Flight Software Manager

About PLD Space PLD Space is an international company on a mission to transport satellites into space, vertically integrating the engineering, testing, manufacturing, and operations of its reusable and sustainable rockets. Headquartered in Elche (Spain) and founded in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, PLD Space has established itself as a global benchmark in the small satellite launch sector. Its family of MIURA launchers and LINCE crewed capsule position the company as a leader in European technological sovereignty for space transportation, covering the full spectrum of space missions. PLD Space operates over 188,000 m² of facilities in Elche, Teruel (Spain), Kourou (French Guiana), and Duqm (Oman), enabling the company to provide comprehensive satellite and payload launch services into space. Teamwork, courage, determination and ambition enable PLD Space to guarantee an autonomous, independent satellite space access capability, based on reliability at a globally competitive price. The company is able to offer best-in-class launch services to commercial satellite operators, institutions, space agencies and national and international governmental entities Mission The Flight Software Manager is responsible for leading the Flight Software team, ensuring the successful development, integration, validation, and operation of flight-critical software across PLD Space launch vehicles and future programs. This role combines people leadership, technical direction, and program execution, fostering team growth while ensuring software solutions meet mission, reliability, safety, and operational objectives. The Flight Software Manager serves as the technical reference for the discipline and works closely with Systems, Avionics, GNC, Ground Segment, Operations, and Verification teams throughout the complete vehicle lifecycle, from concept definition to launch operations. Responsibilities Lead and develop the Flight Software team, defining priorities, objectives, workloads, and execution strategies aligned with company milestones and program needs. Supervise the flight software development lifecycle, from requirements definition and design to testing, integration, and deployment. Manage team performance, career development, recruitment, mentoring, and succession planning, fostering a high-performance engineering culture. Act as the technical authority and primary point of contact for Flight Software within PLD Space. Define and maintain the technical roadmap, architecture vision, and development strategy for flight software across current and future launch vehicle programs. Ensure the successful execution of the complete flight software lifecycle, including requirements, design, implementation, verification, validation, integration, qualification, and operational support. Coordinate with Systems Engineering, Avionics, GNC, Ground Segment, Vehicle Engineering, and Operations teams to ensure successful software integration at vehicle level. Lead technical interactions with international space and aerospace organizations, supporting program reviews and development activities with space agencies such as ESA, CNES and other governmental or institutional customers. Manage external software engineering suppliers and specialized partners, ensuring quality, schedule, technical compliance, and alignment with program objectives. Lead system-level testing activities, including software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), avionics integration, and full vehicle testing campaigns. Coordinate and oversee software certification, qualification, and compliance activities, ensuring flight software products satisfy applicable aerospace and space industry standards and customer requirements. Leverage previous launch and system-level operations experience to continuously improve software robustness, operability, and mission readiness. Promote engineering excellence through code reviews, technical reviews, design assessments, and adoption of software best practices. Drive the implementation and continuous improvement of development processes, productivity tools, automation frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and engineering metrics. Identify technical risks, define mitigation plans, and ensure timely resolution of critical issues affecting project execution. Manage planning, resources, budgets, schedules, and deliverables associated with Flight Software activities. Contribute to strategic decisions regarding future vehicle architectures, mission concepts, and software technologies. Ensure adequate documentation, knowledge retention, and configuration management practices across the organization. Promote innovation and adoption of new technologies, methodologies, and tools that enhance productivity, reliability, and maintainability. Necessary Requirements Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, or a related discipline. 8+ years of experience in in embedded softwar