Sr. Full Stack Engineer

Xona; Burlingame (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Xona in Burlingame, CA is seeking an experienced software engineer to lead the design and development of mission control software. In this role, you will build backend services and high-performance front-end interfaces while ensuring system resiliency in operational workloads. Candidates should have over 5 years of experience in full-stack software engineering and be proficient in modern frameworks like React or Angular as well as backend languages such as Python. The position requires U.S. citizenship or residency, ensuring compliance with space technology regulations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional full-stack software engineering experience.
• Expertise in at least one modern front-end framework.
• Strong proficiency in one or more backend languages.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of mission control software.
• Design scalable backend services, microservices, and REST APIs.
• Build high-performance front-end user interfaces for flight operations.

Skills

Full-stack software engineering experience

Expertise in front-end frameworks (React, Angular, or Vue)

Backend languages proficiency (Python or Node.js)

RESTful/GraphQL API designing and consuming

Understanding of relational and NoSQL databases

Knowledge of distributed systems and microservices

Experience with CI/CD pipelines

Containerization and orchestration experience (Docker, Kubernetes)

Cloud-based systems deployment (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

GitHub Actions/GitLab CI/Jenkins

Terraform

Job description

Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth. With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future‑proof, backwards‑compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the end-to-end design, development, testing, and deployment of mission control software that supports spacecraft commanding, real‑time telemetry monitoring, and flight operations.
• Design and implement scalable backend services, microservices, and REST APIs that enable real‑time command and control interfaces.
• Build responsive, high‑performance front‑end user interfaces optimized for spacecraft constellation management and flight operations at scale.
• Design, implement, and optimize SQL and NoSQL data models, ensuring high performance and reliability under operational workloads.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, and cloud‑based deployments.
• Monitor application performance, logs, and reliability metrics to ensure system stability and operational readiness.
• Support containerized deployments using Docker and orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and cross‑functional engineering teams to define scope, requirements, and delivery timelines.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional full‑stack software engineering experience.
• Expertise in at least one modern front‑end framework (React, Angular, or Vue).
• Strong proficiency in one or more backend languages such as Python or Node.js.
• Hands‑on experience designing and consuming RESTful (and/or GraphQL) APIs.
• Strong understanding of relational and NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB).
• Solid knowledge of distributed systems, microservices architectures, and system resiliency.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines using tools such as GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins.
• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration technologies, including Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience deploying and operating cloud‑based systems on platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience building software that supports mission‑critical, real‑time, or operational systems.
• Prior exposure to aerospace, satellite, or complex hardware‑integrated systems.
• Experience with infrastructure‑as‑code tools such as Terraform.
• Familiarity with observability, monitoring, and logging tools for production systems.
• Ability to mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical direction and best practices.

For U.S. Roles:

To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

For U.K. Roles:

To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC).

For Canada Roles:

Successful candidates must obtain and hold a security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Canadian Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and ITAR.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.