This role pays more than
92%
of similar roles. Most pay
$152,000–$187,200
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$198k
versus about
$170k
for comparable roles.
Based on 240 similar postings.
Employer
About Amazon Inc
Amazon Inc. is the world''s largest e-commerce and cloud computing company, operating the Amazon marketplace, AWS cloud platform, Prime subscription services, Alexa voice AI, and logistics infrastructure. Industry: E-Commerce & Cloud Computing
Amazon Inc currently has
457 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$143,700–$194,400
across 447 roles with salary data.
As a Senior Software Development Engineer on the Optical Inter-Satellite Link team, you will design, develop, and optimize highly reliable flight software for optical inter-satellite link systems. You will build everything from low-level device drivers and real-time control loops to high-level autonomous behaviors and AI/ML-driven decision-making. Your daily work involves architecting fault-tolerant, redundant systems to maintain orbital links, managing over-the-air updates, and developing board support package components for hardware integration. You will utilize technologies including embedded Linux, RTOS, Yocto, ARM-based SoCs, and the Linux networking stack while working with interfaces like Ethernet, PCIe, SPI, and I2C. This role addresses the technical challenge of maintaining high-speed laser communications between satellites moving at orbital velocities, ensuring robust connectivity across a constellation through automated recovery systems and sophisticated simulation infrastructure for space-based networking.
What does a Software Development Engineer earn in California?
Median $217725 from 77 postings across 8 companies.
Develop and optimize reliable flight software for optical inter-satellite links using embedded Linux and RTOS.
Architect fault-tolerant, redundant systems to maintain satellite communication and enable autonomous recovery without ground intervention.
Build and maintain test, validation, and simulation infrastructure including hardware-in-the-loop and automated regression suites.
Manage the full lifecycle of embedded software from requirements decomposition and architecture design to deployment in orbit.
Improve over-the-air (OTA) update processes to safely deliver new capabilities and fixes to the satellite constellation.
Lead board bring-up and integration by developing and debugging low-level Board Support Package components and peripheral connectivity.
What we're looking for
Candidates must be a U.S. citizen, national, permanent resident, or granted asylum/refugee status for export control compliance.
5+ years of non-internship professional software development experience.
5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language.
5+ years of leading design or architecture of new and existing systems including design patterns, reliability, and scaling.
Experience as a mentor, tech lead, or leading an engineering team.
5+ years of experience with the Linux networking stack and/or consumer devices using embedded Linux, Yocto, and/or RTOS.
Experience developing embedded software for space systems, including optical communication, laser terminals, or high-speed serial interfaces (preferred).
Experience with ARM-based SoCs, Linux system virtualization (QEMU/KVM), or FPGA-adjacent software development (preferred).
C
C++
Rust
Embedded Linux
SDN
L2 Networking
RSTP
BFD
MPLS
ARP
ARM
Packet Capture
Structured Logging
Metrics
Source Control Management
Distributed Systems
RTOS
Bare-metal
C++
C#
Java
Perl
Object Oriented Design
Distributed Systems
Source Control Management
Simulation Software
Optical Communication Systems
C
C++
Rust
Embedded Linux
RTOS
PCIe
I2C
SPI
Ethernet
RS-422
RS-485
FPGA
Firmware
Agile
Source Control Management
Distributed Systems
Over-The-Air (OTA)