Onboard Software Engineer - Core Services

Loftorbital; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

FSA/HSA

Life & Disability Insurance

Flexible Time Off

Equity Options

Daily Lunches

International exposure

Parental Leave

Fertility Benefits

Off-sites

Relocation Assistance

Job summary

Loft is seeking an experienced software engineer to contribute to onboard software powering space missions. You will design, implement, and refine high‑reliability code in C/C++ with Python support, participate in reviews, and help shape the architecture with a strong ownership mindset.

You'll work with Git, CI tools, and modern build systems, collaborating across teams, and may occasionally support operation of satellites in orbit as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of software engineering experience with C/C++ and Python.
• Experience with version control systems (Git).
• Experience with CI tools (GitLab-CI, Jenkins) and build systems (Make, CMake).
• Understanding of distributed architectures and networking concepts.
• Experience in multi-threaded development and embedded Linux environments (Yocto).
• Familiarity with unit test frameworks and middleware (gRPC, ZMQ/NATS).
• Experience with containerization (Docker, K3S) and related tooling.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and refine onboard software with ownership, driving features end-to-end.
• Review code and enforce standards to maintain quality across the codebase.
• Design and implement unit tests for self-authored and peer-authored code.
• Utilize version control to create feature branches, push code, and merge into production.
• Contribute to onboard software architecture via design proposals and reviews.
• Improve software development processes and design standards.
• Coordinate with downstream teams on release, distribution, and adoption of latest releases.
• Opportunity to directly participate in operating our on-orbit fleet of satellites.

Skills

C/C++ (C++11+)

Python

Git

CI/CD (GitLab CI, Jenkins)

Make / CMake

Multithreading

Networking UDP/TCP/IP

Distributed architecture

Embedded Linux / Yocto

Unit testing frameworks

Docker / Kubernetes

Tools

Git

GitLab CI

Jenkins

Make

CMake

Docker

K3s

systemd-nspawn

Yocto

Googletest

pytest

Robot/Cucumber

Job description

Wanna join the adventure?

Loft’s Onboard Software group provides the on-orbit software that powers our core products.This is responsible for monitoring and control of major space program elements, including:

• Flight Products computational environments (including physical and virtual processors);
• Interfaces with external equipment (imagers, RF, ISL); and
• Interfaces with the spacecraft bus.

The Core Services team is responsible for high-level vehicle services and functions, including file transfer, time synchronization, automation, scheduling, attitude control, and navigation. Many of these services are reused across all satellite programs and form the foundation of our onboard architecture.

• Design, implement, and refine software with a high degree of ownership, driving impactful features from concept through delivery while ensuring robustness and reliability.
• Review code, provide clear feedback, and enforce adherence to established development processes, style guides, and design standards to maintain consistency and quality across the codebase.
• Design and implement unit tests for both self-authored and peer-authored code.
• Utilize version control systems to create feature branches, push code, and merge approved code into production branches.
• Contribute to the onboard software architecture through design proposals and collaborative review
• Participate in the review and enhancement of software development processes and design standards.
• Coordinate with downstream teams on the release, distribution and adoption of latest releases.
• In addition to responsibilities within onboard software, you’ll have the opportunity to directly be involved in operating our on-orbit fleet of satellites.

• 2+ years software engineering experience, using programming languages including C/C++ (C++11 or newer) and Python.
• Experience with version control systems such as Git
• Experience with continuous integration tools (e.g., GitLab-CI, Jenkins).
• Experience with build systems (e.g., Make, CMake).
• Understanding of distributed architecture.
• Familiarity with networking protocols (e.g., UDP, TCP, IP) and POSIX standards.
• Experience in developing multi-threaded applications.

• Familiarity with additional programming languages, such as Go or Rust.
• Experience with embedded Linux operation, including Yocto, device trees, systemd, and Linux on ARM platforms.
• Proficiency with unit test frameworks (e.g., pytest, Googletest, Unity) and keyword-driven test frameworks (e.g., Robot, Cucumber).
• Experience with middleware framework (gRPC, ZMQ/NATS, etc.)
• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker, K3S, systemd-nspawn)

• 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

* Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other underrepresented 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: Space Made Simple.

Founded in 2017, Loft provides governments, companies, and research institutions with a fast, reliable, and simple way to deploy missions in orbit.

We integrate, launch, and operate spacecraft, offering end-to-end missions as a service across Earth observation, IoT connectivity, on-orbit AI, national security missions, and more. Leveraging our existing space infrastructure and an extensive inventory of satellite buses, Loft is reducing years-long integration and launch timelines to months. With more than 30 missions flown, Loft’s flight heritage and proven technologies enable customers to focus on their mission objectives.

With a growing fleet on track to reach 30 satellites by 2027, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France to meet accelerating demand for space infrastructure.

As an international company your resume will be reviewed by people across our offices so please attach a copy in English.