Mission Management, Software Engineering Manager

Role overview Lead the engineering team responsible for software that plans and coordinates autonomous satellite imaging and communications activity. You’ll set technical direction, guide delivery, and support reliable live operations while balancing rapid development with safety, system performance, and customer and program commitments. The position is strongly preferred to be based in the Seattle area.

Responsibilities - Build, lead, and develop a team delivering autonomous satellite operations planning software. - Set priorities and roadmaps across projects, aligning engineering work with mission operations, customer commitments, and program milestones. - Provide architectural guidance for coordinating constellation activities and work across flight, ground, spacecraft, product, and program teams. - Improve design and code reviews, testing, safety practices, and operational readiness. - Support live systems through on-call practices, incident response, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions. - Hire, onboard, coach, and evaluate engineers; plan resources and support satellite launch and early operations.

Requirements - Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, or another computational field. - At least ten years of software engineering experience, including complex distributed, autonomous, or mission-critical systems. - At least two years in engineering leadership as a people manager or technical lead with formal leadership responsibilities. - Strong programming background in one or more languages such as Go, Python, or C++, with the ability to review complex designs and guide architecture. - Experience deploying microservices in cloud environments and on-premises Kubernetes systems. - Knowledge of CI/CD, automated testing, version control, and operational practices, plus strong cross-functional communication and planning skills.

Nice to have - A graduate degree in a relevant technical field. - Experience with system safety, fault tolerance, redundancy, and recovery; satellite operations, aerospace, geospatial data, or automation of complex systems. - Background aligning engineering delivery with commercial service targets and program-specific requirements.

Benefits and work setup - Seattle-area salary range: $165,000–$205,000 per year; final compensation varies by background and location. - Benefits include health coverage, paid time off and holidays, retirement plan with employer match, stock purchase program, and professional development. - Some supported programs may require U.S. citizenship. Export-control rules may require U.S. citizenship, permanent residence, protected-individual status, or authorization.