Full-Time

Software Engineer

Updated on 8/1/2026

Starfish Space Inc.

Starfish Space Inc.

51-200 employees

Autonomous space tugs for satellite servicing

Compensation Overview

$100k - $180k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Tukwila, WA, USA

Hybrid

Hybrid work in Tukwila, Washington.

US Citizenship Required

Category
Software Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Python
C/C++
Robotics

Get referred to Starfish Space Inc.

See people who can refer or advise you

Requirements
  • Must be a U.S. person, specifically a citizen or permanent resident.
  • Willingness to work from Tukwila, Washington.
  • Software development education or experience.
  • Ability to work in a dynamic, fast-paced startup environment.
Responsibilities
  • Build space environment simulation software and infrastructure to support refinement of autonomous software.
  • Build cloud infrastructure.
  • Automate simulation analysis.
  • Support integrations with satellite compute hardware.
Desired Qualifications
  • At least 5 years of relevant experience.
  • A Bachelor of Science degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or a similar field.
  • Working knowledge of Python and C++.
  • Previous experience with numerical simulations.

Starfish Space develops autonomous on-orbit servicing vehicles to extend satellite lifespans and remove orbital debris. Its main product, the Otter, is a small servicing spacecraft designed to dock with existing satellites for life-extension, repositioning, and eventual disposal. Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) software powers autonomous navigation, docking, and operations of the spacecraft. The company serves both commercial satellite operators and government space agencies, offering on-orbit servicing as a service model. Starfish Space’s goal is to maximize satellite operational life and curb space debris, making space operations more sustainable and cost-effective.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series B

Total Funding

$152.3M

Headquarters

Tukwila, Washington

Founded

2018

Get referred to Starfish Space Inc.

See people who can refer or advise you

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-2%

1 year growth

-5%

2 year growth

0%
South Sound Business
Apr 7th, 2026
Tukwila's Starfish Space raises $100M-Plus Series B.

Tukwila's Starfish Space raises $100M-Plus Series B. * john stearns * apr 7, 2026 updated 2 hrs ago. Starfish Space, a satellite-servicing startup based in Tukwila, announced today that it has raised more than $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Point72 Ventures. Including the Series B, the company has raised more than $150 million in venture capital funding since its founding in 2019. Activate Capital and Shield Capital co-led the round. Other major participants included Industrious Ventures and NightDragon. The round also included existing Starfish investors NFX, Munich Re Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PSL Ventures. New investors included Nomi Capital, Gaingels, and Overlap Holdings, according to a news release. The round comes amid significant technical and commercial traction for the company's Otter satellite-servicing technology. Otter is designed to conduct life-extension missions for geostationary satellites and disposal missions for low Earth orbit satellites. Starfish is a growing player in the Puget Sound area's surging space sector, which fields established and promising companies in both the Eastside and South Sound regions. Starfish's Otter satellite-servicing vehicle has missions under contract with the U.S. Space Force, SDA, NASA, SES, and others. The company has successfully launched and operated three demonstration missions in orbit, including the Remora mission in 2025 and the ongoing Otter Pup 2 mission, and is on track to fly its first full Otter missions later this year, Starfish said in today's release. In January, Starfish announced it was awarded a $52.5 million contract by the U.S. Space Force's Space Development Agency, or SDA, marking what the company called the first contracted mission for end-of-life satellite disposal service in history. "Closing this round reflects the real momentum we are seeing across both our technology and our customer base," Austin Link, co-founder of Starfish Space, said in a statement. "We have Otter missions under contract, successful demos, and our first operational mission launching this year. We're ready to help organizations get the most out of their on-orbit infrastructure." Existing investors participated heavily in the round, reflecting confidence in the company's execution and the growing demand for in-orbit servicing, the company said. "From our perspective, Starfish has made steady progress toward practical on-orbit servicing," Chris Morales, partner at Point72 Ventures, said in the release. "We believe their early traction with defense and commercial customers and successful autonomous missions show these capabilities are becoming increasingly relevant to space operations and national security." Point72 first invested in Starfish in 2024. Starfish will use the Series B proceeds to execute contracted Otter missions, scale the Otter business line to meet customer demand, and grow the team, it said. The company reported 85 employees in January.