Principal Ground Software Engineer

Reflect Orbital; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Broad medical/dental/vision coverage

HSA, FSA, and 401K

Unlimited PTO

Healthy lunches provided

Job summary

Reflect Orbital is seeking a Principal Satellite Ground Software Engineer to set the technical direction for the ground segment and scale operations from single satellites to a constellation. You will oversee architecture decisions, deploy and operate the stack, and mentor a growing team.

The role requires hands-on leadership across software, networks, and hardware, with a focus on reliability, observability, and secure, scalable ground infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a technical field.
• 10+ years building ground systems software and related services.
• Experience directing technical direction for real-time ground infrastructure or similar.

Responsibilities

• Define ground segment architecture and roadmap: command/telemetry, ground station network, data infra, automation.
• Decide build/buy/extend for C2, mission planning, fleet management, and GSaaS providers.
• Design for constellation scale with automated scheduling and telemetry.
• Set engineering practices across ground/flight interfaces and testing infra.
• Lead ground segment work through launches, commissioning, and anomalies.
• Instill security into ground segment from the start: key management, access controls.
• Mentor engineers, review designs/code, and support hiring.

Skills

Ground systems

AWS & Kubernetes

Linux

Python/C++/Rust

Networking

Satellite ground

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science or related

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Job description

At Reflect, you will be expected to move fast, have a lot of ownership and, most importantly, be able to effect change. If this excites you, we are interested in hearing about your best work and accomplishments across any domain and from any points in your life.

About the Role

As a Principal Satellite Ground Software Engineer, you'll set the technical direction for the ground segment: the architecture that takes us from operating single satellites with hands‑on passes to operating a constellation with minimal operator involvement. You'll make the build/buy/extend calls on core infrastructure and be responsible for ground segment readiness at every launch.

This is a hands‑on role on a small team. You'll write code, deploy and operate what you build, and troubleshoot issues that span software, networks, and hardware. You'll also mentor engineers, review designs across the team, and make the architectural decisions the rest of the ground segment builds on.

Responsibilities

• Define the ground segment architecture and technical roadmap: command and telemetry systems, ground station network strategy, data infrastructure, and automation

• Make build/buy/extend decisions on command and control infrastructure, mission planning, fleet management, and ground network and GSaaS providers

• Design for constellation scale: automated contact scheduling across many satellites and sites, fleet‑wide telemetry and alerting, and increasing automation of routine operations

• Define engineering practices across the ground/flight boundary, including interface documentation and simulation and hardware‑in‑the‑loop test infrastructure

• Lead ground segment work through launch campaigns, commissioning, and major anomalies

• Build security into the ground segment from the start: link protection, key management, and access control

• Improve the reliability and observability of mission‑critical ground systems

• Mentor engineers, review designs and code, and support hiring for the ground software team

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent experience

• 10+ years of experience developing ground systems software (services, APIs, and applications)

• Experience setting technical direction for a ground segment or comparable real‑time infrastructure

• Experience taking satellites, or a comparable hardware fleet, through launch, commissioning, and sustained operations

• Experience deploying and operating software on AWS, including container orchestration with Kubernetes and CI/CD systems

• Strong understanding of networking protocols, routing, VPNs, and secure connectivity

• Knowledge of satellite ground systems, including ground station networking, antenna interfaces, and RF subsystems

• Experience building services around databases and real‑time data (relational or time‑series)

• Strong programming and scripting skills (Python, C++, and/or Rust)

• Familiarity with Linux environments and command‑line tools

• Experience building software for multi‑satellite constellation operations is a plus

Even if you don’t meet 100% of the above qualifications, we are likely still interested in hearing from you. Hiring exceptional individuals is our #1 priority, and we believe that exceptional people often have highly unusual backgrounds.

We are also interested in carving out unique roles for unconventional people that we are excited about working with.

Benefits

Reflect Orbital’s success will hinge on our team, which is why our compensation and benefits plan is designed to reward our employees and support their families as generously as we’re able.

• Broad choice of medical/dental/vision coverage, Reflect covers 100% of each base‑policy

• Access to HSA, FSA, and 401K

• Unlimited paid time off, two‑weeks per year encouraged

• Healthy lunches provided daily

Equal Opportunity

Reflect Orbital is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Reflect Orbital is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

More about Reflect Orbital:

Learn more about our team here.