Loft Orbital Solutions

Onboard Software Engineer - Deployment & Runtime Environments

Loft Orbital Solutions$144K — $198K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Strong understanding of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, or similar)
  • 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 knowledge of Python

Responsibilities

  • Contribute to and evolve the bundle management tool for package dependencies and software stacks
  • Develop and harden the onboard Linux infrastructure for reliable operation in orbit
  • Evolve the Runtime Container Environment for secure partner and customer workloads
  • Support scaling the deployment pipeline as new hardware platforms are integrated
  • Contribute to Product Validation to ensure software readiness before orbital launch
  • Design, implement, and refine software with ownership from concept through delivery
  • Participate in code reviews and contribute to improvement of development processes

Benefits

  • 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) with employer contribution
  • 100% employer paid Life, AD&D, and Disability insurance
  • Flexible Time Off policy and 12 paid holidays
  • 401(k) plan with equity options
  • Daily catered lunches and snacks in office
  • International exposure to teams in France
  • Fully paid parental leave for birthing and non-birthing parents
  • Comprehensive fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits through Carrot Fertility
  • Relocation assistance when applicable
Full Job Description
  • 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 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


$144,000 - $198,000 a year

State law requires us to tell you the base compensation range for this role, which is $144,000 - $198,000 per year. This is determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The salary range for this role is intentionally wide as we evaluate individuals based on their unique experience and abilities to fit our needs. Most importantly, we are excited to meet you, and see if you are a great fit for our team. What we can't quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.

*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.

About Loft Orbital Solutions

Loft Orbital Solutions is a space infrastructure company that provides end-to-end satellite missions as a service. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Loft Orbital Solutions offers a range of services, including satellite design, launch, and operations, as well as data processing and analysis. The company has partnerships with several satellite manufacturers and launch providers, including SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Learn more about Loft Orbital Solutions
Size
10 employees
Industry
Founded
2017

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