Senior Software Engineer

stellar //; Bruges; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

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Job summary

Stellar seeks a Senior Software Engineer to craft and maintain STEER Management, its OpenWisp-based device and network management platform, with a strong Python backend focus. You will own REST APIs, data models, and testing, contributing upstream to OpenWisp and collaborating with DevOps for releases.

You’ll work in a dynamic, international team, with the option for full remote or hybrid work based on profile, while engaging deeply with the Open-Source ecosystem and AI-assisted development

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering with strong Python and ownership mindset.
• Experience designing REST APIs and multi-layer permission systems.
• Strong Linux fundamentals and self-hosted stack experience.
• Solid networking knowledge (IP, routing, VPNs) and OpenWisp relevance.
• End-to-end ownership with minimal guidance.
• Clear technical writing and documentation habits.
• Involvement in open-source communities and upstream contributions.
• English professional proficiency; French a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain features on STEER Management (OpenWisp-based).
• Own and extend Django/Python backend, REST APIs, and access control.
• Design and document data models, migrations, and schemas.
• Improve test coverage and adapt OpenWisp tests to Stellar.
• Track upstream OpenWisp releases and plan adaptation work.
• Contribute fixes upstream and streamline maintenance.
• Support release processes with DevOps for dev/QA/prod.
• Collaborate with STEER EDGE on device APIs and provisioning.
• Document architecture, permissions, and configuration logic clearly.

Skills

Python

REST APIs

Linux

Networking

Open-source contributions

Documentation

English

OpenWisp

CI/CD

Frontend basics

Tools

Django

OpenWisp

Git

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Docker

Job description

About Stellar

Stellar brings together professionals and experts from a range of exciting domains and technologies: telecommunications (cellular 4G/5G terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, Wi‑Fi and satellites), mobility (trains, aircraft, drones and road vehicles), and software for efficient data transmission, orchestration, network management, data collection, processing and analysis, including growing AI/ML capabilities.

Our products and solutions — the STEER® Software Suite, M2M/IoT solutions and the all‑in‑one GLOBBLE® offering — are transforming how people and vehicles experience connectivity while on the move by enabling seamless, ubiquitous and reliable broadband services. More information is available at https://www.stellar.tc.

Stellar is an ideal workplace for professionals who are eager to learn, challenge conventional approaches, explore practical innovations and take meaningful ownership in a supportive, collaborative, results‑driven, international and professional environment.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of Software Development, the Senior Software Engineer develops and maintains STEER Management, Stellar's device and network management platform built on top of OpenWisp, and its Django/Python backend. STEER Management is made up of several custom extensions of OpenWisp modules, covering device configuration, users, monitoring, notifications and firmware upgrades, which Stellar maintains and keeps aligned with each upstream OpenWisp release. The role develops and maintains these modules across the device, web interface and management platform layers, and is primarily backend work with a smaller frontend component. This is a hands‑on individual contributor role. We are looking for engineers who value deep technical ownership, and who genuinely enjoy working within an open‑source ecosystem and community. Stellar's engineering teams are also increasingly relying on AI‑assisted development tools as part of their workflow, and we're still shaping our practices around them as we go.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Development

• Design, develop and maintain features on STEER Management, Stellar's OpenWisp‑based device and network management platform.
• Own and extend the Django/Python backend, including REST APIs and permission/access‑control logic across the platform's multiple layers (device, web interface, management platform).
• Design, maintain and document the data model (Django models, migrations and database schema), preserving data integrity across OpenWisp upgrades.
• Improve test coverage, including adapting OpenWisp's own test suite to Stellar's specific module configuration.

Open Source & Release Management

• Track OpenWisp upstream releases, assess their impact on Stellar's custom modules, and plan adaptation work ahead of major version changes.
• Contribute fixes and improvements upstream to OpenWisp where relevant, reducing Stellar's long‑term maintenance burden.
• Support the definition and rollout of a structured release process across dev, QA and production environments, in collaboration with the DevOps team.

Collaboration

• Work closely with the STEER EDGE team on the interface between managed devices and the platform (device APIs, UCI‑level configuration, provisioning).
• Partner with product and customer‑facing teams to clarify use cases, permissions and supported features.
• Document architecture, permission models and configuration logic clearly for the rest of the engineering team; strengthening documentation practices is a current priority for Stellar's engineering organization, and this role is expected to help raise the bar.

Required Experience And Skills

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with strong hands‑on Python and the ability to work independently and take ownership within a small team with limited management overhead.
• Comfortable designing and maintaining REST APIs and multi‑layered permission/access‑control systems.
• Strong Linux fundamentals and comfort operating within a self‑hosted, open‑source‑based stack.
• Solid system and networking fundamentals (IP addressing, routing, VPNs, Linux networking); the platform manages network devices, so backend experience without networking knowledge is not sufficient.
• Comfortable owning features end‑to‑end with limited hand‑hanging.
• Strong documentation habits: comfortable writing clear technical documentation as you go, not just as an afterthought.
• Genuine interest and active involvement in open‑source communities, including contributing changes upstream.
• English professional proficiency expected (French a plus).

Preferred Experience

• Experience using AI‑assisted coding tools (AI coding agents, LLM‑based assistants) in a professional development workflow.
• Prior contributions to OpenWisp or another open‑source device/network management platform; a public contribution history is a strong plus.
• Experience with fleet or device management platforms (network management systems, IoT device management).
• Familiarity with the frontend technologies used in the OpenWisp ecosystem.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing for web platforms.
• Experience with Python web frameworks, ideally Django.

What We Offer

• Strong technical ownership over a core, highly differentiated part of Stellar's software stack.
• A dynamic software development environment, with practices still being shaped and openness to the best ideas each new engineer brings.
• Exposure to telecommunications, mobility, edge computing and connected systems.
• Continuous learning in a supportive, expert‑driven engineering team.
• A collaborative, international and multicultural working environment.
• A competitive compensation package, including Stellar stock options.

Location and Working Model

• Office at Stellar's Bruges (33), France.
• Full remote or hybrid working model possible depending on profile.