TLDR: Senior web dev trying to break into advanced embedded space systems. Have done a lot of work in this direction but still not sure if I am taking the right approach or what kinds of roles I am a fit for at this time. Seeking some advice from those on the inside.

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I'm a mid-career software engineer, 37M, US citizen. I've been working for 14 years. I've worked on a pretty wide range of systems but they've mostly been web-related - full-stack web development, GIS service architectures, etc. I've held leadership roles at startups including hiring and managing. These days I consider myself quite senior and feel like an expert when it comes to writing software properly.

I never really loved the web world or sought it out, and in terms of growth my career has been mediocre as a result. The idea of working at e.g. FAANG is like revolting to me. I always envisioned myself doing what I consider much more interesting and worthwhile work. My undergrad CE degree had a hardware focus - digital circuits, computer organization, signals etc. I know my basic circuits and have soldered a few things. During my career I've taken time out for online courses and done projects on the side involving machine learning, neural networks, and robotics (controls, state estimation, physics simulation, etc.). I am now working on a traditional Master's in EE, studying embedded software, controls, and autonomous systems. I've gotten pretty up to speed with C and C++ in the last couple of years and have completed a handful of class projects, which I've enjoyed immensely. I've also contributed to one of the aerospace department's CubeSat projects, writing the antenna deployment state machine. In the meantime I am working part time building an entire web application myself, and hating every minute of it despite it being the best work I've ever done.

My dream is to work on "advanced" embedded systems for space exploration. Things like high-rate real-time autonomous systems or GNC. For example, I'd love to help put a reinforcement learning algorithm into a space robot and send it off to Titan or another star system. But fundamentally I just want to be working somewhere I am really engaged so I can get some traction and stop floundering.

I recently had an onsite interview with Sierra Space for a senior flight software role, after which I was rejected. Contracting recruiters tell me I do not have enough embedded experience for the rate I'm asking ($100/hr). A friend who is a mechanical engineering director at a robotics company said he would be wary of hiring a senior engineer who is encumbered with a Master's program.

This all leaves me at a bit of a loss as to what kind of a role or starting salary I should be targeting at the moment. It seems I'm overqualified for junior roles yet underqualified for senior roles. I'm prepared to take a pay cut if that's what it takes to break in and get up to speed, so long as there is a clear path to quickly rising to where I feel I belong if my work demonstrates my ability. It's also not clear to me if tuition assistance is going to be on the table or if that's an investment that aerospace/defense companies only make in junior engineers. I'm totally willing to bail on the Master's as it is unimaginably costly in terms of deferred income, but I can't really justify doing this unless I go directly into the career I'm seeking.

Any advice from those in the biz, particularly with respect to the best strategy for breaking in and growing, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

#embedded #space #spaceflight #robotics