Staff Embedded Software Designer

Job description

**At [Kepler Communications](https://kepler.space/), we're not just imagining the future of on-demand space connectivity - *we're leading it!*** Our mission is to provide real-time on-orbit connectivity for critical missions, enabling a new era of data-driven intelligence and innovation. With **33 satellites launched to date,** Kepler operates the first commercial optical data relay constellation, enabling real-time, continuous space communications while supporting advanced on-orbit compute and hosted payload capabilities. Industry-leading technology is only part of the story. **What sets Kepler apart is our team:** bold thinkers, skilled builders, and passionate problem-solvers who thrive on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space. We believe great ideas come from diverse perspectives, and we’re committed to creating an environment where you can grow, lead, and make a global impact. If you’re ready to reach higher, move faster, and do work that shapes the future space economy - this is your launchpad. **Come build the future with Kepler!** **What We Offer:** **\* Competitive compensation** with a robust equity plan to share in our success. **\* Comprehensive coverage for health, dental, and vision insurance**—including dependents. **\* Unlimited vacation, supportive parental leave policy,** and company-wide holiday shutdown. **\* Semi-annual company-wide parties** and frequent in-office team events. **\* Relocation packages** available for approved roles. **\* $1,500 annual professional development fund** to support your growth. **\* Fully stocked Toronto office kitchen** with snacks, drinks, games and top-notch kitchen appliances. **\* Town Halls, Celebration Calls, and Company-wide events** to stay connected and engaged. **\* We’re a certified [Great Place to Work](https://www.greatplacetowork.ca/en/certification-menu/certified-organizations-updated#certified-organizations2/view-sub-list-details70/5f3438830d6f2900170827a4/)**®, seven years in a row! We're on the hunt for a top-tier Embedded Software Engineer. Your focus will be on software development and maintenance required for both space and ground-based assets for a growing fleet of spacecraft. You'll be relied upon for input and decisions that will directly impact design and operation. ### Key Responsibilities: - Design, develop, and maintain reliable, high-quality embedded software for both spacecraft and ground-based systems supporting a growing fleet of satellites - Linux networking infrastructure, including routing, control-plane, and dataplane integration - Developing software for FPGA-based platforms, including bring-up, driver integration, and optimization of memory-mapped interfaces between processing cores and custom IP. - Develop automated tests, validation tools, and technical documentation to support robust software delivery and long-term maintainability - Participate in software architecture discussions, design reviews, and code reviews to ensure software quality and system reliability - Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to define system requirements, debug complex issues, and evolve system architecture - Identify performance gaps, reliability risks, and architectural shortcomings in existing systems, and drive improvements across the software stack - Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to junior engineers while contributing to engineering best practices and development standards ### Required Skills & Qualifications: - 8+ years of embedded software development experience - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience - Strong proficiency in C and modern C++ - Experience developing software for embedded Linux environments - Experience working close to operating system internals, including concurrency, IPC, synchronization, memory management, and hardware/software interfaces - Experience integrating and debugging complex software systems across multiple abstraction layers - Experience with embedded build systems and toolchains such as Yocto/OpenEmbedded, Buildroot, CMake, or similar - Ability to debug and optimize software in resource-constrained or performance-sensitive environments - Strong communication and collaboration skills in cross-functional engineering environments - Ability to work effectively across distributed teams and time zones ### Bonus Points: - Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field - Experience developing software for aerospace applications - Experience implementing embedded security solutions such as secure boot, hardware security modules (HSMs), certificate/key management, authentication, or encrypted communications - Familiarity with Linux networking concepts and infrastructure, including routing, interfaces, netlink, or packet-processing pipelines - Experience developing multi-stage bootloaders - Strong knowledge of computer networking and modern networking protocols - Experience with RTL (Verilog and/or VHDL) and embedded SoCs