Onboard Software Engineer - Deployment & Runtime Environments Verified today
About the role
Loft's Onboard Software group provides the software that powers our satellite fleet in low Earth orbit. The Deployment & Runtime Environments team owns how software gets packaged, deployed, and executed onboard: from the bundle management tool that assembles mission-specific software stacks, to the Runtime Container Environment that lets partner and customer workloads run securely in orbit, to the Linux infrastructure that makes it all reliable.
You will move between Linux internals, container runtimes, and CI pipelines. You'll dig into unfamiliar systems, map them out, and ship solutions with high ownership from concept through delivery.
What you'll do
- Contribute to and evolve the bundle management tool that resolves package dependencies, assembles mission-specific software stacks, and enables the Solutions team to maintain a growing number of satellite programs
- Develop and harden onboard Linux infrastructure: how services are deployed on the rootfs, what system manages their execution, and how we ensure reliable and recoverable Linux operation in orbit
- Evolve the Runtime Container Environment, the container manager and full stack around it (base images, container registry service), enabling partner and customer workloads to run securely onboard
- Support scaling of the deployment pipeline as new hardware platforms are added and the number of active satellite programs grows
- Contribute to Product Validation as the last step in the development pipeline before software goes to orbit
- Design, implement, and refine software with high ownership, driving features from concept through delivery
- Participate in code reviews, design proposals, and continuous improvement of development processes
Must have
- Strong understanding of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, or similar runtimes)
- Deep Linux system knowledge: boot process, service management, filesystem layout, and failure recovery
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitLab-CI, Jenkins, or similar)
- Proficiency with Git and collaborative development workflows
- Experience with embedded or resource-constrained systems
- Working Python
Nice to have
- Understanding of software deployment strategies for critical or hard-to-reach systems such as OTA updates for cars, drones, consumer hardware, or satellites, including golden images, A/B partitions, staged rollouts, and safe rollback
- C++ knowledge
- Experience with CUE (cuelang)
- Familiarity with additional programming languages such as Go or Rust
- Experience with embedded Linux: Yocto, device trees, systemd, and Linux on ARM platforms
- Proficiency with unit test frameworks (pytest, Googletest, Unity)
- Experience with middleware frameworks (gRPC, ZMQ/NATS)
Benefits
- Equity
- Up to 35 days of Paid Time Off and flexible working hours
- Health and life insurance
- Lunch Vouchers
- Cross-office travel opportunities between San Francisco, Colorado, and Toulouse
- Company and team off-sites and events
- Relocation assistance to Toulouse when applicable
About Loft
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 across Earth observation, IoT connectivity, on-orbit AI, national security missions, and more. With more than 30 missions flown and a growing fleet on track to reach 30 satellites by 2027, we are scaling up quickly across offices in San Francisco, Golden, and Toulouse.