Test Infrastructure Technical Lead
Job Summary
Job Description
Loft Orbital is seeking a Test Infrastructure Technical Lead to design, develop, and deploy test infrastructure and automation tools for their satellites. This role involves working internationally across San Francisco, CA, Golden, CO, and Toulouse, France. The lead will focus on Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test benches, continuous integration (CI) pipelines, and developing simulation tools for faults and edge cases. Collaboration with systems, software, hardware, and operations teams is key, as is maintaining HIL infrastructure reliability and troubleshooting complex issues. The ideal candidate should have a product mindset and a strong understanding of embedded systems and networking.
Must have:
- 7+ years of Linux experience
- Strong networking fundamentals
- Experience with embedded systems
- Proficient in Python
- Experience with Docker
- Familiarity with CI tools
Good to have:
- Experience designing HIL/SIL testbeds
- Familiarity with networking simulation tools
- Experience applying Kubernetes
Perks:
- 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts
- 100% employer paid Life, AD&D, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability insurance
- Flexible Time Off policy
- 401(k) plan and equity options
- Daily catered lunches and snacks
- International exposure
- Fully paid parental leave
- Carrot Fertility benefits
- Off-sites and social events
- Relocation assistance
10 skills required
Job Details
Wanna join the adventure?
At Loft Orbital, we have just successfully launched multiple satellites that we fly and operate ourselves. With these satellites in orbit and a wave of exciting missions launching soon, we are scaling up quickly as a global company.
We are looking for a Test Infrastructure Technical Lead to join the team building and maintaining Loft’s test infrastructure internationally across our San Francisco, CA, Golden, CO, and Toulouse, France sites.
As a Test Infrastructure Technical Lead, you will primarily help design, develop, and deploy our test infrastructure and the tools for automating both our hardware and software testing, which will help us scale as a company. Sitting between the spacecraft and all the other teams, you will have a big impact in ensuring that every element of our satellite works without any bugs. We are looking for engineers with a product mindset who have a good understanding of embedded systems, networking, data exchange protocols, and experience with setting up software infrastructures.
Additionally, we are looking for someone who is:
Able to work independently with some guidance. People owning their work is important to us!
Able to wear multiple hats as needs arise. We are a small company disrupting an entire industry!
Not afraid to get out of their comfort zone to explore and learn. Technologies are evolving at rapid rates, and we must stay relevant!
Our culture at Loft Orbital promotes collaboration and ownership among our developers, fostering efforts hand in hand with other teams, internally and externally.
About this Role:
- Design, develop, and deploy our Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test benches that emulate spacecraft avionics, enabling comprehensive testing
- Maintain and extend test infrastructure to support continuous integration (CI) pipelines, ensuring every code change is validated with realistic system-level tests.
- Develop tools and frameworks that allow teams to simulate faults, edge cases, and mission scenarios that are difficult or costly to reproduce with physical hardware alone.
- Work closely with systems, software, hardware, and operations teams to understand evolving test requirements and integrate feedback into the platforms
- Maintaining and supporting the HIL infrastructure, ensuring high availability and reliability for continuous integration and testing.
- Troubleshoot complex system issues spanning software, embedded hardware, networking, and system configuration.
Must Haves:
- 7+ years of working with Linux systems and debugging issues with system management
- Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (OSI layers, packet analysis, data exchange protocols like TCP/IP, and UDP)
- Hands-on experience with embedded systems or low-level hardware (Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, microcontrollers, or similar)
- Proficient in Python (>=3.9) for building test automation frameworks, device drivers, and test orchestration tools
- Experience containerizing applications with Docker and exposure to Kubernetes for managing container deployment on-premises or in the cloud.
- Familiarity with at least one modern CI tool (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions) and integrating test pipelines
Nice to Haves:
- Experience designing or automating complex HIL/SIL testbed, signal conditioning, fault injection, or hardware emulation.
- Familiarity with networking simulation tools (e.g., network emulators, virtual switches) for testing data flows under realistic mission constraints.
- Experience applying Kubernetes to deploy and manage services on the cloud or on-prem hardware
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
$130,000 - $160,000 a year
State law requires us to tell you the base compensation range for this role, which is $130,000- $160,000 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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