Salary Range: 144000 to 198000 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)

Wanna join the adventure?

Loft’s Onboard Software group provides the on-orbit software that powers our satellite fleet — from the Linux services running on the hub processor, to the containerized workloads executing customer applications in low Earth orbit.

The Deployment & Runtime Environments team is where software meets the satellite. We own how software gets packaged, deployed, and executed onboard: from the tool that assembles and maintains mission-specific software stacks, to the Runtime Container Environment that lets partner and customer workloads run securely in orbit, to the Linux infrastructure that makes it all reliable. As more satellite programs come online and as we open our container runtime to a growing number of external workloads, the team’s scope is expanding fast.

We’re looking for someone scrappy — the kind of engineer who digs into an unfamiliar system, maps it out, and gets it shipped without needing the path handed to them. You’ll move between Linux internals, container runtimes, and CI pipelines, sometimes in the same afternoon.

We’re hiring for one position across multiple locations - you only need to apply once.

About this role:

Contribute to and evolve our bundle management tool — the tool that resolves package dependencies, assembles mission-specific software stacks, and enables the Solutions team to spin up and maintain an ever-growing number of satellite programs
Develop and harden our onboard Linux infrastructure: how services are deployed on the rootfs, what system manages their execution, and how we ensure reliable and recoverable Linux operation in orbit
Evolve our Runtime Container Environment — the container manager and the full stack around it (base images, container registry service) — enabling partner and customer workloads to run securely onboard our vehicles
Support scaling of the deployment pipeline as new hardware platforms are added and the number of active satellite programs grows
Contribute to Product Validation — as the last step in the development pipeline, the team plays a key role in validating software readiness before it goes to orbit
Design, implement, and refine software with a high degree of ownership, driving features from concept through delivery
Participate in code reviews, design proposals, and the continuous improvement of development processes

Must Haves:

Strong understanding of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, or similar runtimes)
Deep Linux system knowledge: boot process, service management, filesystem layout, and failure recovery
Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitLab-CI, Jenkins, or similar)
Proficiency with Git and collaborative development workflows
Experience with embedded or resource-constrained systems
Working Python

Nice to Haves:

Understanding of software deployment strategies for critical or hard-to-reach systems — OTA updates for cars, drones, or consumer hardware, or software updates on satellites — including concepts like golden images, A/B partitions, staged rollouts, and safe rollback
C++ knowledge
Experience with CUE (cuelang)
Familiarity with additional programming languages such as Go or Rust
Experience with embedded Linux: Yocto, device trees, systemd, and Linux on ARM platforms
Proficiency with unit test frameworks (e.g., pytest, Googletest, Unity)
Experience with middleware frameworks (gRPC, ZMQ/NATS, etc.)

Some of Our Awesome Benefits:

100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision for you and your dependents
100% company-paid life, AD&D, and disability insurance
Fully paid parental leave: 16 weeks for birthing parents, 10 weeks for non-birthing parents
Flexible time off and 12 paid holidays
HSA with employer contribution, FSAs, and commuter benefits
Carrot Fertility, One Medical, and a free Employee Assistance Program
401(k) and equity
Daily catered lunches and snacks in office
Annual company off-site and regular social events
International exposure to our team in France
Relocation assistance when applicable

*Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other underrepresented 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.

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.

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

Loft Orbital

Onboard Software Engineer - Deployment & Runtime Environments

About the Job

Requirements

Responsibilities

Desired Qualifications

About this role:

Must Haves:

Nice to Haves:

Some of Our Awesome Benefits:

About the Company

Loft Orbital

Recently Posted Jobs