Onboard Software Engineer - Deployment & Runtime Environments

Loft Orbital; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 144,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Flexible Time Off

401(k) with equity

Daily catered lunches

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Loft Orbital is seeking a capable engineer for its Onboard Software group in San Francisco to own and evolve the software that runs in orbit. You will work across Linux internals, container runtimes, and CI pipelines, shipping software that powers satellite workloads and customer applications in low Earth orbit.

You will help design and deploy the bundle management tool, harden onboard Linux infrastructure, and extend the Runtime Container Environment to securely run workloads.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, or similar runtimes).
• Deep Linux system knowledge: boot process, service management, filesystem layout, and failure recovery.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitLab-CI, Jenkins, or similar).
• Proficiency with Git and collaborative development workflows.
• Experience with embedded or resource-constrained systems.
• Working Python.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to and evolve our bundle management tool—resolving package dependencies and assembling mission-specific software stacks.
• Develop and harden our onboard Linux infrastructure: deployment, execution, and reliability in orbit.
• Evolve our Runtime Container Environment: container manager, base images, and registry services for secure workloads.
• Support scaling of the deployment pipeline as new hardware platforms are added.
• Contribute to Product Validation as part of the development pipeline.
• Design, implement, and refine software with ownership from concept through delivery.
• Participate in code reviews and drive continuous improvement of development processes.

Skills

Containerization

Linux internals

CI/CD pipelines

Git

Embedded systems

Python

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

GitLab CI

Jenkins

Job description

Wanna join the adventure? Loft’s Onboard Software group provides the on-orbit software that powers our satellite fleet — from the Linux services running on the hub processor, to the containerized workloads executing customer applications in low Earth orbit.

Wanna join the adventure? Loft’s Onboard Software group provides the on-orbit software that powers our satellite fleet — from the Linux services running on the hub processor, to the containerized workloads executing customer applications in low Earth orbit.

The Deployment & Runtime Environments team is where software meets the satellite. We own how software gets packaged, deployed, and executed onboard: from the tool that assembles and maintains mission‑specific software stacks, to the Runtime Container Environment that lets partner and customer workloads run securely in orbit, to the Linux infrastructure that makes it all reliable. As more satellite programs come online and as we open our container runtime to a growing number of external workloads, the team’s scope is expanding fast.

We’re looking for someone scrappy — the kind of engineer who digs into an unfamiliar system, maps it out, and gets it shipped without needing the path handed to them. You’ll move between Linux internals, container runtimes, and CI pipelines, sometimes in the same afternoon.

About this role

• Contribute to and evolve our bundle management tool — the tool that resolves package dependencies, assembles mission‑specific software stacks, and enables the Solutions team to spin up and maintain an ever‑growing number of satellite programs
• Develop and harden our onboard Linux infrastructure: how services are deployed on the rootfs, what system manages their execution, and how we ensure reliable and recoverable Linux operation in orbit
• Evolve our Runtime Container Environment — the container manager and the full stack around it (base images, container registry service) — enabling partner and customer workloads to run securely onboard our vehicles
• Support scaling of the deployment pipeline as new hardware platforms are added and the number of active satellite programs grows
• Contribute to Product Validation — as the last step in the development pipeline, the team plays a key role in validating software readiness before it goes to orbit
• Design, implement, and refine software with a high degree of ownership, driving features from concept through delivery
• Participate in code reviews, design proposals, and the continuous improvement of development processes

Must Haves

• Strong understanding of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, or similar runtimes)
• Deep Linux system knowledge: boot process, service management, filesystem layout, and failure recovery
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitLab-CI, Jenkins, or similar)
• Proficiency with Git and collaborative development workflows
• Experience with embedded or resource‑constrained systems
• Working Python

Nice to Haves

• Understanding of software deployment strategies for critical or hard‑to‑reach systems — OTA updates for cars, drones, or consumer hardware, or software updates on satellites — including concepts like golden images, A/B partitions, staged rollouts, and safe rollback
• C++ knowledge
• Experience with CUE (cuelang)
• Familiarity with additional programming languages such as Go or Rust
• Experience with embedded Linux: Yocto, device trees, systemd, and Linux on ARM platforms
• Proficiency with unit test frameworks (e.g., pytest, Googletest, Unity)
• Experience with middleware frameworks (gRPC, ZMQ/NATS, etc.)

Some of Our Awesome Benefits

• 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 in office
• International exposure to our team in France
• Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for birthing parent and 10 weeks for non-birthing parent
• 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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

State law requires us to tell you the base compensation range for this role, which is $144,000 - $198,000 per year. This is determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. The salary range for this role is intentionally wide as we evaluate individuals based on their unique experience and abilities to fit our needs. Most importantly, we are excited to meet you, and see if you are a great fit for our team. What we can’t quantify for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.