Senior Ground Segment Engineer

Wanna join the adventure?

As a Senior Ground Segment Engineer, you play a pivotal role in building software to operate our fleet of in-orbit satellites, and to prepare for the challenges associated with operating different satellite buses in a variety of configurations. Your expertise will be instrumental in ensuring reliable, efficient, and scalable connectivity between our growing fleet of satellites via both ground stations and inter-satellite links.

You will improve and implement our ground station connectivity architecture, working with our ground station providers and the product teams that build Cockpit, Loft's mission control system. You will manage cross-fleet contact allocation and planning, optimizing resource usage to maximize communication opportunities and minimize latency. Work closely with our Space Infrastructure and Spacecraft Deployment teams to manage commissioned satellites and prepare for the commissioning of new ones. This position will also give you the opportunity to become a rotating Flight Director, responsible for the health and safety of our satellite fleet.

There is opportunity for growth in this position. Your expertise in network infrastructure will be crucial in ensuring the reliability of our global satellite network, enabling us to deliver exceptional service to our customers. This role offers a broad scope to work on different aspects of satellite connectivity and play a significant part in shaping the future of satellite operations at Loft.

About this Role:

• Manage architecture for ground station and inter-satellite link (ISL) connectivity solutions
• Own cross-fleet contact allocation, planning, and satellite connectivity configurations
• Support satellite operations both in nominal operations and by providing on-call support during commissioning.
• Own our network infrastructure alerting capabilities (ground station availability and anomaly detection, intersatellite link stability, etc)
• Own ground segment management – project management, cost management, contract management, RF compatibility test management
• Own ground segment optimization – both technical performance and financial
• Own ground segment operation – escalation for ISL or Ground Station issues, serve as point of contact with providers during launch and early operations, commissioning of ISLs, new ground station sites.
• Occasionally implement connectivity between Loft’s cloud and network providers, together with our Cloud Infrastructure team
• Serve as a rotating Flight Director, overseeing incident response and ensuring the health and safety of the fleet.
• Manage RF licensing together with our regulatory team

Must Haves:

• 4-5 years relevant experience
• RF knowledge sufficient to develop ground station or intersatellite link configurations
• Protocol knowledge (internet/transport layer): CCSDS (131.0/132.0, 231.0/232.0) and/or ECSS standards, TCP/IP, UDP
• Licensing knowledge
• Ability to debug connectivity issues in a complex network environment
• Experience with Kubernetes (k8s), Docker, Git, Python
• Willingness and enthusiasm to be trained as a satellite controller and Flight Director (including participation in the on-call rotation).

Nice to Haves:

• Having held this type of position in the past
• Proven experience developing software

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

State law requires us to tell you the base compensation range for this role, which is $140,000- $190,000 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.