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NEXTMOVEFDE careers · United States

Principal Embedded Systems Security Engineer

AI summary of the role

Principal-level hands-on security engineering role owning the security architecture of True Anomaly's spacecraft, radios, and hardware platforms.

What you’ll do

  • Own security architecture, threat modeling, and defensive controls for spacecraft platform (flight computer, firmware, FPGA, crypto, secure boot).
  • Architect and build security platforms, tooling, and foundational services for secure-by-default development.
  • Design and implement PKI for resource-constrained spacecraft, including device authentication, firmware signing, secure boot, and key storage.
  • Architect crypto to meet FIPS 140-3, CNSA 2.0, CCSDS SDLS, and drive post-quantum migration.

What you’ll bring

  • Active security clearance or ability to obtain one.
  • Deep hands-on expertise in embedded, hardware, and firmware security (side-channel, fault injection, secure boot, HSMs).
  • Strong C/C++ skills and low-level engineering fundamentals.
  • Expert-level PKI design and operation for embedded/constrained systems.

Technologies

C · C++ · FPGA · VHDL · RTOS · PKI · HSM · FIPS 140-3 · CNSA 2.0 · CCSDS SDLS · secure boot · post-quantum cryptography

About True Anomaly

Builds autonomous spacecraft, mission software, and payload-ready systems for space domain awareness, tactically responsive space, and contested-orbit operations.

Series C · 200–500 people

Source and classification

Internal deployment & tooling · Evidence for this classification:

performance in real-time systems. As our Principal Embedded Systems Security Engineer, you'll own the security of our spacecraft, radio systems, and hardware platforms. You'll build security platforms and foundational services that enable our hardware and software teams to develop secure embedded systems by default. This role demands deep security expertise and the rigor that comes from engineering systems that cannot fail. As part of the Platform Security team, you'll work hands-on across C++ flight software, embedded C firmware within microcontrollers and radiation-hardened SoCs, FPGA designs, and real-time operating systems. Your work will impact the spacecraft's critical subsystems, from flight computer through command and control, RF, and payload. If you've secured systems where failure means loss of life or national security impact, you'll understand the constraints and rigor
More from the job description

Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it. OUR MISSION True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground. OUR VALUES Be the offset. We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity. What would it take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results. It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together. YOUR MISSION Embedded systems security for space operations poses unique challenges: remote systems that must operate in adversarial RF environments, resource- constrained hardware, and trade-offs between security and performance in real-time systems. As our Principal Embedded Systems Security Engineer, you'll own the security of our spacecraft, radio systems, and hardware platforms. You'll build security platforms and foundational services that enable our hardware and software teams to develop secure embedded systems by default. This role demands deep security expertise and the rigor that comes from engineering systems that cannot fail. As part of the Platform Security team, you'll work hands-on across C++ flight [... source excerpt omitted ...] t's critical subsystems, from flight computer through command and control, RF, and payload. If you've secured systems where failure means loss of life or national security impact, you'll understand the constraints and rigor required here. This is a hands-on technical leadership role combining deep hardware security expertise with strong software engineering skills. You will write production code and build the tooling, test frameworks, and security validation platforms that harden our embedded systems at scale. You'll tackle novel security challenges that don't have an established playbook as we aim to set the standard for space-based security. In our AI-native environment, you' [... source excerpt omitted ...] edded and RF threats to proactively harden our systems. Use AI to move faster — accelerating development, analyzing security data, and closing technical knowledge gaps. Required Qualifications Active security clearance, or the ability to obtain and maintain one. Deep, hands-on expertise in embedded, hardware, and firmware security — including hardware attack surfaces, side-channel and fault-injection attacks, firmware security, secure boot, and hardware security modules (HSMs). Strong software development skills in C and C++, plus solid engineering fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, API design, and debugging production systems) and comfort working across multiple language

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