the units, across the platform family.

• Establish software design standards, interface control conventions, and reusable architectural building blocks across units and missions.

• Work closely with Embedded Software Engineers, EE, and FPGA engineers to translate system-level requirements into sound software designs, and support them through implementation and code/design reviews.

• Collaborate with system and avionics engineers to derive software requirements from mission-level and satellite-level specifications and ensure full requirements traceability.

• Drive architectural trade-off studies (e.g. on-board processing vs. downlink, redundancy and fault management, resource budgeting) balancing performance, reliability, and development effort.

• Drive architectural design reviews (PDR, CDR) and act as a technical reference point for internal and external stakeholders.

• Support satellite integration, verification & validation, and satelliteoperationson software-related topics.

• Partner with satellite operators, AOCS, and V&V teams to identify and implement opportunities for greater satellite automation (on-board autonomy, automated operations, reduced ground intervention).
• Own and maintain the satellite flight software development roadmap, aligning priorities across missions with Aerospacelab's strategic goals.
• Capture and integrate lessons learnt from flying satellites into the software architecture, design standards, and roadmap, closing the loop between in-orbit experience and future developments.

Must have

• MSc or PhD degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

• Strong experience in embedded software development, with solidproficiencyinC and Python.

• Demonstrated experience designing software architectures for complex, multi-component embedded systems.

• Experience with real-time operating systems (preferably FreeRTOS) and Linux-based embedded environments.

• Ability to lead technical discussions, structure trade-offs clearly, and communicate architectural decisions to multidisciplinary teams.

• Comfortable working cross-functionally withoperations, verification & validation, and other engineering,and translating operational feedback into architectural and roadmap decisions.

• Ability to work across the hardware/software boundary.
• Demonstrated ability to work across teams to drive designs to completion with a high degree of autonomy.
• Good communication skills and fluency in English.

Nice To Have

• Experience in the space sector (satellite subsystems, satellite operations, flight software development).
• Experience with ECSS/CCSDS standards (e.g. ECSS-E-ST-70-41A/C Telemetry and telecommand packet utilization, CCSDS 133.0-B-1 Space Packet Protocol).
• Familiarity with Buildroot, U-Boot, Zynq, CMake, and space-grade communication links (CAN, I2C, SPI, UART, SpaceWire, etc.).
• Experience defining or maintaining software interface control documents (ICDs) across multiple teams.
• Experience leading a new software architecture from scratch, or migrating a legacy architecture across a product family.
• Experience with satellite on-board autonomy, automated operations concepts, or reducing ground-segment intervention.
• Experience with AOCS software/algorithms or working alongside AOCS teams.
• Hands-on experience with in-orbit satellite operations and post-flight anomaly or performance review processes.

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