---
title: 'Ground Software Engineer at Loft Federal'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/ground-software-engineer-loft-federal-golden-8w13h5bmcs4x'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-26'
---

# Ground Software Engineer at Loft Federal

- **Company:** Loft Federal
- **Location:** Golden, CO
- **Compensation:** $120k–$185k
- **Posted:** 2026-09-25
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-26
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/loftfederal/jobs/5435593008

## Job description

## About Loft Federal

Loft Federal is committed to delivering the U.S. national security space community a fast, affordable, and streamlined pathway to orbit. As a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Loft Orbital Solutions, Inc., we specialize in providing mission-ready space infrastructure with unmatched efficiency.

At Loft, we empower our team with autonomy, ownership, and bold problem-solving opportunities while fostering a tight-knit, supportive environment. We believe that diversity, inclusivity, and community are the foundation of an open and innovative culture. We value kind, collaborative, and mission-driven teammates who excel in problem-solving and communication—because great solutions come from great teams.

Are you ready to embark on this exciting journey with us?

Loft Federal is revolutionizing access to space by building reliable, shareable satellites that drastically reduce the time and complexity traditionally required to get to orbit. We operate satellites, fly customer payloads, and handle entire missions from end-to-end. We’re a close-knit team of space enthusiasts, software experts, and cutting-edge technologists, all working together to make space simple for our customers.

As a Ground Software Engineer you’ll develop and maintain custom ground software capabilities for our customers. We configure and extend Loft Federals mission software for specific program needs, deliver custom features to support mission deployment and execution, and help ensure smooth operations by connecting product capabilities with mission-specific needs. We also drive product improvement by providing operational feedback and collaborating closely with Product teams.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge technology, helping build modern automated infrastructure, bringing software and space together.

About the Role:

- Own and maintain Ground Procedures, Configurations and Automation software tailored to specific programs and missions
- Design and implement non-recurring features within Cockpit to support both Physical and Virtual Missions customers
- Work closely with other Solutions teams and Software Product teams to ensure smooth integration and improve products.
- Help troubleshoot software integration issues found during development as well as during end to end testing, commissioning and operations.
- Participate actively in Satellite Operations and support Spacecraft Commissioning - Everyone is involved!

Must Haves:

- US Citizen. TS clearance with SCI eligibility.
- A minimum of 2 years of experience in software engineering, systems integration, or satellite-operations automation with meaningful software development ownership.
- Strong Python experience, including building maintainable automation, tooling, services, or operational workflows—not just one-off scripts.
- Experience using Git in a collaborative engineering environment, including branching, code review, and maintaining changes over time.
- Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot software and integration issues by isolating root causes, evaluating trade-offs, and driving problems to resolution.
- Experience with Docker and containerized development or deployment workflows.
- Experience working across multiple technical components or teams.

Nice to Have:

- Experience developing software for satellite ground systems, mission operations, spacecraft operations, telemetry, commanding, mission planning, or other operationally critical systems.
- Experience with software integration across services, tools, configurations, APIs, or hardware/software interfaces.
- Familiarity with satellite scheduling, flight dynamics, orbital mechanics, or spacecraft operations.
- Experience with GitLab CI/CD, automated testing, regression testing, or integration-test tooling.
- Familiarity with backend services and operational technologies such as Django, GraphQL, Kubernetes, C++, Cue, or Linux.

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
- 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

Per Colorado law, we are required to disclose the base compensation range for this role. This range is intentionally wide as we assess individuals based on their unique abilities and experience to find the best fit for our needs. Ultimately, your compensation will be determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

In addition to a competitive salary and [benefits](https://loftfederal.com/careers/) package, you will find a truly remarkable culture guided by transparency and collaboration and work that is challenging and meaningful. We can't wait to meet you and see what you may add to our team!

Salary Range $120,000—$185,000 USD

## Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action

Loft Federal is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, veteran status, genetic information, disability, pregnancy, or any other legally protected status.

Accessibility & Accommodations

If you require a reasonable accommodation due to a disability when applying for an open position, please contact us at recruiting@loftfederal.com for assistance.

We Hire for Talent, Not Just Resumes

Research shows that while men apply for jobs when they meet about 60% of the qualifications, women and other underrepresented groups tend to apply only when they meet 100% of the listed criteria. At Loft Federal, we value diverse perspectives, respectful debate, and people who challenge assumptions. If you’re excited about a role but don’t meet every requirement, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Third-Party Recruiters & Agencies

No outside recruiters, please. Loft Federal does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, staffing agencies, or third-party recruiters. We will not pay fees for candidates submitted without a signed agreement in place.

## About Loft Federal

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Loft Federal is the U.S. national security and government business of Loft Orbital, delivering integrated mission payloads, onboard processing, secure interfaces, and operational execution for U.S. Government and allied space missions.
- **Entity Type**: Private – wholly owned FOCI-mitigated subsidiary of Loft Orbital (itself a private company)
- **Headquarters**: Arvada, Colorado, United States (also has facilities in Golden, CO)
- **Founded**: 2022 (Loft Orbital founded 2017)
- **Founders**: N/A (subsidiary of Loft Orbital; Loft Orbital was founded by Pierre-Damien Vaujour and Antoine de Chauveron)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Defense and Space Manufacturing – National Security Space
- Target customers: U.S. Government (DoD, Intelligence Community, NASA), allied governments, prime contractors
- Mission or purpose statement: “We turn spacecraft into mission assets” – combining commercial space speed with federal security requirements to deliver operational advantage from orbit.

## Products & Services
- **VAULT (Onboard Processing & Autonomy)**: Edge processing, scheduling, tasking, and mission execution logic that enables autonomous decision-making in contested and bandwidth-limited environments.
- **Moving Target Indication (MTI)**: Detection and tracking of moving targets through tasking, edge processing, and data fusion, with secure handoff into government systems.
- **Orbital Reconnaissance & Battlespace Awareness (ORB)**: Persistent custody, behavior characterization, and bounded operational response in contested space environments.
- **Responsive Space Platforms (RSP)**: Rapidly deploy, adapt, and update capabilities for emerging mission needs using the same satellite hardware to maximize flight heritage and reduce risk.
- **Missile Warning & Tracking (MW)**: Detect, track, characterize, and support early warning, custody, and response timelines.
- **Tactical ISR**: Deliver actionable intelligence on compressed timelines using a full mission loop of sense, decide, act.
- **Secure Handoff & Mission Systems Integration**: End-to-end integration of payloads, buses, communications, and mission operations with security for government and allied partners.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private subsidiary)
- **Key Metric**: 14+ operational space vehicles launched, 28+ more in production; 25+ distinct customer payloads flown across commercial and government missions.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Loft Orbital (parent company); recent contract win: Missile Defense Agency SHIELD IDIQ contract (announced Dec 2025); Douglas Loverro appointed Chairman of the Board (Sep 2025); NASA Flight Opportunities IV payload host.
- **Growth Signals**: New leadership hires in growth (Chris Daywalt), strategy (Mark Mueller), and engineering (Scott Perry); facility expansion in Arvada for classified readiness; 3 active job postings with a 50% quarterly increase in hiring activity.

## Competitive Advantages
- **FOCI-mitigated structure** allows a commercial space company to serve classified national security missions while hiring only U.S. citizens.
- **Commercial satellite bus flight heritage** (identical hardware for every mission) reduces technical risk and cost – a trusted model for government customers.
- **Full mission loop capability** from sensing and processing to secure handoff and operational response, all within a single integrated package.
- **Autonomy-centric approach** (VAULT) enables edge processing in contested, bandwidth-limited environments – a key differentiator for modern space warfare.

## Strategic Focus
- Growing federal market capture and customer engagement (hiring Senior Directors for Intelligence Community business development).
- Expanding payload integration and mission systems engineering capabilities for missile warning, tracking, and tactical ISR.
- Scaling classified operations with a new Arvada facility and “FCL-ready” posture.
- Deepening partnerships with primes and government agencies to win larger IDIQ contracts and mission prime roles.

## Why Work Here
- **Purpose-driven work**: Directly contribute to national security space missions – every role supports “operational advantage from orbit.”
- **Technical depth**: Teams focus on autonomy, secure software, edge processing, payload integration, and space systems – opportunity to work at the cutting edge of space and defense tech.
- **Small, mission-focused team** (~20 employees) with access to the broader Loft Orbital enterprise (300+ staff) – offers both startup agility and corporate resources.
- **Security clearance eligibility**: Company is FOCI-mitigated and hires only U.S. citizens; many roles require or support clearance processing.
- **Recent leadership hires** from Palantir, Blue Canyon, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, and Ball Aerospace – strong peer network.
- **Office presence**: Based in Arvada, Colorado (Denver metro) with facilities in Golden; likely on-site due to classified work, though remote/hybrid not explicitly stated.
- **Notable perks**: Not publicly detailed, but typical for defense space contractors include competitive compensation, clearance bonuses, and mission-related travel.

## Sources
1. [loftfederal.com – Home](https://loftfederal.com/)
2. [loftfederal.com – About](https://loftfederal.com/about.html)
3. [loftfederal.com – Careers](http://loftfederal.com/careers.html)
4. [LinkedIn – Loft Federal](https://www.linkedin.com/company/loft-federal)
5. [Loft Federal – About (alternate)](https://loftfederal.com/about/)

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