Senior Ground Software Engineer

Espace; Saratoga (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salaries

Health insurance

Learning & development

Job summary

E‑Space is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our Ground Software team in California. You will design and implement scalable Python backend systems for satellite operations, building microservices, data pipelines and cloud-hosted workloads with Kubernetes and CI/CD practices.

You’ll own the full lifecycle from architecture to code, influencing engineering standards and production readiness. You’ll collaborate across Flight Software, Payload and Mission Operations to deliver

Qualifications

• 5+ years of backend software engineering experience building scalable, fault‑tolerant systems for telemetry ingestion, command & control, or real‑time data processing at scale.
• Proficiency with microservices architecture, message queues, gRPC, and protobufs
• Expert Python skills with FastAPI, Pydantic, SQLAlchemy, asynchronous programming
• Knowledge of CCSDS protocols (TC, TM, CFDP) or willingness to learn space communication standards quickly
• Time‑series databases (InfluxDB, TimescaleDB, or similar at high ingest rates)
• Kubernetes production experience (HPA, resource management, networking, debugging pods at scale)
• Experience with AWS services, PostgreSQL, and container‑based deployment solutions
• Hands‑on experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and modern software development practices
• Experience with message bus systems (Kafka, MQTT) and in‑memory databases for real‑time data processing
• Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/OpenTofu), monitoring/observability tools, and high‑availability system design
• Experience with high‑throughput data processing and performance optimization for mission‑critical applications
• Strong system design skills with ability to make architectural decisions for scalable distributed systems
• Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent
• Experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration platforms
• Knowledge of time‑series databases
• Background insatellite operations,mission control systems,aerospace, defense, or other mission‑critical industries
• Grafana/observability stack for distributed systems monitoringStrong intellectual curiosity and commitment to continuous learning
• Exceptional attention to detail and an ownership mentality

Responsibilities

• Architect and scale a Python‑based Ground Data Systemdesigning microservices that handle real‑time command uplink, telemetry downlink, and event processing across a growing constellation
• Build binary protocol pipelinesfor CCSDS‑compliant spacecraft communication, including TC/TM framing, CFDP file transfers, and AES encryption/decryption
• Own the messaging infrastructure to evaluate andoptimizeMQTT broker architecture, andquantify performance bottlenecks (MQTT throughput,QoS tuning,database writes, CPU‑bound encoding/decoding)
• Build high‑performance APIs for mission‑critical command and control operations
• Create workflow orchestration systems for automated satellite and ground procedures
• Integrate with ground station networks and cloudinfrastructure to develop scalable data ingestion and processing pipelines for high‑rate satellite telemetry and command streams
• Establish software engineering and DevOps best practices including code reviews, testing standards, and architectural guidelines
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with Flight Software, Payload, and Mission Operations Teams

Skills

Backend engineering

Microservices

Python

Asynchronous programming

Kubernetes

AWS

PostgreSQL

CI/CD

Protobufs

Space industry knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering or CS

Tools

FastAPI

Pydantic

SQLAlchemy

InfluxDB/TimescaleDB

Terraform/OpenTofu

Grafana

MQTT/Kafka

Job description

Ready to make connectivity from space universally accessible, secure and actionable? Then you’ve come to the right place!

E‑Space is bridging Earth and space to enable hyper-scaled deployments of space-powered Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services. We are fundamentally changing the design, economics, manufacturing, coverage limitations and service delivery associated with traditional satellite and terrestrial IoT systems.

By building a highly-advanced low Earth orbit (LEO) space system—with a unique antenna design, highly sustainable spacecraft system and low-cost, small portable end-user devices—we can extend global satellite coverage, capacity and connectivity beyond legacy space services to provide a new kind of IoT platform that lets users sense, track, connect and act on information gathered, anywhere.

We’re intentional, we’re unapologetically curious and we’re 100% committed to saving space, protecting our planet and turning connectivity into actionable intelligence.

What is the role?

E‑Space is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join our Ground Software team. You will collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to build the mission‑critical software that powers our satellite constellation operations. You will develop highly available, highly‑scalable backend systems using Python in an API‑first, event‑driven architecture deployed in the cloud using containerised solutions.

Working on greenfield projects, you’ll be responsible for the entire software development lifecycle—from system design and architecture to hand‑on coding and infrastructure implementation. This role combines technical leadership with deep engineering work, making foundational decisions that will scale with our growing constellation.

Responsibilities

• Architect and scale a Python‑based Ground Data Systemdesigning microservices that handle real‑time command uplink, telemetry downlink, and event processing across a growing constellation
• Build binary protocol pipelinesfor CCSDS‑compliant spacecraft communication, including TC/TM framing, CFDP file transfers, and AES encryption/decryption
• Own the messaging infrastructure to evaluate andoptimizeMQTT broker architecture, andquantify performance bottlenecks (MQTT throughput,QoS tuning,database writes, CPU‑bound encoding/decoding)
• Build high‑performance APIs for mission‑critical command and control operations
• Create workflow orchestration systems for automated satellite and ground procedures
• Integrate with ground station networks and cloudinfrastructure to develop scalable data ingestion and processing pipelines for high‑rate satellite telemetry and command streams
• Establish software engineering and DevOps best practices including code reviews, testing standards, and architectural guidelines
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with Flight Software, Payload, and Mission Operations Teams

Qualifications

• 5+ years of backend software engineering experience building scalable, fault‑tolerant systems for telemetry ingestion, command & control, or real‑time data processing at scale
• Proficiency with microservices architecture, message queues, gRPC, and protobufs
• Expert Python skills with experience withmodern frameworks (FastAPI,Pydantic,SQLAlchemy), asynchronous programming(asyncio, threading),API development
• Knowledge ofCCSDS protocols (TC, TM, CFDP) or willingness to learn space communication standards quickly
• Time‑series databases (InfluxDB,TimescaleDB, or similar at high ingest rates)
• Kubernetes production experience (HPA, resource management, networking, debugging pods at scale)Experience designing and implementing event‑driven architectures and workflow orchestration systems
• Solid understanding of AWS services, PostgreSQL, and container‑based deployment solutions
• Hands‑on experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and modern software development practices
• Experience with message bus systems (Kafka, MQTT) and in‑memory databases for real‑time data processing
• Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/OpenTofu), monitoring/observability tools, and high‑availability system design
• Experience with high‑throughput data processing and performance optimization for mission‑critical applications
• Strong system design skills with ability to make architectural decisions for scalable distributed systems
• Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent
• Experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration platforms
• Knowledge of time‑series databases
• Background insatellite operations,mission control systems,aerospace, defense, or other mission‑critical industries
• Grafana/observability stack for distributed systems monitoringStrong intellectual curiosity and commitment to continuous learning
• Exceptional attention to detail and an ownership mentality

The estimated base salary range for this role is $130,000-200,000 per year. The estimated range is meant to reflect an anticipated salary range for the position in question, which is based on market data and other factors, all of which are subject to change. Individual pay is based on location, skills and expertise, depth of relevant experience, and other relevant factors. For questions about this, please speak to the recruiter if you decide to apply for the role and are selected for an interview.

Why E‑Space is right for you

• An opportunity to really make a difference
• Sustainability at our core
• Fair and honest workplace
• Innovative thinking is encouraged
• Competitive salaries
• Continuous learning and development
• Health and wellness care options
• Financial solutions for the future