Spacecraft Deployment Engineer

Wanna join the adventure?

Loft Orbital is looking for a Software Engineer to join our Spacecraft Deployment team.

About the Team:

The Spacecraft Deployment Team is dedicated to ensuring seamless integration of our products within our space platform, encompassing the Bus, Hub, and Loft-controlled payloads. This team is responsible for developing and managing the software products crucial for efficient operations.

About this Role:

• Spacecraft Commissioning: Overseeing and ensuring the timely and efficient commissioning of spacecraft, meeting all operational readiness criteria.
• Program Operations Repositories: Maintaining consistency and compatibility across program operations repositories within Loft's wide-ranging ecosystem.
• Platform-Level ConOps: Designing, developing, and testing Concept of Operations (ConOps) at the platform level to ensure that Loft's software products integrate effectively within programs.

Must Haves:

• Strong Satellite Systems Understanding: Proven ability to rapidly understand and map spacecraft subsystems (ADCS, EPS, OBC, payload, comms) and their operational interactions.
• Hands-on Satellite Operations Experience: Direct experience supporting LEOP/early orbit, spacecraft commissioning, or on-orbit test campaigns.
• Ground Segment Familiarity: Operational familiarity with ground control concepts, telemetry/command flows, and mission planning.
• Software Fluency: Proficient with operations-related scripting and automation (e.g., Python/Bash). Ability to handle procedure automation, test scripts, and anomaly reporting.
• Configuration & Test Discipline: Demonstrable rigor in configuration control, "test as you fly," and process documentation-committed to consistency and reliability.
• Collaboration & Communication: Able to interface with engineering, ops, and customer teams; provides actionable updates, handovers, and feedback.

Nice to Haves:

• Ground Software Customization: Experience developing or integrating mission operations software platforms and telemetry/command APIs.
• DevOps Tools: Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, Docker, Git, and automation of operational toolchains.
• Multi-Mission/System Integration: Experience commissioning multiple spacecraft in parallel, or working across diverse platform architectures.
• Formal Standards Knowledge: Familiarity with ECSS, CCSDS, PUS, or other space operations standards.
• Customer- or Vendor-Facing Experience: Comfort communicating commissioning/progress updates to customers or managing vendor integration tasks.

Some of Our Awesome Benefits:

• Equity, we want you to have an active role in our success
• Up to 35 days of Paid Time Off (vacations & RTT ) and flexible working hours, we want you to be at your best
• Health and life insurance, we care about your health
• Lunch Vouchers, because let's be honest, we love food! (we even have a slack channel about it #loft-gourmand)
• Cross-office travel opportunities between San Francisco, Colorado, and Toulouse to learn from our differences
• Company and team off-sites and many other events to work & celebrate together
• Relocation assistance to Toulouse when applicable

*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. We strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes.

Who We Are

Loft: Space Made Simple.

Founded in 2017, Loft provides governments, companies, and research institutions with a fast, reliable, and flexible 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, in-orbit demonstrations, 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 25 missions flown, Loft's flight heritage and proven technologies enable customers to focus on their mission objectives.

At Loft, you'll be given the autonomy and ownership to solve significant challenges, but with a close-knit and supportive team at your back. We believe that diversity and community are the foundation of an open culture. We are committed to hiring the best people regardless of background and make their time at Loft the most fulfilling period of their career.

We value kind, supportive and team-oriented collaborators. It is also crucial for us that you are a problem solver and a great communicator. As our team is international, you will need strong English skills to better collaborate, easily communicate complex ideas and convey important messages.

With 4 satellites on-orbit and a wave of exciting missions launching soon, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France.

As an international company your resume will be reviewed by people across our offices so please attach a copy in English.