Software Engineer

HEO•Arlington, VA

13d•Onsite

About The Position

We are a rapidly growing, US-based space startup revolutionizing satellite imaging using advanced in-orbit capabilities. Specifically, our expertise lies in leveraging in-space assets for Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Non-Earth Imaging (NEI). As an international company, we navigate a unique landscape while delivering critical services to our clients. Having recently secured several significant contracts, we are expanding our team to meet the exciting demands of our growth. To support this next phase, we’re building a high-performing, interdisciplinary team capable of pushing the boundaries of space technology. We’re looking for talented, passionate people who value collaboration, growth, and learning to join us. HEO is a post-Series A company backed by high-profile venture funds including Airtree, Y Combinator, and In-Q-Tel. We are headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices in London, UK, and Washington, D.C., USA. The Opportunity We are seeking a Software Solutions Engineer to provide technical execution and software development support for our major US Government (USG) programs. In this role, you will help design, build, and deliver bespoke software solutions for national security stakeholders. This is not a siloed front-end or back-end role, you will work across the stack on non-recurring engineering (NRE) projects, taking experimental concepts to operational deployment, and rapidly prototyping features based on specific USG mission needs. As an early engineering hire at HEO USA, you will play a hands-on role in scaling our domestic engineering capabilities. While working as an individual contributor, you will collaborate closely with our established Australia-based software team to transition core technologies into mission-ready software for the US market.

Requirements

2–5+ years of industry experience in software engineering, developing end-to-end applications, or building custom technical software solutions.
Experience working with or in support of the US Intelligence Community (IC) or DoD is highly preferred.
Strong proficiency in Python and standard object-oriented programming concepts.
Solid experience building end-to-end applications, including API development (e.g., Django, FastAPI), persistent storage/databases, and deployment pipelines (CI/CD).
Experience deploying and maintaining applications in cloud environments (AWS preferred).
Comfort working fluidly across backend services, data pipelines, and light frontend/visualization updates (experience with TypeScript or React is a plus, but not required).
Strong communication and critical thinking skills as you'll be engaging with customers and external partners.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while collaborating effectively across international, cross-functional teams.
Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
Active Top Secret clearance preferred; must have the ability to obtain and maintain a US government Top Secret security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience with TypeScript or React

Responsibilities

Drive the "Prototype to Ops" pipeline that operationalizes custom mission capabilities into robust software.
Write, test, and implement Python-based software to automate the collection of NEI and critical SDA data for our Space Imagery Analyst (SIA) team.
Rapidly build end-to-end minimum viable products (MVPs), APIs, and experimental features to test directly with USG customers for fast feedback loops.
Work closely with cross-functional teams to transform mission modeling, orbital mechanics, and image processing concepts into high-performance, production-grade cloud software.
Support the expansion of HEO’s proprietary platform, HEO Inspect for national security stakeholders.
Develop features, responsive tools, and data visualizations that enhance interactivity and user experience.
Serve as a key technical interface for USG projects, helping to translate complex aerospace system capabilities into software requirements and functional solutions.