Senior Software Engineer - Test Infrastructure

Loft Orbital; Toulouse; Hybrid; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Loft Orbital

Up to 35 days PTO + RTT

Health and life insurance

Lunch vouchers

Cross-office travel (SF, CO, Toulouse)

Relocation assistance to Toulouse

Team off-sites and events

Job summary

Loft Orbital is seeking a Test Infrastructure Engineer to design and maintain high-fidelity HIL testbeds that emulate spacecraft systems, sensors, and comms. You will build EGSE interfaces and develop frameworks to simulate faults and mission scenarios, collaborating with cross-functional teams across our Toulouse and other sites.

The role emphasizes embedded hardware, networking, and Python-based automation, with exposure to Docker, NixOS, and modern CI tools.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or a similar field.
• 2+ years working with Linux systems, including configuration, debugging, and system-level troubleshooting.
• 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 Pi, Arduino, microcontrollers, or similar).
• Proficiency in Python (3.9+) for building test automation frameworks, device drivers, or test orchestration tools.
• Experience containerizing applications with Docker.
• Familiarity with at least one modern CI tool (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Buildkite, CircleCI) and integrating test pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, deploy, and maintain high-fidelity Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbeds that emulate spacecraft systems, sensors, and communication links.
• Design, build, deploy, and maintain Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) that interfaces with space vehicles under Assembly, Integration & Tests, allowing Validation and Verification of spacecrafts and their software before their launch campaigns.
• 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.
• Maintain and extend test infrastructure to support continuous integration (CI) pipelines, ensuring every code change is validated with realistic system-level tests.
• Troubleshoot complex system issues spanning software, embedded hardware, networking, and system configuration.

Skills

Linux

Networking basics

Embedded systems

Python

CI frameworks

Test automation

HIL/SIL testing

Networking simulation

Education

Master's degree in Computer Science

Tools

Docker

NixOS

Jenkins

GitLab CI

CircleCI

Job description

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 Engineer to join the team building and maintaining Loft’s test infrastructure internationally across our Golden, CO and Toulouse, France sites.

About this role:

As a Test Infrastructure Engineer, 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!

Key responsibilities include:

• Design, build, deploy, and maintain high-fidelity Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbeds that emulate spacecraft systems, sensors, and communication links.
• Design, build, deploy, and maintain Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) that interfaces with space vehicles under Assembly, Integration & Tests, allowing Validation and Verification of spacecrafts and their software before their launch campaigns.
• 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.
• Maintain and extend test infrastructure to support continuous integration (CI) pipelines, ensuring every code change is validated with realistic system-level tests.
• Troubleshoot complex system issues spanning software, embedded hardware, networking, and system configuration.

Our culture at Loft Orbital promotes collaboration and ownership among our developers, fostering efforts hand in hand with other teams, internally and externally.

Must Haves:

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or a similar field.
• 2+ years working with Linux systems, including configuration, debugging, and system-level troubleshooting.
• 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 Pi, Arduino, microcontrollers, or similar).
• Proficiency in Python (3.9+) for building test automation frameworks, device drivers, or test orchestration tools.
• Experience containerizing applications with Docker.
• Familiarity with at least one modern CI tool (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Buildkite, CircleCI) and integrating test pipelines.

• Experience designing or automating complex HIL/SIL testbed, signal conditioning, fault injection, or hardware emulation.
• Experience with “Infrastructure-as-Code” systems, specifically NixOS.
• Familiarity with networking simulation tools (e.g., network emulators, virtual switches) for testing data flows under realistic mission constraints.
• Interest or experience with hardware test automation frameworks (e.g., custom Python-based test rigs).

• Equity, we want you to have an active role in our success
• Up to 35 days of Paid Time Off (vacations & RTT ) and flexible working hours, we want you to be at your best
• Health and life insurance, we care about your health
• Lunch Vouchers, because let’s be honest, we love food! (we even have a slack channel about it #loft-gourmand)
• Cross-office travel opportunities between San Francisco, Colorado, and Toulouse to learn from our differences
• Company and team off-sites and many other events to work & celebrate together
• Relocation assistance to Toulouse when applicable