Software Engineer - Space Infrastructure

About this Role:

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 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.

Must Haves:

• Proven experience developing software, 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 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:

• 3+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Familiarity or experience with Docker, Lua, Linux, CI/CD pipelines, test engineering, or reliability engineering.
• Hands-on experience as a satellite operator.

Some of Our Awesome 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.

Who We Are:

Loft: Space Made Simple. Founded in 2017, Loft provides governments, companies, and research institutions with a fast, reliable, and simple way to deploy missions in orbit. We integrate, launch, and operate spacecraft, offering end-to-end missions as a service across Earth observation, IoT connectivity, on-orbit AI, national security missions, and more. Leveraging our existing space infrastructure and an extensive inventory of satellite buses, Loft is reducing years-long integration and launch timelines to months. With more than 30 missions flown, Loft’s flight heritage and proven technologies enable customers to focus on their mission objectives. With a growing fleet on track to reach 30 satellites by 2027, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France to meet accelerating demand for space infrastructure.