Senior Software Engineer

Rebel Space Technologies is seeking a talented and experienced Senior Software Engineer to join our team.

Senior Software Engineer:

At Rebel Space, our mission is to protect critical space infrastructure through enhanced observability and space system cybersecurity. We believe that as space infrastructure expands, it will be increasingly difficult to secure and monitor these systems against critical failures or evolving cyber threats. To address this, we are building software that empowers developers and operators to rigorously evaluate and secure their systems from conception through to operations. Our technology supercharges space infrastructure, ensuring resilience against evolving threats in an increasingly complex environment. Join us in pioneering the next generation of space system security.

We are looking for an exceptional Senior Software Engineer who is passionate about building high-performance, real-time systems in C++. You’ll help architect and develop critical components of the Rebel Platform – a foundational layer that powers advanced sensor processing, telemetry analytics, and machine-learning pipelines supporting our mission to protect critical infrastructure in space.

This role blends the rigor of production-grade C++ engineering with the flexibility of Python prototyping. You’ll work with GPU-accelerated compute, telemetry streams, and complex sensor data. You should be as comfortable designing real-time multithreaded applications as you are translating a signal processing prototype into optimized, maintainable code.

This position is ideal for someone who thrives in dynamic, fast-paced R&D environments, is comfortable building systems from the ground up, and has a bias toward elegant, performant, and reliable code.

Location & Work Expectations:

This is a hybrid role based out of our Long Beach, CA office. Candidates should either be:

• Currently based in the Long Beach or greater Los Angeles area, and can commute to the office 2 days per week, or
• Willing to relocate to the area as part of joining the team

This role also includes occasional full onsite weeks once per quarter for planning, integration testing, or team alignment.

While we do not support fully remote arrangements for this position due to the hands-on nature of our work, we’re happy to discuss the in-person expectations in more detail during the interview process — feel free to reach out if you have any questions about how this applies to your situation.

Responsibilities:

• Architect and implement real-time, multithreaded software systems to support advanced sensor data acquisition, telemetry processing, and autonomous control.
• Develop and maintain high-performance infrastructure for data ingestion, streaming analytics, and edge-compute processing – including GPU-accelerated pipelines with CUDA.
• Translate DSP/ML prototypes (often written in Python or MATLAB) into robust C++ implementations for deployment.
• Collaborate across engineering and research teams to integrate ML inference, RF signal processing, and system health monitoring into a cohesive operational platform.
• Lead and contribute to software system architecture decisions focusing on scalability, fault-tolerance, and maintainability.
• Guide and mentor junior engineers, contribute to code reviews, and help shape our technical culture.
• Optimize software for performance and reliability under tight real-time constraints and large-scale data flows.
• Contribute to development processes, CI/CD, and testing strategies in Linux-based environments.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience writing production-grade C++ code, with deep knowledge of system-level and multithreaded programming.
• Hands-on experience with Linux development environments, including cross-compilation and performance profiling.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing real-time or low-latency systems.
• Strong understanding of software design principles, memory management, and performance tuning.
• Ability to prototype in Python, especially for glue code, scripting, and analysis.
• Strong understanding of software design principles, memory management, and performance tuning.
• Excellent communication skills — you can explain complex technical concepts clearly across disciplines.
• Independent and proactive with a strong bias toward action in dynamic or prototype-driven environments.

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Proficiency in Python for rapid prototyping and integration tasks.
• Experience with CUDA for GPU-based acceleration and optimization.
• Familiarity with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Software-Defined Radio (SDR) platforms
• Exposure to high-throughput telemetry, sensor networks, or real-time analytics platforms.
• Background in aerospace, defense, telecom, or mission-critical embedded systems is a plus.

You Might Be a Great Fit If You:

• Have designed and built C++ systems from scratch and care about long-term maintainability.
• Are comfortable with multithreaded and real-time system design, and have used patterns like producer-consumer, ring buffers, or zero-copy messaging.
• Prototype rapidly in Python or MATLAB, but ship robust code in C++.
• Thrive in small, multi-disciplinary teams, enjoy learning, and adapt quickly as the mission evolves.

• Premium Healthcare Benefits: We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans at little to no cost to you.
• Stock Options: Own meaningful equity in Rebel Space.
• Generous PTO: Includes flexible vacation and company paid holidays.
• Maternity/paternity leave.
• Flexible hybrid work options.
• Opportunity to shape the future of space cybersecurity and observability!

The estimated salary range for this role is $140,000-$200,000 + equity in the company, inclusive of all levels/seniority within this discipline.

As a growing company, the salary range is intentionally wide as we determine the most appropriate package for each individual taking into consideration years of experience, location, educational background, and unique skills and abilities as demonstrated throughout the interview process.

ITAR Requirements:

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a US citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 USC 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorization from the US Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Rebel Space Technologies is an equal-opportunity employer, and we encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. If you are someone passionate to work on problems that matter, we’d love to hear from you.