Full-Time
Senior Software Engineer
Sda
Posted on 10/31/2025
Katalyst Space Technologies
51-200 employees
Post-launch satellite upgrade services
No salary listed
Flagstaff, AZ, USA
In Person
 Software Engineering (3) |
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- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
- 3+ years of experience in software development, including significant architecture/design responsibilities.
- 2+ years of hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps best practices.
- Proficiency in designing and maintaining scalable cloud infrastructure, especially on AWS.
- Experience with Docker and container orchestration tools (e.g., docker-compose, ECS, or Kubernetes).
- Strong coding proficiency in Python.
- Experience leading code reviews, managing codebases, and mentoring development teams.
- Familiarity with GitLab administration and managing development tools/environments.
- Strong understanding of secure coding and deployment practices.
- Experience deploying software in high-side or secure environments.
- Experience working with different sensors and hardware for machine vision engineering.
- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
- Design, develop, and implement software architecture across projects and teams.
- Own and improve CI/CD pipelines, DevOps workflows, and release processes.
- Support end-to-end integration of software components and ML models into production systems.
- Help manage and improve cloud infrastructure (primarily AWS), ensuring secure, scalable, and cost-efficient deployments.
- Maintain multi-container environments using Docker, docker-compose, and related tooling.
- Develop production code quality through peer reviews, automated testing, code style enforcement, and performance optimization.
- Contribute to the implementation of cloud-native workflows using AWS services like Lambda, Step Functions, ECS, etc.
- Support and occasionally develop full-stack components, including front-end features using React, TypeScript, and Next.js.
- Lead or support demonstrations with internal/external stakeholders through robust, presentable UI interfaces.
- Oversee internal IT operations related to GitLab, server configuration, certificates, and basic security practices.
Katalyst Space Technologies upgrades satellites after they are launched. It offers a post-launch upgrade service that adds or improves satellite capabilities without the need to launch a new spacecraft. The process centers on an “upgrade economy” where operators pay for modification and capability enhancements, often paired with life-extension work, to extend a satellite’s useful life and keep its features current amid rapid space changes. The company differentiates itself by focusing on post-launch adaptability rather than building new satellites, reducing waste and orbital congestion and enabling testing of new tech on existing platforms. Its clients are established space companies and government agencies seeking to unlock new revenue and access to markets without the high costs and risks of new launches. The goal is to provide a sustainable, cost-effective way for satellite operators to adapt to evolving space environments and maintain competitiveness.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Seed
Total Funding
$880K
Headquarters
Flagstaff, Arizona
Founded
2019
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Swift rescue mission success establishes credibility for $30M NASA contracts and government servicing market.
- NEXUS-1 Ariane 6 launch H2 2027 unlocks GEO servicing for US government and commercial clients.
- Hired JPL veterans and Space Force SHIELD-1 funding accelerate autonomous upgrade delivery at scale.
What critics are saying
- Pegasus XL launch failure in June 2026 destroys LINK and terminates NASA Swift contract.
- Swift reenters atmosphere before docking, publicly branding $30M mission failure and damaging credibility.
- Arianespace delays NEXUS-1 launch beyond 2027, missing government deadlines and incurring penalties.
What makes Katalyst Space Technologies unique
- Katalyst uniquely enables post-launch hardware upgrades on unprepared satellites using novel attachment mechanisms.
- LINK spacecraft demonstrates autonomous rendezvous and docking with non-servicing-designed satellites like Swift.
- Acquired Atomos Space's Quark platform, expanding capabilities across LEO, GEO, and lunar domains.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
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Unlimited Paid Time Off
Stock Options
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Relocation Assistance
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 1%1 year growth
↑ 10%2 year growth
↑ 0%Katalyst selects Arianespace to launch GEO mission aboard Ariane 6. 23.03.2026 * Arianespace signs contract with Katalyst Space Technologies for the launch of NEXUS-1 spacecraft. * The spacecraft will be launched by Ariane 6, Europe's heavy-lift launcher, to a geostationary transfer orbit second half of 2027. * This new mission showcases Ariane 6's unique versatility, flexibility and modularity as well as its competitiveness on the international space market. Arianespace announced today that it has signed a contract with U.S. based Katalyst Space Technologies to launch the NEXUS-1 spacecraft to geostationary transfer orbit using the Ariane 6 from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. Slated for launch aboard Ariane 6 in the second half of 2027, the NEXUS-1 will provide in-orbit servicing capabilities, including rendezvous and docking with satellites to deliver hardware upgrades, refueling, and life-extension services. The first servicing mission for NEXUS-1 will be for the US government. NEXUS-1 also has subsequent in-orbit operations on order from commercial satellite companies. Through this mission, Katalyst Space Technologies aims to expand the role of in-space servicing in satellite operations. Its technology enables satellites to be upgraded after launch, allowing operators to add new capabilities and extend the value of their spacecraft over time. The Ariane 6, which has successfully performed all six of its launches to date, is Europe's proven, state of the art, heavy-lift workhorse vehicle. "We are delighted to sign this Ariane 6 launch contract with Katalyst. We are all about launching ambitions worldwide with Europe's powerful heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6, able to support complex and innovative space missions, like Katalyst's NEXUS-1," said David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace. Ghonhee Lee, CEO, Katalyst Space Technologies, commented: "Katalyst is building the infrastructure required for dynamic space operations. Securing our Ariane 6 launch is a major step toward delivering on-orbit capabilities that allow satellite operators to adapt, respond, and extend mission value in ways they never could before. We are excited to partner with Arianespace on this important mission to deploy these capabilities for our government and commercial partners."
Katalyst Space Technologies has until June to launch a $30 million rescue mission for NASA's Swift Observatory, which has been inactive for over a month and is falling out of orbit. The company must launch by 1 June, as Swift is expected to reenter the atmosphere between late July and October due to heightened solar activity expanding Earth's atmosphere. Founded in 2020, Katalyst was awarded the contract last September and has just nine months to build, test and launch its Link servicing spacecraft. The mission will attempt to dock with the 21-year-old observatory using robotic arms and boost it to a higher orbit, despite Swift never being designed for such a rendezvous. The rescue will use a Pegasus XL rocket, launching from Kwajalein Atoll to reach Swift's equatorial orbit.
A NASA Space telescope is falling out of the sky. Can this startup save it? An Earth-orbiting NASA telescope is slowly falling out of the sky, with a 90% chance of uncontrolled reentry by the end of 2026. To avoid this risk and extend the observatory's lifespan, NASA has tapped an Arizona-based spaceflight startup to launch a daring rescue mission. Katalyst Space Technologies, headquartered in Flagstaff, has received a $30 million award from NASA to give the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory an orbital boost. To that end, Katalyst is developing the "LINK" spacecraft, designed to autonomously rendezvous with Swift and shift it into a more stable orbit. Katalyst has less than eight months to get LINK off the ground and save Swift, with a launch deadline of June 2026. Oh, and according to a company announcement made Wednesday, it plans to launch the mission via a rocket dropped out of a plane. No biggie. Saving Swift from its slow demise. The Swift observatory launched in 2004 to observe gamma-ray bursts - the most violent explosions in the known universe. Over its two decades in low-Earth orbit, Swift has gradually lost altitude, as all satellites do. But recent spikes in solar activity have increased atmospheric drag on the spacecraft, accelerating its orbital decay to a concerning rate. As Swift sinks back to Earth, atmospheric drag intensifies. At this rate, the observatory has a 50% chance of uncontrolled reentry by mid-2026 and a 90% chance by the end of next year, according to Katalyst. Though Swift would completely burn up in the atmosphere and pose no threat to people and property on Earth, NASA and Katalyst hope to extend its lifespan. Pegasus's heroic comeback. Katalyst has selected Northrop Grumman's Pegasus rocket as the launch vehicle for this rescue mission. Pegasus is an air-launched rocket, meaning it gets dropped from a carrier aircraft at 40,000 feet (12,000 meters), then freefalls for five seconds before igniting its first-stage rocket motor and ascending to orbit. Pegasus's launch cadence has slowed significantly as cheaper, ground-launched rockets have become widely available. The Katalyst mission will be its first flight since 2021. According to the company, "Pegasus is the only system that can meet the orbit, timeline, and budget simultaneously." Swift orbits the planet at a 20.6-degree inclination to avoid the South Atlantic Anomaly - a large weak spot in Earth's magnetic field that exposes satellites to higher levels of radiation. Because of this, a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg would require a huge amount of propellant to reach the right orbital plane for this mission, Kieran Wilson, vice president of technology at Katalyst, told SpaceNews. Pegasus's air-launch design overcomes this hurdle. And since it's a flight-proven vehicle, it's ready to launch on short notice. Once Pegasus deploys LINK, the spacecraft will approach Swift with a series of precise maneuvers known as rendezvous proximity operations, according to Katalyst. Because Swift doesn't have docking ports or grappling fixtures for LINK to grab onto, it will use a custom-built robotic capture mechanism to attach to a feature on the body of the satellite and adjust its orbit. If the mission succeeds, it won't just extend the lifespan of a highly valuable research satellite; it will demonstrate a useful new capability for NASA. Being able to execute a rapid response to orbital decay would be a key asset to the agency, helping it better maintain its fleet of spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.
NASA has awarded a US$30 million contract to Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies to attempt the first commercial robotic orbit boost of a government science satellite.
Also being honored with 2025 Shoemaker Awards are two companies that have successfully launched and created job growth in Flagstaff: Katalyst Space Technologies and Mountain Mojo.