Lead Software Engineer - Loft Orbital

Hello Software Engineer

At Loft Orbital, we have just successfully launched three satellites that we fly and operate ourselves. With 4 satellites on-orbit and a wave of exciting missions launching soon, we are scaling up quickly as a global company, with offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France.

We are now actively looking for Lead Software Engineer to join our Mission Integration Tools team and help us build the technology to drive the success of our future missions.

We are looking for this Software Engineer to work in our San Francisco, CA or Golden, CO office.

As a Lead Software Engineer, you will primarily help design, develop and deploy our customer-facing integration test products. Furthermore, being a lead, you will help break down large problems into bite-sized chunks for the team to execute in sprints, releases, and quarters. We are looking for engineers with a product mindset, who have a good grasp of software engineering principles and experience with setting up software infrastructures. Additionally, we are looking for someone who is:

- Able to work independently with some guidance. People owning their work is important to us!

- Able to wear multiple hats as needs arise. We are a small company disrupting an entire industry!

- Not afraid to get out of their comfort zone to explore and learn. Technologies are evolving at rapid rates, and we must stay relevant!

Our culture at Loft Orbital promotes collaboration and ownership among our developers, fostering efforts hand-in-hand with other teams, internally and externally.

Wanna join the adventure?

*Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalized people tend to only apply when they meet 100% of the qualifications. At Loft, we value respectful debate and people who aren’t afraid to challenge assumptions. We strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t ‘check all the boxes.

About This Role:

• Technical:
• Design, develop, deploy, and manage the lifecycle of customer-facing integration products.
• Collaborate with team members and drive decisions for software and deployment architectures.
• Provide architectural guidance and oversight to ensure the scalability, performance, and security of our products.

• Leadership:
• Work with multiple internal stakeholders to gather requirements. Then, break down large efforts and requirements into smaller tasks to achieve progress in an iterative manner.
• Mentor junior engineers, fostering a culture of trust, continuous improvement, and innovation.
• Assist the product manager in product roadmap maintenance and release planning to ensure timely and successful product launches.

Must-Haves:

• 5+ years of experience in software development or architecture in a product development setting.
• Experience leading software development projects.
• Proficiency in Python and experience developing software in a product development environment.
• Strong experience working with Linux systems (For e.g., Ubuntu, Yocto).
• Experience setting up CI/CD pipelines.
• Understanding of how to create, configure, and manage containers, preferably Docker.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Web service development experience.
• Experience writing Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC).
• Experience with security around deployments, such as image hardening.
• Experience deploying software to remote hardware in the field, over-the-air, and in air-gapped environments.
• Experience with Kubernetes.

Compensation:

Note: A cover letter is not required to submit your application. We prefer you complete the application questions instead.

Who We Are:

Loft Orbital builds “shareable” satellites, providing a fast & simple path to orbit for organizations that require access to space. Powered by our hardware & software products, we operate satellites, fly customer payloads onboard, and handle entire missions from end to end - significantly reducing the lead-time and risk of a traditional space mission.

Our standard interface enables us to fly multiple customer payloads on the same satellite, with capabilities such as earth imagery, weather & climate/science data collection, IoT connectivity, in-orbit demonstrations, and national security missions. Our customers trust us to manage their space infrastructure, so they can focus on what matters most to them: operating their mission and collecting their data.

At Loft, you’ll be given the autonomy and ownership to solve significant challenges, but with a close-knit and supportive team at your back. We believe that diversity and community are the foundation of an open culture. We are committed to hiring the best people regardless of background and make their time at Loft the most fulfilling period of their career.

We value kind, supportive, and team-oriented collaborators. It is also crucial for us that you are a problem solver and a great communicator. As our team is international, you will need strong English skills to better collaborate, easily communicate complex ideas, and convey important messages.

As an international company, your resume will be reviewed by people across our offices, so please attach a copy in English.