Sr Software Engineer (Industrial Automation)

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team: 

At Relativity Space, we're entering an exciting new chapter under the leadership of Eric Schmidt, focusing on pioneering advancements in aerospace technology. Guided by a vision to redefine space exploration, our team is committed to pushing the boundaries of what's possible on Earth and beyond. As we pursue audacious goals like building the next great commercial launch company and becoming America’s leader in additive manufacturing, innovation is central to everything we do.

Terrestrial Software is the central nervous system of Relativity Space, powering design, manufacturing, testing, and launch through a unified stack of enterprise applications, factory automation, and ground systems. This team enables instant data accessibility and automated decision-making embedded in every workflow, removing friction and accelerating intelligent, company-wide operations.

Under Eric Schmidt’s leadership, we are embarking on groundbreaking projects in 3D printing and AI-driven manufacturing. The Terrestrial Software team is at the forefront of this innovation developing the digital infrastructure that supports and scales every aspect of our mission. If you're driven to build the tools that power the future of aerospace and redefine what’s possible, this is where your impact begins.

About the Role:

On the Industrial Automation Software team, you will play a key role in the software development life cycle from initial concept, trade studies, design, implementation, root cause analysis and production ready roll out.

• Follow Agile development practices and implement quality software that is continuously integrated and deployable.
• Solve complex problems using simple, elegant solutions. Your work will power software that operates factory systems, validates development hardware, tests engines, and launches rockets.
• Develop user interfaces that are used across the company from component testing, engine testing, launch control systems, and elsewhere. 

About You: 

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related Engineering field (Computer, Software, Electrical, Aerospace) or Computer Science.
• 5+ years of experience in one of more of the following areas:
  • Designing and implementing low-level architectures optimized for real-time hardware control.
  • Developing responsive user interfaces and data backends to manage safety-critical systems.
  • Building comprehensive test and simulation environments
• Proficient in C/C++, Rust, or Go.
• Familiarity with continuous integration and agile methodologies in high-performance environments.

Nice to haves but not required:

• Experience with microservices architecture tailored for high-performance, distributed systems.
• Experience managing high-volume, low-latency data flows.
• Knowledge of synchronization primitives, memory management, and systems-level performance optimization.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and deploy safety-critical software with direct hardware interfaces.
• Experience debugging and shipping complex software products across extensive, m