Principal Ground Software Engineer
Reflect Orbital3 hours ago
Hawthorne, CA, USAStaff+
Base Salary
$120k - $190k/yr
Responsibilities
- Define the ground segment architecture and technical roadmap for command and telemetry systems, ground station networks, data infrastructure, and automation.
- Make build, buy, and extend decisions for command and control infrastructure, mission planning, fleet management, ground networks, and GSaaS providers.
- Design constellation-scale automation for contact scheduling, fleet-wide telemetry and alerting, and routine operations.
- Define engineering practices across the ground and flight boundary, including interface documentation, simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop testing infrastructure.
- Lead ground segment work through launch campaigns, commissioning, and major anomalies.
- Build security into the ground segment through link protection, key management, and access control.
- Improve the reliability and observability of mission-critical ground systems.
- Write, deploy, operate, and troubleshoot software across software, networks, and hardware.
- Mentor engineers, review designs and code, and support hiring for the ground software team.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of experience developing ground systems software, including services, APIs, and applications.
- Experience setting technical direction for a ground segment or comparable real-time infrastructure.
- Experience taking satellites or a comparable hardware fleet through launch, commissioning, and sustained operations.
- Experience deploying and operating software on AWS, including container orchestration with Kubernetes and CI/CD systems.
- Strong understanding of networking protocols, routing, VPNs, and secure connectivity.
- Knowledge of satellite ground systems, including ground station networking, antenna interfaces, and RF subsystems.
- Experience building services around relational or time-series 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.
Benefits
- Broad choice of medical, dental, and vision coverage with 100% of each base policy covered by Reflect.
- Access to HSA, FSA, and 401(k) plans.
- Unlimited paid time off, with two weeks per year encouraged.
- Healthy lunches provided daily.
About Reflect Orbital
Reflect Orbital is developing technology to sell sunlight to those who need it. We imagine a future where sunlight continues powering solar farms and providing lighting after the sun sets. We’re a small team of engineers who make progress by building things quickly and iteratively. Time is our greatest constraint. Join us.