Senior Software Engineer, Ground Software San Jose, CA

Muon Space inc; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 156,000 - 186,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401k retirement plan

Paid vacation and holidays

Job summary

A leading space systems provider is seeking a Back-end Software Engineer to join their Ground Software team in San Jose, CA. You will be responsible for building and maintaining cloud infrastructure and applications that support mission planning and satellite communications. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Python programming and cloud-native software development, along with excellent communication skills. This role offers a competitive salary range of $156,000 - $186,000 and additional equity compensation and benefits.

Qualifications

• 4+ years experience as a software engineer in a team environment.
• Strong programming experience in Python for web development.
• Experience with cloud-native software development in a major cloud provider.

Responsibilities

• Build a world-class Mission Planning & Control System in the cloud.
• Participate in designing cloud architecture and technologies.
• Manage infrastructure for deploying cloud applications.

Skills

Python programming

Cloud-native software development

Communication skills

Linux fundamentals

Education

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in computer science or related field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS Lambda

Kafka

InfluxDB

Grafana

Job description

Muon is looking for a Software Engineer (Back-end) to join our Ground Software team. The ideal candidate is a self‑motivated and versatile software engineer who is excited to build our cloud infrastructure, web services and applications like mission planning & control software, ground station integrations, and tools to gain insight into Earth’s complex systems. Our team broadly owns all the software that enables us to communicate with the satellite, as well as customer APIs that enable multi‑satellite planning and scheduling. We are fully responsible for the software we build through its full lifecycle; from implementing deployable applications, managing the infrastructure they run on, and supporting them running in production.

Responsibilities

• Build a world class Mission Planning & Control System in the cloud, using tools like Docker and FastAPI
• Participate in designing our cloud architecture: choosing which technologies we will use, how we will organize the system, and when we should build systems in‑house vs buy them off the shelf, to maximize the impact of our team
• Manage the infrastructure we will use to deploy our cloud applications, using tools like Kubernetes, Helm, and AWS Lambda
• Build the spacecraft‑to‑cloud data integration: processing and archiving the command history and telemetry, using tools like Kafka, InfluxDB, and Grafana
• Build the APIs and tooling to integrate our cloud with remote antenna ground station networks
• Architect systems to achieve low latency and fault tolerance
• Deploy infrastructure and tools to workstations, on‑premises data centers, and cloud environments

Qualifications

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in computer science or related field, or equivalent experience
• 4+ years experience as a software engineer in a team environment
• Strong programming experience in Python for web development
• Experience with cloud‑native software development in at least one major cloud provider (AWS, GCP, Azure) using containers
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Excited to work in a fast‑paced environment with new opportunities each week

Nice‑to‑have Skills

• Experience with the AWS / Govcloud ecosystem
• Experience managing CI/CD in cloud‑based development, staging, and production environments
• Have a passion for simple architectures and clean APIs
• Strong Linux fundamentals and comfortable with Linux development and deployment environment
• IT and Information security (authentication, encryption)
• Experience smoothly deploying continuously evolving data services to customers

The salary range for this role is $156,000 - $186,000 plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.

About Muon Space

Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end‑to‑end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission‑critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time‑to‑orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state‑of‑the‑art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.

Taking Care of Our Team

At Muon, salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full‑time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.

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