Senior Ground Segment Engineer

San Francisco, CAFull time

Wanna join the adventure? As a Senior Ground Segment Engineer, you play a pivotal role in building software to operate our fleet of in-orbit satellites, and to prepare for the challenges associated with operating different satellite buses in a variety of configurations. Your expertise will be instrumental in ensuring reliable, efficient, and scalable connectivity between our growing fleet of satellites via both ground stations and inter-satellite links. You will configure Cockpit, Loft's mission control system, to expand our ground segment connectivity, working with our ground station providers and the product teams that build Cockpit. You will manage cross-fleet contact allocation and planning, optimizing resource usage to maximize communication opportunities and minimize latency. Work closely with our Space Infrastructure, Spacecraft Deployment, Mission Deployment and Execution, and regulatory teams to manage commissioned satellites and prepare for the commissioning of new ones. This position will also give you the opportunity to become a rotating Flight Director, responsible for the health and safety of our satellite fleet. There is opportunity for growth in this position. Your expertise in network infrastructure will be crucial in ensuring the reliability of our global satellite network, enabling us to deliver exceptional service to our customers. This role offers a broad scope to work on different aspects of satellite connectivity and play a significant part in shaping the future of satellite operations at Loft.

About this role: Manage architecture for ground station and inter-satellite link (ISL) connectivity solutions

Own cross-fleet contact allocation, planning, and satellite connectivity configurations

Support satellite operations both in nominal operations and by providing on-call support during commissioning.

Own our network infrastructure alerting capabilities (ground station availability and anomaly detection, intersatellite link stability, etc)

Own ground segment management – project management, cost management, contract management, RF compatibility test management, licensing coordination

Own ground segment optimization – both technical performance and financial

Own ground segment operation – escalation for ISL or Ground Station issues, serve as point of contact with providers during launch and early operations, commissioning of ISLs, new ground station sites.

Occasionally test connectivity between Loft's cloud and network providers, together with our Cloud Infrastructure team

Serve as a rotating Flight Director, overseeing incident response and ensuring the health and safety of the fleet.

Manage RF licensing together with our regulatory team

Must haves: 4-5 years relevant experience

RF knowledge sufficient to develop ground station or intersatellite link configurations

Protocol knowledge (internet/transport layer): CCSDS (131.0/132.0, 231.0/232.0) and/or ECSS standards, TCP/IP, UDP

Licensing knowledge

Ability to debug connectivity issues in a complex network environment

Experience with Kubernetes (k8s), Docker, Git, Python

Willingness and enthusiasm to be trained as a satellite controller and Flight Director (including participation in the on-call rotation).

Nice to haves: Having held this type of position in the past

Proven experience developing software

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 in office

International exposure to our team in France

Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for birthing parent and 10 weeks for non-birthing parent

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

*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 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.

4-5 years relevant experience