Space Infrastructure Engineer
About this role
Loft Orbital is hiring a Space Infrastructure Engineer, full-time, on-site in Abu Dhabi, in the Aerospace sector.
About the role
As a Space Infrastructure Engineer, you'll develop and maintain the software systems that autonomously operate our satellites, and help scale that infrastructure as our fleet grows. You'll work across the full stack — from ground-segment automation to the interfaces that connect it to space-segment operations — and rotate into Flight Director and Satellite Controller duties, including commissioning support and on-call rotation. You'll also be a direct point of contact for customers during mission deployment and execution.
What You'll Do:
- Develop and maintain the software systems that autonomously operate our satellites, improving the reliability and scalability of our space infrastructure
- Build tools, systems, and software libraries that let other teams integrate with and operate on our satellite platform
- Scale our satellite operations software to support a growing, increasingly heterogeneous fleet
- Configure and automate operations tooling for each program — procedures, dashboards, sub-schedules, resolvers, and auto-pilot plans
- Support test campaigns, from functional testing through Day-in-the-Life (DITL) validation, prior to and during launch
- Partner with product teams to drive continuous improvements from operational and integration feedback
- Serve as a rotating Flight Director and Satellite Controller, overseeing incident response and the health and safety of the fleet
- Interface directly with customers for mission deployment and execution once satellites are launched
What You'll Bring
- Proven experience developing software, with strong automation skills
- Ability to work across the full software and hardware stack — ground-based automation, space-based automation, and the interfaces between them
- Proficiency in Python and Git
- Demonstrated scripting experience, ideally in Python, for automation and mission performance
- A strong background in satellite operations and complex systems management
- Willingness and enthusiasm to train as a satellite controller and Flight Director, including commissioning support and on-call rotation
- A pragmatic mindset that balances long-term reliability with short- and medium-term fixes
- Strong ownership and autonomy, with a track record of delivering results
- Openness to learning and tackling unfamiliar challenges in a fast-paced, constrained environment
Nice to Have
- Experience with Airbus satellite platforms (e.g., the Arrow-150 bus) in avionics, ADCS, or propulsion
- Experience with low-Earth-orbit satellite operations
- Experience with satellite constellation management
- Experience managing or interfacing directly with customers
- Experience with satellite testing, AIT, or verification & validation of complex systems
- Arabic language skills, or willingness to learn
Description from Loft Orbital's official posting. Always confirm details on the company careers page.
About Loft Orbital
Loft Orbital
Satellite-as-a-service operator hosting customer payloads on shared platforms. San Francisco, CA.
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About Larry Sherwood Jr.
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