Senior Satellite Ground Systems Architect

Reflect Orbital; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage (medical/dental/vision

HSA/FSA/401K access

Unlimited PTO

Free daily lunches

Job summary

Reflect Orbital is hiring a Principal Satellite Ground Software Engineer to define the ground segment architecture, set the technical roadmap, and lead a small team through launches and ops. You will deploy, operate, and troubleshoot across software, networks, and hardware while mentoring engineers and shaping engineering practices.

You will drive build/buy/extend decisions for command & control, mission planning, and fleet management, with emphasis on security, scalability, and observability

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience developing ground systems software (services, APIs, and applications).
• Experience setting technical direction for a ground segment or real-time infrastructure.
• Experience taking satellites through launch, commissioning, and sustained operations.
• Experience deploying and operating software on AWS with Kubernetes and CI/CD.
• Strong understanding of networking protocols, routing, VPNs, and secure connectivity.
• Knowledge of satellite ground systems, including ground station networking and RF subsystems.
• Experience building services around databases and real-time data.
• Strong programming and scripting skills in Python, C++, and/or Rust.
• Familiarity with Linux environments and command-line tools.
• Experience building software for multi-satellite constellation operations is a plus.

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

Skills

Python

C++

Rust

Networking

Linux

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Docker

Job description

Reflect Orbital is hiring a Principal Satellite Ground Software Engineer to define the ground segment architecture, set the technical roadmap, and lead a small team through launches and ops. You will deploy, operate, and troubleshoot across software, networks, and hardware while mentoring engineers and shaping engineering practices.

You will drive build/buy/extend decisions for command & control, mission planning, and fleet management, with emphasis on security, scalability, and observability