Satellite Systems Engineer

Wanna join the adventure?

Loft Orbital builds a space infrastructure providing a fast & simple path to orbit. Using different flight proven buses, we design, integrate and operate spacecrafts, to fly physical or virtual customers payloads. We handle entire missions from end to end, significantly reducing the lead-time and risk of a traditional space mission.

As a Satellite Systems Engineer at Loft, you will work on one or several satellite missions simultaneously, each one flying a single/multi-payload configuration. You will be a technical reference for these missions, working closely with program manager and all the Loft teams: products development teams, flight and ground software, AIT and operations.

Using flight proven satellite buses and Loft designed payload hub infrastructure, you will lead the development activities of the missions you are in charge of.

About this Role:

• Serve as satellite systems engineer for one or more customer missions, representing Loft in technical discussions and reviews to accommodate and fly a variety of payloads
• Act as the internal payload subject-matter expert, interfacing with hardware and software teams to ensure end-to-end integration.
• Work with flight operations to develop the mission CONOPS, supporting the development of Service Level Agreements with Loft's customers
• Assist with program management and product management, including interfacing with customers on programmatic and schedule matters
• Review test plans and test results, and participate in the integration, test campaign, launch and in-orbit activities
• Accommodate customer missions on Loft’s rideshare programs, contributing to satellite-level budgets and analyses, V&V planning, CONOPS definition, AIT, and on-orbit operations.

Must Haves:

• A minimum of 5 years of demonstrated experience as a spacecraft systems engineer, or equivalent experience in at least two different subsystems (ADCS, Mechanical, Thermal, Power, On-Board Electronics & Software, …)
• You have strong communication and organizational skills
• You challenge norms in aerospace engineering and testing activities and or experienced in fast-paced development environment
• You have experience in small satellite assembly, integration and test campaigns, and/or in spacecraft delivery to orbit
• You handle pressure positively and are always ready to put hands-on

Nice to Haves:

• Experience with Python and Jupyter notebooks for analysis and simulation
• Exposure to different space payload technologies (e.g., RF, optical, radar, hosted compute,…)
• Exposure to in-orbit operations
• International experience

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 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.