Testbed Software Engineer, Xona Space Systems
$173-218k
+ Equity
More information about location
Office located in Burlingame, CA
Satellite navigation system
Job no longer available
Satellite navigation system
101-200 employees
Job no longer available
$173-218k
+ Equity
More information about location
Office located in Burlingame, CA
101-200 employees
Company mission
To remove the boundaries from modern technologies by providing precise and protected navigation services anywhere on Earth.
Role
Who you are
- Experience building or owning production-quality HIL, SIL, or integrated test environments
- Experience connecting real hardware to simulation (robotics, autonomy, automotive HIL, avionics, or embedded systems)
- Hands-on expertise with embedded buses and lab instrumentation (RS-422/485, Ethernet, I2C/SPI, GPIO, DAQ)
- Strong grasp of real-time systems: timing, latency, scheduling, determinism, resource constraints
- Track record debugging across hardware, firmware, and software boundaries
- Strong documentation and cross-functional communication skills
Desirable
- Mission-critical or safety-critical systems experience
- Hardware test environments integrated into CI/CD
- Operations rehearsals, telemetry analysis, or anomaly investigations
- Python, C/C++, or Rust development experience
- Knowledge of aerospace communication protocols (CAN, Ethernet, RS-422/485)
- Space experience is not required. We welcome robotics, autonomy, automotive HIL, aerospace, defense, and other mission/safety-critical systems backgrounds. If you don't meet every requirement but are excited about the role, apply anyway
What the job involves
- As a Testbed Software Engineer, you will architect and build our spacecraft Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbed software from scratch, integrating flight hardware (or engineering models) with real-time simulation and automated validation tooling
- This means integrating flight hardware with real-time simulation and automated validation to test flight software, avionics interfaces, fault management, and operational workflows end-to-end before launch
- Design the HIL testbed architecture: scalable patterns, reproducible baselines, maintainable infrastructure
- Integrate flight hardware + simulation + command/telemetry + automated tests into deterministic workflows
- Build interface layers for avionics and instrumentation (RS-422/485, Ethernet, I2C/SPI, GPIO, DAQ, power systems)
- Implement the FSW simulation layer (sensor/actuator emulation, peripheral models, timing models, interface shims)
- Design fault injection and scenario orchestration for FDIR, safe-mode, and recovery validation
- Develop telemetry capture, decode, time alignment, replay, and automated reporting tools
- Characterize system timing (latency, jitter, scheduling, resource usage) and define acceptance criteria
- Automate regression testing and integrate HIL into CI/CD
Our take
Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) is crucial for autonomy, tying vehicles to their environment and making autonomous operation possible. Xona Space Systems is developing a network of small satellites to provide high-precision PNT services, essential for modern technologies like autonomous vehicles and robotics.
The company has set its sites on pushing the limits of modern technology, setting itself apart in its space with its PULSAR service, which offers superior accuracy, availability, and security compared to traditional GPS. This makes it crucial for the widespread adoption of autonomous systems in unstructured environments.
The company has secured $270 million to date, its 2026 round being used to accelerate the deployment of its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. Its partnerships with the US Space Force and industry leaders highlight the growing confidence in its innovative approach, while future plans include the commercialisation of PULSAR, which will enable autonomous systems to operate effectively anywhere.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 10 rounds)
Mar 2026
$170m
SERIES C
Jun 2025
$92m
SERIES B
Total funding: $336.3m
Company HQ
Baywood Park, CA
Leadership
Brian Manning
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously worked as a Responsible Engineer on Thrust Structure for SpaceX, and an Engineering Manager for Power Solutions International.
Tyler Reid
(Co-Founder & CTO)Was also a Lecturer at Stanford University and a Research Engineer in Controls and Automated Systems at Ford Motor Company.
Adrien Perkins
(Co-Founder & VP of Engineering)Worked as a Research Assistant for Stanford University and was Lead Software Developer at Callsnapp.
Bryan Chan
(Co-Founder & VP of Corporate Strategy)Also the Co-Founder, President and CEO at Night Crew Labs. Previously Co-founded and was Technical Director for Mothership Communications.
Jerami Martin
(Co-Founder & Director of Payload Mechanical)Also works as a Mechanical Design and Systems Engineer at Pumpkin. Prior to this, they were an Engineer at Crosstrac Engineering.
Kazuma Gunning
(Co-Founder, Vice President & Navigation Services)Previously worked as a GNSS Modeling and Simulation Engineer for Booz Allen Hamilton and was a Doctoral Student at Stanford University.
Paul Tarantino
(Co-Founder & Director of Integration and Test)After studying at Stanford University, they went on to work as a Propulsion and Fluid Flight Systems Engineering Intern for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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