About the Team:

Relativity Space is on a mission to better connect humanity to space and the universe beyond our planet. With decades of experience scaling world-class technology organizations like Google, CEO Eric Schmidt is guiding Relativity into its next phase: advancing Terran R toward launch and building the foundation for long-term impact.

The Vehicle Software team develops the safety-critical software that runs on Terran R. The work spans a distributed, real-time control system operating under extreme conditions like Mach 5 atmospheric flight, with a deployment pace that allows you to see your code run on rocket engines daily. The team is building new system architecture from the ground up and just as importantly, testing, releasing, and deploying it. You don’t need an aerospace background: what matters is experience with high-reliability software for complex systems. This is a rare opportunity to shape the foundation of Terran R’s software stack while directly influencing performance, reliability, and flight success.

About the Role:

As a Software Development Engineer in Test I on the TRADE team, you'll execute well-defined testing and release tasks under the guidance of senior engineers, building the skills to take on greater release ownership over time.

You'll write and maintain Python automation for release workflows, validation steps, and artifact management, starting with smaller, well-scoped scripts and tasks, with mentorship from staff engineers as you grow.

This role is hands-on and detail-oriented. You'll follow established procedures to validate and help publish release candidates, support Run-for-Record campaigns, and coordinate directly with developers, systems engineers, test operators, and integration teams on smaller-scope items, while senior engineers lead broader cross-team alignment.

You will:

• Execute assigned testing and release tasks following documented procedures, with review from senior engineers
• Write and maintain Python scripts to automate release validation steps and artifact handling, under mentorship
• Help validate and publish release candidates from multiple software teams (e.g. flight and embedded software), as directed
• Coordinate with developers, systems engineers, test operators, and integration teams on day-to-day release and testing needs
• Support Run-for-Record campaigns, helping prepare environments, capture results, and store test artifacts
• Assist with post-release deployment validation and basic troubleshooting
• Learn and contribute to CI/CD and pre-release testing improvements
• Help organize release documentation and support data reviews as directed

About You:

• 0-1 years of professional experience; new grads welcome. Internship, co-op, or academic project experience in software, systems, or test engineering is a plus
• Basic Python scripting ability, from coursework, personal projects, internships, or professional experience
• Basic awareness of CI/CD concepts and workflows (e.g. through coursework or exposure, not necessarily hands-on production experience)
• Eagerness to learn software release and test engineering processes, with willingness to follow established procedures closely
• Strong attention to detail and documentation habits
• Good communication skills and ability to work well with guidance from senior team members
• Comfort working under deadlines while still being precise and thorough

Nice to haves but not required:

• Exposure to aerospace, launch vehicle, or other high-reliability/safety-critical systems (coursework, internship, or personal projects count)
• Familiarity with Conda, GitLab CI/CD, Git/version control practices, or artifact repositories
• Exposure to hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing, simulation environments, or systems integration
• Interest in or early experience with data analysis, root cause investigation, or quality/release audits
• Coursework or interest in electrical, systems, or software engineering as applied to physical/hardware systems (not just mobile/cloud-only software)