Backend Engineer, Satellite Operations & Missions

Frontdoor Defense; Toulouse; Hybrid; EUR 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Paid time off

Health insurance

Lunch vouchers

Travel opportunities

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Loft Orbital is seeking a Backend Engineer to join our Mission Operations Services team in Toulouse. You will build and scale backend services that command and monitor our satellite fleet and integrate with Cockpit, our mission control system.

You’ll work across satellite platforms, collaborate with backend, flight software, embedded systems, and test teams, delivering production Python code and robust APIs while supporting live missions.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of production backend software engineering experience.
• Solid Python development experience in a production environment.
• Experience with Docker and container-based development.
• Hands-on backend web development frameworks (e.g., Django, Flask, FastAPI).
• Proven API design skills (designing, documenting, and maintaining HTTP/GraphQL/REST APIs).

Responsibilities

• Design and build backend tools for operations: passes, autopilots, activities, and day-to-day satellite operations.
• Handle commands and telemetry across multiple satellite buses and ground segment providers with emphasis on safety and observability.
• Write production backend code in Python, owning services end-to-end from design to deployment and maintenance.
• Collaborate with flight software, embedded software, and space infrastructure teams to integrate new satellite buses into Cockpit.
• Support internal Cockpit users by improving APIs, workflows, and debugging tools.
• Opportunity to take part in spacecraft operations through SatDevOps rotations.

Skills

Python

Backend development

API design

Backend frameworks

Tools

Docker

Django

Flask

FastAPI

Job description

Loft Orbital is seeking a Backend Engineer to join our Mission Operations Services team in Toulouse. You will build and scale backend services that command and monitor our satellite fleet and integrate with Cockpit, our mission control system.

You’ll work across satellite platforms, collaborate with backend, flight software, embedded systems, and test teams, delivering production Python code and robust APIs while supporting live missions.