Senior Software Engineer - Test Infrastructure

Loft Orbital; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

AD&D insurance

Short-Term Disability

Long-Term Disability

Flexible Time Off

12 paid holidays

401(k) plan and equity options

Daily catered lunches

International exposure to our team in/

Fully paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Loft Orbital is seeking a Test Infrastructure Engineer to design, build, and maintain advanced test infrastructure and automation for hardware and software testing across our satellite programs. You will design high‑fidelity HIL testbeds and EGSE interfaces to validate spacecraft software prior to launch campaigns.

You will collaborate with systems, software, hardware, and operations teams, extending CI pipelines and developing fault-injection tools to ensure robust mission readiness in a

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or a similar field.
• 2+ years working with Linux systems, including configuration, debugging, and system-level troubleshooting.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (OSI layers, packet analysis, data exchange protocols like TCP/IP and UDP).
• Hands-on experience with embedded systems or low-level hardware (Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontrollers, or similar).
• Proficiency in Python (3.9+) for building test automation frameworks, device drivers, or test orchestration tools.
• Experience containerizing applications with Docker.
• Familiarity with at least one modern CI tool (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Buildkite, CircleCI) and integrating test pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, deploy, and maintain high-fidelity Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbeds that emulate spacecraft systems, sensors, and communication links.
• Design, build, deploy, and maintain Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) interfaces for Validation and Verification of spacecraft software before launch campaigns.
• Develop tools and frameworks to simulate faults, edge cases, and mission scenarios.
• Collaborate with systems, software, hardware, and operations teams to integrate evolving test requirements.
• Maintain and extend test infrastructure to support CI pipelines with realistic system-level tests.
• Troubleshoot complex system issues spanning software, embedded hardware, networking, and configuration.

Skills

Linux systems

Networking fundamentals

Python

Docker

CI tools (Jenkins/GitLab CI/Buildkite)

Embedded systems

Troubleshooting

Education

Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Docker

Jenkins

GitLab CI

Buildkite

CircleCI

Job description

Wanna join the adventure?

At Loft Orbital, we have just successfully launched multiple satellites that we fly and operate ourselves. With these satellites in orbit and a wave of exciting missions launching soon, we are scaling up quickly as a global company. We are looking for a Test Infrastructure Engineer to join the team building and maintaining Loft’s test infrastructure internationally across our Golden, CO, San Francisco, CA, and Toulouse, France sites.

About this role:

As a Test Infrastructure Engineer, you will primarily help design, develop, and deploy our test infrastructure and the tools for automating both our hardware and software testing, which will help us scale as a company. Sitting between the spacecraft and all the other teams, you will have a big impact in ensuring that every element of our satellite works without any bugs. We are looking for engineers with a product mindset, who have a good understanding of embedded systems, networking, data exchange protocols, and experience with setting up software infrastructures. Additionally, we are looking for someone who is:

• Able to work independently with some guidance. People owning their work is important to us!


• Able to wear multiple hats as needs arise. We are a small company disrupting an entire industry!


• Not afraid to get out of their comfort zone to explore and learn. Technologies are evolving at rapid rates, and we must stay relevant!

Key responsibilities include:

• Design, build, deploy, and maintain high-fidelity Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbeds that emulate spacecraft systems, sensors, and communication links.


• Design, build, deploy, and maintain Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) that interfaces with space vehicles under Assembly, Integration & Tests, allowing Validation and Verification of spacecrafts and their software before their launch campaigns.


• Develop tools and frameworks that allow teams to simulate faults, edge cases, and mission scenarios that are difficult or costly to reproduce with physical hardware alone.


• Work closely with systems, software, hardware, and operations teams to understand evolving test requirements and integrate feedback into the platforms.


• Maintain and extend test infrastructure to support continuous integration (CI) pipelines, ensuring every code change is validated with realistic system-level tests.


• Troubleshoot complex system issues spanning software, embedded hardware, networking, and system configuration.

Must Haves:

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or a similar field.


• 2+ years working with Linux systems, including configuration, debugging, and system-level troubleshooting.


• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (OSI layers, packet analysis, data exchange protocols like TCP/IP and UDP).


• Hands-on experience with embedded systems or low-level hardware (Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontrollers, or similar).


• Proficiency in Python (3.9+) for building test automation frameworks, device drivers, or test orchestration tools.


• Experience containerizing applications with Docker.


• Familiarity with at least one modern CI tool (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Buildkite, CircleCI) and integrating test pipelines.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience designing or automating complex HIL/SIL testbed, signal conditioning, fault injection, or hardware emulation.


• Experience with “Infrastructure-as-Code” systems, specifically NixOS.


• Familiarity with networking simulation tools (e.g., network emulators, virtual switches) for testing data flows under realistic mission constraints.


• Interest or experience with hardware test automation frameworks (e.g., custom Python-based test rigs).

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


• International exposure to our team in France


• Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for primary caregiver and 10 weeks for secondary caregiver


• 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

$140,000 - $210,000 a year

State law requires us to tell you the base compensation range for this role, which is $140,000 - $210,000 per year, 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 quantfy for you are the exciting challenges, supportive team, and amazing culture we enjoy.

*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.

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.