Software Development Engineer in Test

About this role

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply.

The Role

The software team at K2 builds software across the stack, from gateware & micro firmware to high level satellite control to Ground Software and all the associated testing, and we’re looking for an SDET who shares our belief that test infrastructure is a first-class engineering discipline. You will be embedded directly within the flight software team, working shoulder-to-shoulder with the engineers writing the code that flies our spacecraft owning the automation frameworks, test tooling, and HIL infrastructure that make rapid, confident software deployment possible.

This role is not a QA function. You will be a builder. In your first 6 months, you will design and ship core test automation frameworks and integrate them into our CI/CD pipelines. In your first year, you will own end-to-end test coverage across multiple spacecraft subsystems and lead HIL testing campaigns alongside flight software engineers, proving the software is ready to go to space. In your first two years, you will have operated your test systems against hardware that has been launched to orbit.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and own software test frameworks targeting K2’s flight software stack, including subsystems for propulsion, GNC, power, thermal, and communications

• Build and maintain automation tooling that integrates seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines, enabling fast and reliable flight software deployment

• Develop hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) test infrastructure in close collaboration with flight software engineers

• Create tooling for test execution, data collection, and anomaly triage that gives engineers clear, actionable signal

• Reduce flaky and nondeterministic tests; continuously improve coverage, pipeline reliability, and test execution speed

• Collaborate with flight software, avionics, and systems engineers to define test requirements, write test plans, and execute verification campaigns

• Analyze test results to identify and characterize failures, and drive resolution across the team

• Maintain documentation for test infrastructure, procedures, and hardware configurations

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related STEM field, or equivalent professional experience

• Experience building and maintaining test automation frameworks, not just executing tests written by others

• Experience with CI/CD systems (e.g., GitLab Pipelines, GitHub Actions, Jenkins) and version control (Git)

Nice to Have

• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testbeds or embedded systems testing

• Experience testing avionics, spacecraft, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other safety-critical hardware

• Rust programming experience, including embedded or no_std environments

• Knowledge of real-time operating systems (RTOS) or bare-metal embedded firmware

• Familiarity with aerospace communication protocols (RS-422/485, Ethernet, UART, SpaceWire, Ethernet)

• Experience with electronics test equipment: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies

• Containerization experience (Docker, Kubernetes) for test environment management

• Experience with Embedded Linux

• Familiarity with shell scripting

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base salary range for this role is $123,000 - $175,000 + equity in the company

• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level

• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision/ coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export contr

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