---
title: 'Principal Ground Software Engineer at Reflect Orbital'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-ground-software-engineer-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-m7a5wykrj860'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Principal Ground Software Engineer at Reflect Orbital

- **Company:** Reflect Orbital
- **Location:** Hawthorne, CA
- **Compensation:** $120k–$190k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/reflect-orbital/5ceb7441-4528-481b-9db5-40bab079e2de

## Job description

At Reflect, you will be expected to move fast, have a lot of ownership and, most importantly, be able to effect change. If this excites you, we are interested in hearing about your best work and accomplishments across any domain and from any points in your life.

## About the Role

As a Principal Satellite Ground Software Engineer, you'll set the technical direction for the ground segment: the architecture that takes us from operating single satellites with hands-on passes to operating a constellation with minimal operator involvement. You'll make the build/buy/extend calls on core infrastructure and be responsible for ground segment readiness at every launch.

This is a hands-on role on a small team. You'll write code, deploy and operate what you build, and troubleshoot issues that span software, networks, and hardware. You'll also mentor engineers, review designs across the team, and make the architectural decisions the rest of the ground segment builds on.

## Responsibilities

- Define the ground segment architecture and technical roadmap: command and telemetry systems, ground station network strategy, data infrastructure, and automation
- Make build/buy/extend decisions on command and control infrastructure, mission planning, fleet management, and ground network and GSaaS providers
- Design for constellation scale: automated contact scheduling across many satellites and sites, fleet-wide telemetry and alerting, and increasing automation of routine operations
- Define engineering practices across the ground/flight boundary, including interface documentation and simulation and hardware-in-the-loop test infrastructure
- Lead ground segment work through launch campaigns, commissioning, and major anomalies
- Build security into the ground segment from the start: link protection, key management, and access control
- Improve the reliability and observability of mission-critical ground systems
- Mentor engineers, review designs and code, and support hiring for the ground software team

## Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
- 10+ years of experience developing ground systems software (services, APIs, and applications)
- Experience setting technical direction for a ground segment or comparable real-time infrastructure
- Experience taking satellites, or a comparable hardware fleet, through launch, commissioning, and sustained operations
- Experience deploying and operating software on AWS, including container orchestration with Kubernetes and CI/CD systems
- Strong understanding of networking protocols, routing, VPNs, and secure connectivity
- Knowledge of satellite ground systems, including ground station networking, antenna interfaces, and RF subsystems
- Experience building services around databases and real-time data (relational or time-series)
- Strong programming and scripting skills (Python, C++, and/or Rust)
- Familiarity with Linux environments and command-line tools
- Experience building software for multi-satellite constellation operations is a plus

Even if you don’t meet 100% of the above qualifications, we are likely still interested in hearing from you. Hiring exceptional individuals is our #1 priority, and we believe that exceptional people often have highly unusual backgrounds.

We are also interested in carving out unique roles for unconventional people that we are excited about working with.

## BENEFITS

Reflect Orbital’s success will hinge on our team, which is why our compensation and benefits plan is designed to reward our employees and support their families as generously as we’re able.

- Broad choice of medical/dental/vision coverage, Reflect covers 100% of each base-policy
- Access to HSA, FSA, and 401K
- Unlimited paid time off
- Healthy lunches provided daily

## EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Reflect Orbital is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Reflect Orbital is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

More about Reflect Orbital:

Learn more about our team here. https://www.reflectorbital.com/team

## About Reflect Orbital

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Reflect Orbital is building a constellation of orbiting mirrors to deliver concentrated sunlight on demand for energy, agriculture, and nighttime illumination.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Space‑enabled infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, defense, urban lighting
- **Target customers**: B2B – solar farm operators, industrial sites, agricultural producers, defense contractors, municipalities, and event organizers
- **Mission**: "Make clean, abundant energy available on demand" and "unlock the sun’s full potential here on Earth"

## Products & Services
- **Energy Service**: Extends solar farm capacity factor by delivering reflected sunlight (adjustable intensity up to 36,000 lux, durations from minutes to hours). Aimed at dispatchable clean power without new ground infrastructure.
- **Lighting Service**: Provides on‑demand, precise illumination for agriculture (extend growing seasons), industrial sites, search & rescue, defense operations, and public experiences. Brightness ranges from 0.1 lux (full‑moon equivalent) to 100 lux (indoor work area) with configurable spot sizes.
- **Platform**: Access via app/website; the light can be turned off instantly and is fully adjustable.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – $26.5M, with a $20M Series A raised approximately one year ago
- **Notable Investors**: Undisclosed (backed by "the best" per careers page)
- **Growth Signals**: Founded in 2021, raised significant Series A; plans to deploy initial 2 satellites for testing in 2026, scaling to 36 satellites by 2028 and eventually a constellation of 50k+ satellites by 2035.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Space‑based mirrors** – no ground infrastructure required, can illuminate any precise area on Earth on demand
- **Instant on/off** – light can be shut off quickly, preventing spillover and avoiding sensitive areas (e.g., observatories)
- **Adjustable intensity** – from moonlight to bright daylight, configurable via software
- **Safety design** – light cannot start fires or harm eyes; kept within requested service area
- **Dispatchability** – enables solar farms to generate power after sunset, improving capacity factor without land or storage

## Strategic Focus
- **Near‑term** (2026‑2028): Launch first test satellites, prove Energy Service for solar farms and Lighting Service for early adopters
- **Medium‑term** (2028‑2030): Scale constellation to hundreds of satellites, expand into agriculture, industrial, and defense markets
- **Long‑term** (2030‑2035): Reach full constellation of thousands of satellites, replace streetlights, reduce light pollution, and provide uninterrupted solar power globally

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Highly technical, ambitious, and fast‑paced environment. Described as solving "a problem most assume is impossible at planetary scale" with "extreme ownership, moving fast and learning and iterating in reality."
- **Work mode**: Hardware‑focused company located in Hawthorne, CA – likely on‑site; remote/hybrid policy not specified
- **Perks**: Not explicitly listed, but emphasis on working with top talent on groundbreaking technology with a clear, mission‑driven impact
- **Open roles**: Listed on [Ashby careers page](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/reflect-orbital) across engineering, science, and operations functions

## Sources
1. [reflectorbital.com](https://www.reflectorbital.com/)
2. [reflectorbital.com/careers](https://www.reflectorbital.com/careers)
3. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/reflect-orbital)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/reflectorbital)
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/reflect-orbital)

## Other roles at Reflect Orbital

- [Electrical Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineering-intern-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-322vgde961hb) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Avionics Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-engineering-intern-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-wkema9kktx4m) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Embedded Firmware Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-firmware-engineering-intern-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-zv97y612kwr3) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Flight Software Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/flight-software-engineering-intern-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-fx22t5mdtqqz) — Hawthorne, CA
- [GNC Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/gnc-engineering-intern-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-mnqg2k3ptcj6) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Mechanical Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineering-intern-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-y6s1grc6ggf3) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Thermal Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/thermal-engineering-intern-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-rh7x15z2j0n8) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Principal GNC Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-gnc-engineer-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-qcxe7s1zw44v) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior GNC Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-gnc-engineer-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-y1v5pbqpazwm) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior Ground Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-ground-software-engineer-reflect-orbital-hawthorne-r11tr118bgmw) — Hawthorne, CA