Flight Simulator SW Engineer II

About the role

Join Virgin Galactic’s Flight Simulation & Mission Control team to help build simulation systems used to prepare pilots, engineers, and Mission Control for human spaceflight. You will develop, integrate, and maintain high‑fidelity simulation environments supporting the next generation of spaceships, working directly with pilots, flight‑test personnel, Mission Control operators, aerospace engineers, flight hardware, and real‑time simulation systems. The position is based in southern New Mexico, supporting operations at Spaceport America, with Las Cruces as the primary residential community.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, integrate, test, and maintain software for high‑fidelity and desktop flight simulation systems.
• Develop and maintain real‑time C/C++ simulation applications.
• Integrate aerodynamic and flight‑dynamics models, avionics systems, vehicle systems, and real or virtual cockpit hardware into simulation environments.
• Develop and maintain interfaces between simulation software, cockpit hardware, avionics, Mission Control systems, and external engineering systems.
• Support real‑time data acquisition, processing, visualization, recording, and network communication.
• Develop synchronization and data‑sharing solutions for distributed simulation systems.
• Troubleshoot complex software, network, hardware, and simulator integration problems.
• Work directly with pilots and engineering teams to translate flight‑test and training requirements into simulator capabilities.
• Support simulator configuration, verification, validation, and readiness for pilot training and integrated Mission Control simulations.
• Support development of failure scenarios and abnormal system behavior for training and flight‑test preparation.
• Improve simulator reliability, maintainability, performance, and usability.
• Contribute to software architecture decisions and development of modular and scalable simulation systems.
• Participate in code reviews, configuration management, automated testing, and CI/CD activities.
• Support simulator operations and troubleshooting during critical training and flight‑test activities.
• Work collaboratively across Flight Operations, Mission Control, Engineering, Avionics, Flight Sciences, and Flight Test.
• Continuously practice safety behavior and Foreign Object Debris (FOD) awareness/prevention; adhere to regulatory protocols and rules.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Approximately 5+ years of professional software development experience.
• Strong proficiency in C and/or C++.
• Experience developing, integrating, or troubleshooting real‑time, embedded, simulation, robotics, autonomous, aerospace, automotive, defense, or hardware‑in‑the‑loop systems.
• Strong software debugging and problem‑solving skills.
• Experience working with complex software/hardware interfaces.
• Working knowledge of networked systems and communication protocols such as TCP/IP and UDP.
• Experience with source‑control systems such as Git.
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary environment with software engineers, hardware engineers, pilots, operators, and other technical teams.
• Strong interest in aviation, aerospace, simulation, or human spaceflight.
• Strong safety‑forward thinking, practice good housekeeping, tool control, recognizing the importance of properly handling hazardous materials and chemicals, familiar with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Skills

• Flight simulation or aerospace simulation systems.
• MATLAB/Simulink, Simulink S‑Functions.
• Flight dynamics or aerodynamic models.
• Hardware‑in‑the‑