Senior Ground Software Engineer — Mission-Critical Satellite Ops

K2 Space; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/dental/vision coverage

Life insurance

Paid parental leave

Job summary

K2 Space is hiring a Senior Ground Software Engineer to build and fly satellites and payloads, working on the Gravitas platform and mission automation. You will collaborate with Mission Operations and Flight Software teams to define architecture and deliver software for multiple constellations.

This role spans satellite command/control, operations, and automation across disciplines. The position requires in-person presence at our Torrance, CA headquarters and offers a competitive compensation

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, math, or a STEM discipline or 3+ years of professional experience in software engineering
• Additionally, 5+ years of experience building software solutions in a professional environment
• Experience with space missions and/or the satellite ground segment
• Experience with Rust or another statically-typed backend programming language (Go, C++, Java, C#, TypeScript)
• Experience with version control, continuous integration, build, deployment, monitoring
• Experience with SQL databases (PostgreSQL or similar)
• Experience designing and implementing event-driven architectures
• Experience with Docker and/or Kubernetes
• Experience with WebSockets and/or Server-Sent-Events (SSE)
• Familiarity with cybersecurity best practices and relevant certifications/standards (SOC2, FedRAMP)
• Familiarity with networking protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, QUIC)
• Familiarity with data streaming technologies such as NATS, Pulsar, or similar

Responsibilities

• Design and implement software that facilitates the build, test, and operations of K2's vehicles and our customers' payloads
• Collaborate with Mission Operators and Engineers across the company to identify and scope software solutions to complex technical and business problems
• Facilitate software design reviews, architecture discussions, and code reviews to align stakeholders on technical direction
• Work across our stack (Rust backend, TypeScript/Vue frontend) to support development, test, and operations milestones
• Support internal and external customers in an on-call capacity as your software is used to drive ground test activities and on-orbit spacecraft operations
• Mentor other engineers to build a strong team culture and software engineering practices

Skills

Software engineering

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science / engineering / STEM

3+ years of professional software engineering experience

Tools

Rust

TypeScript

Vue

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

K2 Space is hiring a Senior Ground Software Engineer to build and fly satellites and payloads, working on the Gravitas platform and mission automation. You will collaborate with Mission Operations and Flight Software teams to define architecture and deliver software for multiple constellations.

This role spans satellite command/control, operations, and automation across disciplines. The position requires in-person presence at our Torrance, CA headquarters and offers a competitive compensation