Senior Software Engineer - Space Infrastructure

Loft Orbital Solutions•San Francisco, CA

59d•$150,000 - $215,000

About The Position

As a Space Infrastructure Software Engineer, you are responsible for scaling our ability to operate a heterogeneous fleet of satellites--spanning dedicated, rideshare, and constellation missions. You will work at the intersection of automated satellite operations, ground and flight software, and solving on-orbit problems. The team is responsible for ensuring the reliable, efficient, and standardized operation of Loft's space infrastructure. Within the operational fleet of Loft satellites, the team is responsible for the stability of the satellite bus, the Hub, and Loft-owned payloads as a platform to execute customer missions. Loft's business and its customer's businesses are built on the reliability of its space infrastructure. This team's work is foundational for that model, and gives you a wide latitude to work on different systems, ranging from code that interacts with and uses Cockpit, our mission control system, to code that executes onboard our satellites. It will also give you the opportunity to become a Flight Director, responsible for the health and safety of our fleet.

Requirements

4+ years of professional software engineering experience, with solid skills in automation.
Ability to work across the full software and hardware stack-including ground-based automation, space-based automation, and the interfaces that connect them.
Proficiency in Python, container technologies (Docker, Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines, unit/integration testing, Linux, and Git.
Willingness and enthusiasm to be trained as a satellite controller and Flight Director (including participation in the on-call rotation).
Pragmatic mindset: able to balance long-term reliability with short- and medium-term solutions.
Accountability and autonomy; comfortable taking ownership and delivering results.
Openness to learning, working outside your comfort zone, and tackling unfamiliar challenges.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity or experience with Argo, Grafana, Loki, Lua, test engineering, or reliability engineering.
Hands-on experience as a satellite operator.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain the software systems that autonomously operate our satellites, improving the reliability and scalability of our space infrastructure.
Build tools, systems, and software libraries to enable other teams to integrate and operate effectively on Loft's satellite platform.
Scale our satellite operations software to support an increasingly heterogeneous and growing fleet.
Partner with software product teams to drive continuous improvements based on operational and integration feedback.
Contribute to and maintain SatDevOps Academy, our internal training program for company-wide satellite operations readiness.
Serve as a rotating Flight Director, overseeing incident response and ensuring the health and safety of the fleet.

Benefits

100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance option for employees and dependents
Flexible Spending (FSA) and Health Savings (HSA) Accounts offered with an employer contribution to the HSA
100% employer paid Life, AD&D, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability insurance
Flexible Time Off policy for vacation and sick leave, and 12 paid holidays
401(k) plan and equity options
Daily catered lunches and snacks in office
International exposure to our team in France
Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for birthing parent and 10 weeks for non-birthing parent
Carrot Fertility provides comprehensive, inclusive fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits with financial support
Off-sites and many social events and celebrations
Relocation assistance when applicable