Fortastra | Strength Among the Stars
Fortastra operates at the intersection of aerospace, national defense, and advanced technology. We design and deploy cutting-edge space and defense systems with the speed and focus of a startup, and the discipline required to meet the most demanding mission requirements. Our work directly supports the security and resilience of the United States and its allies, and we approach that mission with urgency, innovation, and a deep sense of responsibility.
Our Engineering Team
You will join Fortastra’s Engineering Division, responsible for the design, development, and test of flight systems across our autonomous spacecraft portfolio.
The Role
Fortastra is seeking a Head of Flight Software Engineer. As part of our early engineering team, your scope of work will focus on developing and integrating the flight software stack end-to-end — spanning ground-side mission operations tools, and vehicle-side embedded software. You’ll work closely with avionics, GNC, and systems engineers to help bring our vehicle from concept to flight.
Key Responsibilities
Build mission operations software — the ground tools that plan, execute, and monitor missions in real time.
Develop and integrate flight software for the vehicle — from architecture and implementation to test and flight readiness.
Develop ground software services for telemetry, commanding, and visualization.
Write embedded software for flight computers, sensors, and actuators.
Collaborate with avionics, propulsion, and GNC teams to define software interfaces and data models.
Contribute to flight software CI/CD pipelines, testing frameworks, and simulation environments.
Support software-in-the-loop testing, hardware-in-the-loop testing, environmental testing, and flight campaigns.
Qualifications & Skills
B.S. Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical, or other sciences and/or physics based degree
Prior experience in systems and mission operations software
Experience with ground software, mission ops, or telemetry/command systems.
Experience with space systems - rovers, satellites, launch vehicles, etc.
Familiarity developing embedded software for real-time or safety-critical systems (aerospace, robotics, automotive, or similar).
Exposure to DevOps for embedded systems and automated testing pipelines.
Familiarity with hardware-in-the-loop, fault tolerance, and safety-critical standards.
Experience with cloud-based ground systems or mission control software
Ability to work independently and in small, fast-moving teams.
Headquartered in Torrance, CA
U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain or have an active TS/SCI clearance (US Person considered)
Why Fortastra
We are a small, high-impact team building the next generation of autonomous orbital control systems for national security space. At Fortastra, leaders own outcomes from first principles through flight and directly shape the future of resilient, mission-critical spacecraft autonomy.
FORTASTRA TALENT & CULTURE PRINCIPLES
Values Driven by First Principles
We value engineers and operators who prioritize sound judgment, candor, technical rigor, bias for action, and intellectual honesty over corporate consensus. We care about the caliber of the system you build and the speed at which you solve problems.
Talent Density Over Headcount
A high-performing startup is built on dense talent, not organizational bloat. A single exceptional engineer designs, tests, and delivers faster than a bloated committee. We intentionally maintain a lean, elite engineering crew where every contributor directly moves the needle on the mission.
High Autonomy, High Ownership
We hire domain experts to execute, not to micromanage them. You own your systems end-to-end, from initial architecture and hardware design to testing and deployment. With absolute ownership comes the responsibility to deliver mission critical reliability.
Mission Context Over Bureaucracy
The best execution happens when teams are provided clear technical…