"Mission Operations Ground Systems and Software Engineer (7115C), Space Sciences Laboratory - 82831"

About Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

As a world-leading institution, Berkeley is known for its academic and research excellence, public mission, diverse student body, and commitment to equity and social justice. Since our founding in 1868, we have driven innovation, creating global intellectual, economic and social value.

We are looking for applicants who reflect California's diversity and want to be part of an inclusive, equity-focused community that views education as a matter of social justice. Please consider whether your values align with our Guiding Values and Principles, Principles of Community, and Strategic Plan.

At UC Berkeley, we believe that learning is a fundamental part of working, and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups (staff organizations). Our goal is for everyone on the Berkeley campus to feel supported and equipped to realize their full potential. We actively support this by providing all of our full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours (10 days) of paid time per year to engage in professional development activities. Find out more about how you can grow your career at UC Berkeley.

Departmental Overview

The Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) is an Organized Research Unit (ORU) of the Berkeley campus reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Research. SSL's primary goal is to foster research in space-related sciences and to provide education for the next generation of space scientists. Research at SSL, led by Berkeley faculty and SSL Senior Fellows, focuses on experiments and observations carried out in space as well as theoretical and basic research.

Position Summary

Create and help maintain the full stack of Mission Operations Software used by the Mission Operations Team at the UC Space Sciences Lab. Our team currently controls 9 spacecraft in orbit including Low Earth, Lunar, Heliocentric, and Mars orbits. The position requires a highly motivated and independent software engineer that wants be part of an innovative and agile team that has demonstrated it can do more, faster and more cost effectively, than just about any team currently involved in space missions. We are looking for someone with an eye for design that is interested in UX/UI, as much as in the back end. We have multiple more funded missions coming up that will need support.

This job is to help us understand and visualize space mission engineering and science data.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is: 12/15/2025.

Responsibilities

• Lead discussions to translate operator and scientist requirements into an executable software implementation plan.
• Under general supervision, design and prepare Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) and other software tools for our operators to use to evaluate telemetry and interact with engineering test or flight articles or spacecraft.
• Under general supervision, work to improve or augment existing software products used by our Mission Operations Team.
• Present interfaces to senior staff internal to the SSL as well as external customers.
• Independently research and design software capabilities for the team without requirements, based purely to innovate based on predicting where the team is headed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Relevant experience with JavaScript and an additional backend language (Python, Go, SQL, etc.).
• Previous experience AND interest with UI/UX and frontend tech stack (e.g., React, HTML, CSS, Vue, Angular, Alpine, Svelte, LitElement, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience with client and server interactions (HTTP protocol + REST API).
• Previous experience with time series databases (e.g., InfluxDB).
• Previous experience with dashboard (data visualization) services like Grafana.
• Bachelor's degree in related area and/or equivalent experience/training.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated Interest in aerospace topics, especially mission operations.

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual salary range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $101,600.00 - $135,000.00. The full salary range for this classification is $101,600.00 - $189,800.00.

• This is an exempt monthly-paid position.

How to Apply

• To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.