Loft OrbitalEmbedded Software Engineer
Loft Orbital is hiring an Embedded Software Engineer. It pays $150k-$190k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Loft Orbital.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this software engineer role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include C, Rtos and Linux.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 77 other open roles at Loft Orbital.
- The role was posted in the last few days.
AI in this role
Develop low-level embedded software, device drivers, and hardware abstraction layers for satellites.
Wanna join the adventure?
Loft Orbital is making space simple. We build and operate reliable, shareable satellites that give customers a faster, simpler path to orbit. By combining flight-proven spacecraft platforms with our own hardware and software, we make it easier to deploy missions in space.
As an Embedded Software Engineer, you'll develop the low-level software that brings our spacecraft hardware to life. You'll focus on hardware abstraction layers (HALs), device drivers, and hardware interfaces, working closely with hardware, FPGA, and systems engineers to integrate and debug complex electronics. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys digging into the details, solving problems at the hardware/software boundary, and seeing their code fly in space.
About this role:
- Design, develop, and maintain hardware abstraction layers (HALs), device drivers, and board support packages (BSPs).
- Develop and optimize hardware interfaces, peripherals, and data transfer mechanisms.
- Lead hands-on board bring-up, hardware/software integration, and low-level debugging.
- Write reliable, maintainable C/C++ software for embedded Linux and/or RTOS platforms.
- Diagnose complex issues using hardware documentation, debugging tools, and direct hardware testing.
- Develop unit and integration tests to validate software on target hardware.
- Collaborate with hardware, FPGA, and systems engineers to deliver robust, flight-ready solutions.
Must Haves:
- 5+ years of professional embedded software development experience in C and/or C++.
- Strong hands-on experience designing and developing HALs and low-level device drivers.
- Experience with BSPs, register-level programming, and hardware/peripheral configuration.
- Proven experience with board bring-up, hardware/software integration, and low-level debugging.
- Experience with embedded Linux and/or RTOS platforms.
- Understanding of hardware interfaces and protocols such as UART, SPI, I²C, DMA, Ethernet, LVDS, or SpaceWire.
- Experience with debugging tools such as GDB, JTAG, logic analyzers, or oscilloscopes.
- Ability to read schematics and datasheets and troubleshoot issues across hardware and software.
- Strong problem-solving skills, ownership, and ability to work across multidisciplinary teams.
Nice to Haves:
- Linux kernel internals, kernel-space driver development, and device trees.
- Embedded Linux build systems such as Yocto or Buildroot.
- ARM-based SoCs and FPGA integration.
- Aerospace, spaceflight, or safety-critical software experience.
- Radiation mitigation techniques, including Single Event Upset (SEU) handling.
- Embedded virtualization or hypervisor experience.
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
- International exposure to our team in France
- Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for primary caregiver and 10 weeks for secondary caregiver
- 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
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.
How we rate this
Embedded Software Engineer at Loft Orbital rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
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Skills and AI tools this role asks for
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Pay
- This job starts at
- $150k
- Typical software engineer job
- $167k
This posting starts 10% below the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where embedded systems was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where device drivers was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where hardware integration was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where debugging was part of your work. What did you do?
- Walk me through how you've used C in your day-to-day work.
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Embedded Systems, Device Drivers, Hardware Integration, Debugging, and C. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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