Principal Software Engineer - AU

Are you ready to lead software systems development efforts that expand the frontiers of space exploration with cutting-edge space robotics? Lunar Outpost Oceania is seeking a talented, experienced Principal Software Engineer to join our fast-paced, dynamic team. In this role, you will oversee the design and development of software that brings to life real-world hardware products that are driving the future of lunar mobility and in-situ resource utilisation. You will lead multi-disciplinary teams of engineers to deploy and maintain software on hardware and mission control systems, maintaining tight configuration control across multiple deployed platforms and managing the interfaces between our software and external systems. Your expertise will drive groundbreaking projects to the Moon and beyond.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of robust software for hardware systems in real-world products, coordinating with external partners to integrate and test software with hardware systems to ensure it meets operational needs and performance standards.
• Manage and define internal and external software interfaces, ensuring seamless integration between subsystems.
• Oversee the management and implementation of version control systems to track software updates and ensure stability.
• Direct development of software that is backward-compatible, ensuring operational continuity with legacy systems.
• Drive collaboration with cross-functional teams and a range of stakeholders to align software development with product requirements and maintain clear definitions of the split of responsibilities between internal and external software systems.
• Guide software verification and validation activities, coordinating testing with partners and ensuring compliance with system requirements.
• Coordinate team resources to maintain existing software applications, troubleshoot issues, and provide ongoing operational support.
• Guide the entire software lifecycle, from concept and design to implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Take ownership of developing and maintaining clean, stable interfaces to support integration with externally developed systems.
• Control the rapid deployment of production code and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
• Work closely with hardware teams to ensure seamless integration between software and hardware components.
• Oversee the preparation of technical documentation that is clear and concise, including specifications, design documents, release notes and Interface Control Documents (ICDs) to support software and hardware interaction.
• Provide technical direction for your teams, including mentoring and supporting the development of your engineers and team leaders.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent higher qualification.
• 8+ years of professional experience leading multi-disciplinary software development or software systems engineering teams or interface management, including deploying software on physical hardware systems.
• Proven experience developing and maintaining Interface Control Documents (ICDs) and overseeing version control systems (e.g., Git, Azure DevOps, Atlassian suite) and ensuring configuration control and backward compatibility.
• Demonstrated expertise leading the development and maintenance of application software for operational hardware systems, software testing in real-world environments and software verification and validation processes, including collaborating with external partners for testing.
• Experience leading operational aspects of software, including testing, debugging, and troubleshooting in deployed products.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to adapt in a rapidly changing technical environment.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, able to work across teams and disciplines, proven leadership abilities.
• Self-motivated, organised individual with a track record of delivering high-quality software in time-sensitive environments.
• Must be able to attain and hold NV1 security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in a space, aerospace, robotics, or a related technical field.

• Familiarity with industry standards for safety and reliability in software development and systems integration and managing complex software interfaces.

• Knowledge of software development practices and version control systems (e.g., Git, Azure DevOps, Atlassian suite).

• Experience with real-time operating systems (RTOS) and embedded systems development.

• Experience working in a startup environment.

Lunar Outpost Oceania is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate against protected characteristics (gender, age, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, disability, veteran status). We want all employees (including executives and HR) to treat others with respect and professionalism.