Senior Software Engineer - Test Infrastructure

About this role:

As a Test Infrastructure Engineer, you will primarily help design, develop, and deploy our test infrastructure and the tools for automating both our hardware and software testing, which will help us scale as a company.Sitting between the spacecraft and all the other teams, you will have a big impact in ensuring that every element of our satellite works without any bugs.We are looking for engineers with a product mindset, who have a good understanding of embedded systems, networking, data exchange protocols, and experience with setting up software infrastructures. Additionally, we are looking for someone who is:
• Able to work independently with some guidance. People owning their work is important to us!
• Able to wear multiple hats as needs arise. We are a small company disrupting an entire industry!
• Not afraid to get out of their comfort zone to explore and learn. Technologies are evolving at rapid rates, and we must stay relevant!
Key responsibilities include:
• Design, build, deploy, and maintain high-fidelity Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbeds that emulate spacecraft systems, sensors, and communication links.
• Design, build, deploy, and maintain Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) that interfaces with space vehicles under Assembly, Integration & Tests, allowing Validation and Verification of spacecrafts and their software before their launch campaigns.
• Develop tools and frameworks that allow teams to simulate faults, edge cases, and mission scenarios that are difficult or costly to reproduce with physical hardware alone.
• Work closely with systems, software, hardware, and operations teams to understand evolving test requirements and integrate feedback into the platforms.
• Maintain and extend test infrastructure to support continuous integration (CI) pipelines, ensuring every code change is validated with realistic system-level tests.
• Troubleshoot complex system issues spanning software, embedded hardware, networking, and system configuration.
Our culture at Loft Orbital promotes collaboration and ownership among our developers, fostering efforts hand in hand with other teams, internally and externally.

Must Haves:

• 2+ years working with Linux systems, including configuration, debugging, and system-level troubleshooting.
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (OSI layers, packet analysis, data exchange protocols like TCP/IP and UDP).
• Hands-on experience with embedded systems or low-level hardware (Raspberry Pi, Arduino, microcontrollers, or similar).
• Proficiency in Python (3.9+) for building test automation frameworks, device drivers, or test orchestration tools.
• Experience containerizing applications with Docker.
• Familiarity with at least one modern CI tool (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Buildkite, CircleCI) and integrating test pipelines.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience designing or automating complex HIL/SIL testbed, signal conditioning, fault injection, or hardware emulation.
• Experience with “Infrastructure-as-Code” systems, specifically NixOS.
• Familiarity with networking simulation tools (e.g., network emulators, virtual switches) for testing data flows under realistic mission constraints.
• Interest or experience with hardware test automation frameworks (e.g., custom Python-based test rigs).
• Master’s degree in Computer Science or a similar field.

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