Software Engineer - Mission Dev

Software Engineer - Mission Dev

Nominal is building the software infrastructure powering the world's most advanced hardware systems — from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation industrial machines. Our platform ingests high-rate telemetry, validates complex autonomy software in real time, and enables engineers to iterate faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers and operators who own problems end-to-end, work across disciplines, and thrive on challenges at the intersection of hardware and software.

As a dual-use platform, we serve leading commercial and defense customers — including organizations such as the U.S. Navy, United States Air Force, Shield AI, and Anduril — and, increasingly, customers in the UK and Europe. We're backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed Ventures.

Our team draws experience from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies — united by a common mission: enabling hardware engineers to push the boundaries of advanced technology with speed, safety, and precision.

The Mission Dev team operates at the intersection of cutting-edge software engineering and critical customer missions. As a Software Engineer on Mission Dev, you won't just support customers — you'll embed with them to solve their hardest data challenges head-on. Think like a startup cofounder or an early-stage CTO: you'll dive into ambiguous problem spaces, own solutions end-to-end, and iterate rapidly to deliver impactful results. This role demands grit, strong engineering foundations, creativity, and the ability to thrive in dynamic environments where you'll be responsible for everything from understanding core user needs to writing code for data integrations and custom applications.

You'll be a pivotal force within Nominal's Mission organization, directly applying your technical expertise to ensure our customers succeed with the platform and achieve their mission objectives. If you're a builder who loves solving complex problems, seeing your code directly shape mission outcomes, and forging paths in new territory, this is where you'll excel.

About the role

• Build and deploy custom applications, scripts, and extensions to meet specific customer requirements and unlock new capabilities — with a bias towards action and rapid prototyping.
• Design and implement resilient data pipelines and integration workflows to connect diverse customer systems with Nominal's offerings, often in complex or novel environments.
• Work closely with our Sales and Mission Ops teams to ensure seamless customer handoffs, provide deep technical expertise during pre-sales conversations, and scope customer engagements effectively.
• Gather customer feedback and insights from the field to inform product development, influence Nominal's roadmap, and improve our offerings.
• Contribute to team growth by sourcing, interviewing, and onboarding new engineers.

What we're looking for

• Experience designing, building, and shipping software in fast-changing or ambiguous environments.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills with a proactive, "get things done" mindset.
• A customer-centric approach and genuine passion for solving real-world problems with technology.
• Excitement to be an early, foundational member of the team building software tools for exceptional hardware engineering teams.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 25–50% to spend time with end users on-site (e.g., rocket test stands, spacecraft clean rooms, automated manufacturing facilities).

Skills that supercharge us

• Solution-oriented: Experience collaborating directly with customers to solve complex, technical challenges.
• Adaptability: Previous experience in startup or entrepreneurial environments where agility, problem-solving, and ownership are key.
• [Bonus] Security clearance: Active or eligible to obtain UK SC/DV clearance (or equivalent).