Sr Software Development Engineer in Test

At Relativity Space were building rockets to serve todays needs and tomorrows breakthroughs. OurTerran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit meeting the growing demand for launchcapacity. But thats just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock newopportunities to advance science exploration and innovation pioneering progress that reaches beyondthe known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy ownership and impact exist at every level. Here youre not just executing tasks; youre solving problems that havent been solved before helping develop a rocket a factory and a business from the ground up. Whether youre in propulsion manufacturing software avionics or a corporate function youll 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 were writing together. Nowis a unique moment in time where its early enough to leave your mark on the product the process andthe culture but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The mostmeaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:

The Vehicle Software team develops the safety-critical software that runs on Terran R. The work spans a distributed real-time control system operating under extreme conditions like Mach 5 atmospheric flight with a deployment pace that allows you to see your code run on rocket engines daily. The team is building new system architecture from the ground up and just as importantly testing releasing and deploying it. You dont need an aerospace background: what matters is experience with high-reliability software for complex systems. This is a rare opportunity to shape the foundation of Terran Rs software stack while directly influencing performance reliability and flight success.

TRADE (Test Release and Deployment Engineering) is a core engineering team within Vehicle Software at Relativity Space. As we scale from development to full-scale vehicle integration and launch operations TRADE ensures our software is rigorously tested confidently released and successfully deployed across all environments from simulation to the launch pad.

About the Role:

As a Senior SDET on the Vehicle Software TRADE (Test Release and Deployment Engineering) team you will own the automated validation lifecycle of integrated vehicle software. You will design and lead end-to-end testing frameworks that ensure each software release is reliable traceable and ready for use across production integration labs and launch environments.

This role is deeply cross-functional and requires strong technical judgment attention to detail and proactive problem-solving. You will work with software hardware systems and operations teams to define validation scope align quality gates and deliver releases that maintain readiness and consistency while adapting to evolving requirements configuration changes and fast-moving timelines.

You will:

• Own the architecture and implementation of scalable automation frameworks (primarily using Python and/or Rust) to validate full-stack vehicle software including FSW ESW and configuration artifacts across software-in-the-loop (SITL) hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) and integrated system environments leveraging reusable libraries automation services and structured validation interfaces
• Develop automated integration and end-to-end test suites that exercise real-time control flows telemetry mission sequences and failure scenarios in both SITL and HITL setups
• Implement automated test cases and analyzers that benchmark performance validate qualification metrics and publish dashboards (e.g. Grafana) to improve traceability and data-driven decision making
• Drive continuous test execution through CI pipelines (BVT integration nightly weekly) to deliver fast regression feedback and release confidence
• Lead system-level test execution during release cyclesprepare environments execute scenarios evaluate results and maintain traceable artifacts
• Validate subsystem integrations prior to full-system execution perform root-cause analysis during anomalies and coordinate with development teams for resolution
• Present release readiness reviews by aggregating test results metrics quality gates and risk assessments
• Mentor engineers on automation architecture instrumentation strategies and scalable test-design patterns

About You:

• 5 years of experience in software development or test engineering including 2 years architecting automated test frameworks for integrated systems combining hardware firmware and software
• Proven ability to design and scale unit integration and system-level automation frameworks with strong software skills in Python Rust or C for tooling validation pipelines and simulation workflows
• Excellent debugging skills strong ownership and attention to detail with ability to operate in fast-paced cross-functional environments
• Familiarity with CI/CD workflows containerization (Docker) telemetry/log aggregation and automated test pipelines
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across software hardware and operations teams to align on delivery milestones and integration needs.

Nice to haves but not required:

• Experience in aerospace robotics safety-critical systems or embedded real-time applications
• Hands-on experience validating embedded real-time networking or hardware-integrated systems including controller sensors/actuators communication buses and timing-sensitive behaviors
• Familiarity with Conda GitLab CI/CD Grafana version control practices artifact repositories
• Experience working with hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation environments or large-scale system integration
• Strong analytical skills and experience supporting data reviews root cause investigations or release audits

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race religion color national origin gender sexual orientation age marital status veteran status or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation please contact us at .