Flight Software Engineer SAR Payload

Flight Software Engineer • Location: Espoo, Finland • Department: Engineering / Flight Software • Reports to: Engineering Manager, Flight Software • Employment type: Permanent • Workplace model: Hybrid • Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO, where required) Why this role matters: As a Flight Software Engineer, you’ll help build the embedded software systems powering ICEYE’s SAR satellites. Your work will directly contribute to the reliability, scalability, and performance of flight computers operating in orbit, enabling mission-critical Earth Observation capabilities for customers around the world. Working close to both hardware and software, you’ll help shape the future of spaceborne SAR systems and support ICEYE’s mission to become the global source of truth in Earth Observation. Who We Are ICEYE delivers space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to governments and allied nations. This includes sovereign and turnkey ISR missions leveraging ICEYE’s world-leading synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology, as well as access to data from the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation. These capabilities enable partners to detect and respond to critical changes anywhere on Earth with unprecedented speed and accuracy, day or night and in any weather, supported by ultra high-resolution imagery and high-frequency revisits. As a trusted partner for defense, intelligence, security, and maritime domain awareness, ICEYE’s near real-time data creates a tactical advantage for mission-critical operations. Designed for dual use, the platform also serves civil protection and commercial users for natural-catastrophe intelligence, insurance, maritime monitoring including oil-spill detection, and finance, contributing to global security and community resilience. ICEYE is headquartered in Finland and operates globally across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. We have more than 900 employees, united by a shared vision: improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation. Your day-to-day responsibilities • Develop and maintain embedded Linux flight software for ICEYE’s SAR spacecraft • Build efficient, reliable, and maintainable user space applications for flight computers • Troubleshoot complex multi-component systems and implement scalable solutions • Manage software packages, hardware devices, init systems, file systems, IPC, networking, and monitoring in Unix-like systems • Configure and maintain build systems, CI/CD pipelines, and software development workflows • Collaborate closely with hardware, software, and spacecraft subsystem teams across the organization • Contribute to system-level architecture discussions and embedded platform improvements • Rotate ownership across components and support continuous improvements to engineering practices What we’re looking for Must haves: • Strong C++ and Python programming skills • Proven experience delivering commercially successful embedded Linux software • Experience with Buildroot and Yocto • Strong understanding of Unix-like systems, including software package and hardware device management • Experience configuring and managing build systems and CI/CD pipelines • Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills across embedded and distributed systems • Good written and verbal communication skills in English • Ability to balance deep technical problem solving with pragmatic decision making Nice to haves: • Expertise in Linux kernel space development • Familiarity with Docker or similar containerisation tools • Experience with message-passing frameworks and distributed asynchronous systems • Experience contributing to open-source projects • Ability to read and review electronic schematics • Proficiency in additional programming languages • Interest in and familiarity with LLM-based engineering tools • Systems thinking mindset and strong stakeholder communication skills App…