Director of Sales Engineering
2 Months ago • 10 Years + • $160,000 PA - $220,000 PA
Software Development & Engineering
Job Description
Loft Orbital is seeking a Director of Sales Engineering to lead and expand a global team focused on business development in the space industry. This role involves managing the entire sales lifecycle, from initial customer contact to contract finalization, and acting as a technical advisor for commercial ventures. The position requires a deep understanding of Loft's technical capabilities to create tailored solutions and support sales efforts. Responsibilities include building a high-performing Sales Engineering organization, implementing best practices for scalability, and maintaining in-depth knowledge of Loft's technology roadmap. The role also involves creating technical assets, acting as a technical liaison for customers on satellite operations software, and managing the proposal process. Collaboration with engineering leads to align product development with market needs and conducting competitive analysis are also key aspects. The ideal candidate will be a problem-solver with excellent communication skills, comfortable navigating ambiguity, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.
Good To Have:
- Prior experience managing technical pre-sales or solutions engineering teams in aerospace or high-tech industries
Must Have:
- 10+ years in systems engineering, mission architecture, or aerospace technology
- Strong technical and commercial understanding of satellite missions
- Technical leadership experience
- Customer-facing role experience
- Experience bridging engineering SMEs and commercial teams
- Detail-oriented and methodical
- Passion for the space industry
- Excellent communication and problem-solving skills
- Comfort with ambiguity and cross-functional work
- Familiarity with government, commercial, or dual-use space markets
Perks:
- 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents
- Flexible Spending (FSA) and Health Savings (HSA) Accounts with employer contribution
- 100% employer-paid Life, AD&D, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability insurance
- Flexible Time Off policy
- 12 paid holidays
- 401(k) plan and equity options
- Daily catered lunches and snacks
- International exposure to team in France
- Fully paid parental leave
- Fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits
- Off-sites and social events
- Relocation assistance
Wanna join the adventure?
We are hiring a Director of Sales Engineering to lead and scale a world-class, globally distributed team working on the front lines of Loft’s business development efforts. In this role, you will be a key technical leader shaping the full sales lifecycle—from initial customer conversations through contract signature—while serving as a strategic resource across all of Loft's commercial pursuits. This is an exceptional opportunity to engage with a broad spectrum of customers, payloads, and mission types across the space industry.
About this Role:
- Build and lead a high-performing, mission-driven Sales Engineering organization, to enable right-sized, deep and efficient technical engagement in Loft’s business development pursuits to build targeted, tailored solutions with minimal reliance on engineering support.
- Have a relentless focus on best practices and processes to accelerate scalability across the Sales Engineering function and increase sales velocity
- Develop and maintain a deep, holistic understanding of Loft’s internal technical ecosystem— platforms, capabilities, tools, and roadmaps—and effectively train and support the broader business development team on Loft’s evolving value propositions and positioning
- Create and manage comprehensive, reusable, modular technical solution tools and assets that can be applied to unique customer needs, including clear articulation of customer journeys from early mission design through Hub integration and operations in Cockpit mission control system.
- Act as a consultative expert and technical liaison for customers on mission operations software integrations for satellite operations, payload management, mission planning, tasking, and data operations—leveraging APIs to accelerate common workflows and standardize interface approaches.
- Provide technical ownership for the proposal process, associated analysis, and creation of technical marketing materials to support sales initiatives across global regions.
- Facilitate a tight feedback loop between customers needs/market trends and engineering leads to align product development with customer pain points and emerging opportunities, including payload solutions, platform performance needs, and complementary capability sets, building an evolving conduit to provide world-class, market leading platforms.
- Drive competitive landscape analysis across the satellite and space infrastructure market to refine Loft’s positioning and support go-to-market efforts with compelling, segment-specific technical value propositions.
- Excellent problem-solving and sleuthing skills, going beyond just the apparent and available answer to pull information from internal and external SME’s that can help shape a solution to a unique opportunity
- Collaborate with regional sales teams to develop localized engagement strategies that align with Loft’s broader business goals and technology roadmaps.
- Craft clear and differentiated technical messaging for go-to-market campaigns, grounded in a strong understanding of the satellite mission lifecycle and competitive landscape.
- Foster a culture of curiosity, continuous learning, and ownership within the Sales Engineering organization—connecting team growth with company strategy.
- Ensure seamless handovers from sales engineering to customer operations, enabling smooth onboarding and long-term mission success.
Must Haves:
- 10+ years' experience working across systems engineering, mission architecture, or aerospace technology, with a strong grasp of both the technical and commercial sides of satellite missions.
- Technical leadership experience, and ability to thrive in customer-facing roles.
- Experience acting as a conduit between engineering subject matter experts and revenue-driven commercial teams
- Detail-oriented and methodical mindset, with the ability to make sound decisions with limited data or under evolving conditions
- Deep passion about the space industry—you start your day
- reading SpaceNews, and attending a multi-day space conference sounds like a good time.
- A self-starter with excellent communication skills and a passion for problem-solving—comfortable navigating ambiguity and working cross-functionally.
- Familiarity with government, commercial, or dual-use space markets.
Nice to Haves:
- Prior experience managing technical pre-sales or solutions
- engineering teams in aerospace or adjacent high-tech industries.
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
- International exposure to our team in France
- Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for primary caregiver and 10 weeks for secondary caregiver
- 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
$160,000 - $220,000 a year
State law requires us to tell you the base compensation range for this role, which is $160,000- $220,000 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 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.
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.
With 6 satellites on-orbit and a wave of exciting missions launching soon, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France.
As an international company your resume will be reviewed by people across our offices so please attach a copy in English.
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