Senior Ground Segment Engineer

Golden, COFull time

As Loft strengthens its activities in the defense and security domain, we are reinforcing our security governance and operational capabilities in France. We are looking for a Security Officer to support and structure Loft France's security activities in a growing defense context. This role will serve as the primary security point of contact in France, covering regulatory, clearance, and operational security topics, while working closely with international teams in a fast-moving startup environment. The Security Officer will combine strong knowledge of security and clearance processes with a practical, hands-on mindset, able to operate effectively in a highly dynamic, international organization.

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