VP Ground Segment

Constellr GmbH; München; Vor Ort; EUR 180.000 - 260.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

VSOP for permanent employees

Flexible hybrid working model

Zusammenfassung

Constellr GmbH is seeking a VP Ground Segment to own end-to-end latency from customer order to delivered product, while leading the Ground Segment as a single agile software organization. You will manage architecture, data catalog, and cloud infrastructure, ensuring scalable, cost-efficient operations for near real-time earth observation data.

You will drive high-level technical leadership, oversee cost centers, and coordinate across teams to onboard new sensors and future satellite generations,

Qualifikationen

• Led software or data organisations with several agile teams, ideally >20 engineers.
• Own latency and reliability targets; break end-to-end promises into budgets per team and maintain observability of KPIs.
• Experience building and running cloud-based, data-intensive systems at scale (storage, pipelines, cost management).
• Mandatory experience in New Space, satellite operations, or ground segment.
• Proven track record in driving change management from R&D-led to agile software teams.
• Excellent English communication skills; German is a plus.

Aufgaben

• Own latency end-to-end from order to delivered product with per-step budgets and near real-time targets.
• Lead the Ground Segment as an agile software organization; prepare architecture for next satellite generations.
• Own the Ground Segment cost center, lifecycle budget, cloud spend, and cost-per-delivered-scene; lead make-buy decisions.
• Own the data: storage, catalogue and archive, accessible via API; support thermal digital twins for AI/analytics products.
• Provide high-level technical leadership: roadmap, architecture, and alignment across teams; optimize interfaces for space program flows.
• Provide ground processing runtime as an internal platform with strong developer experience for data teams; enable scalable deployment of new algorithms.
• Run cloud and infrastructure with a security baseline meeting government/defense requirements.
• Ensure observability: KPI computation from live data on the Ground Segment dashboard.

Kenntnisse

Team leadership

Latency management

Cloud/data architecture

New Space experience

Change management

English communication

Jobbeschreibung

Job description

Team & Reporting Line: CTO

Our Mission

At constellr, we’re harnessing the power of space to solve one of Earth’s greatest challenges: climate resilience & security in a changing world. Our thermal satellite constellation delivers the most accurate land surface temperature data on the market, equipping commercial players, governments, defence agencies, and global institutions with the thermal intelligence they need to make strategic decisions– from national security and infrastructure to agriculture and climate resilience.
As a fast-scaling company with offices in Brussels, Freiburg, Munich, Washington and Toulouse, our multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and strategists is building the future of space-based Earth observation

Your Role

Earth observation is entering a new paradigm. For decades, satellite data meant looking into the past: scenes captured days or weeks ago, retrieved from an archive. We are turning it into a live signal: near real time insights derived from space-based sensors that arrive while it still matters, for decisions where seconds count.

As VP Ground Segment you own the latency from order to delivered product, supporting constellr getting to near real-time insights from space at scale.

You lead the department as one agile software organisation: tasking, mission control, imaging and flight operations, data processing, data catalogue and cloud infrastructure. You own the outside interface to our data: the platform and APIs through which customers and internal users order, track and access our data.

And you own the archive: every scene we have ever captured, catalogued and accessible through one API. A high-resolution thermal record of the world’s physical assets, and one of the most valuable building blocks of the company.

Key responsibilities

• Own latency end to end, from customer order to delivered product, with a latency budget per step and a clear path to near real time.

• Lead the Ground Segment as one agile software organisation. Teams design, build and run their services over the full lifecycle. Prepare architecture and organisation for the next satellite generations to onboard new sensors to the fleet.

• Own cost: the Ground Segment cost center with a lifecycle budget, cloud spend and visibility on cost per delivered scene. Lead make-buy decisions.

• Own the data: storage, catalogue and archive, fully accessible through the API. Support building thermal digital twins of physical assets on Earth, the basis for our AI/Analytics products.

• High-Level Technical leadership: driving the big-picture architecture, technical roadmap, and alignment across teams. Optimize interface designfor space program requirement flowdown (upstream) and agile data product development (downstream).

• Provide the ground processing runtime as an internal platform with excellent developer experience for the data teams, so new algorithms can get deployed at scale.

• Run cloud and infrastructure with a security baseline that meets government and defence requirements.

• Observability: Every KPI is computed from live data on the Ground Segment dashboard.

Job requirements

About you

Required

• You have led software or data organisations with several agile teams, ideally more than 20 engineers (preferred).

• You have owned latency and reliability targets before and know how to break an end to end promise into budgets per team, keep observability on KPIS and communicate efficiently with C-Level and ICs.

• You have built and run cloud based, data intensive systems at scale, including storage, pipelines and cost management.

• Mandatory experience in New Space, satellite operations or ground segment

• You lead with clear purpose and accountability for every team and you care about the people who do the work. You have a track record in efficient change management from RnD led organizations to agile software teams.

• Excellent English communication skills; German is a plus.

Why join constellr?

• High-Impact National Security Mission: Be part of an ambitious mission to launch the world’s first commercial thermal infrared constellation, delivering sovereign-grade “behavioural” intelligence from space to close critical blind spots for defence, intelligence, and maritime surveillance agencies.
• Fast-Paced “New Space” Innovation: Work at the leading edge of a rapidly evolving defence sector. By leveraging modern, agile New Space methodologies, you will help design, build, and deploy dual-use thermal payloads into operational orbit at a speed and scale that traditional aerospace models simply cannot match.
• Broad Interdisciplinary Exposure: Accelerate your professional growth by collaborating daily with a diverse, international cohort of astrophysicists, software developers, and defence-system engineers.
• Inclusive & Scientific Culture: Join a high-trust team deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and scientific excellence, where academic curiosity is paired with high autonomy and a flat hierarchy.
• Financial Upside & Well-being: Benefit from a Virtual Share Option Plan (VSOP) for permanent employees, giving you a true stake in the company’s growth, alongside highly flexible hybrid working models.