Onboard Software Engineer - Deployment & Runtime Environments

Wanna join the adventure? Loft’s Onboard Software group provides the on-orbit software that powers our satellite fleet — from the Linux services running on the hub processor, to the containerized workloads executing customer applications in low Earth orbit. The Deployment & Runtime Environments team is where software meets the satellite. We own how software gets packaged, deployed, and executed onboard: from the tool that assembles and maintains mission-specific software stacks, to the Runtime Container Environment that lets partner and customer workloads run securely in orbit, to the Linux infrastructure that makes it all reliable. As more satellite programs come online and as we open our container runtime to a growing number of external workloads, the team’s scope is expanding fast. We’re looking for someone scrappy — the kind of engineer who digs into an unfamiliar system, maps it out, and gets it shipped without needing the path handed to them. You’ll move between Linux internals, container runtimes, and CI pipelines, sometimes in the same afternoon.

Contribute to and evolve our bundle management tool — the tool that resolves package dependencies, assembles mission-specific software stacks, and enables the Solutions team to spin up and maintain an ever-growing number of satellite programs

Develop and harden our onboard Linux infrastructure: how services are deployed on the rootfs, what system manages their execution, and how we ensure reliable and recoverable Linux operation in orbit

Evolve our Runtime Container Environment — the container manager and the full stack around it (base images, container registry service) — enabling partner and customer workloads to run securely onboard our vehicles

Support scaling of the deployment pipeline as new hardware platforms are added and the number of active satellite programs grows

Contribute to Product Validation — as the last step in the development pipeline, the team plays a key role in validating software readiness before it goes to orbit

Design, implement, and refine software with a high degree of ownership, driving features from concept through delivery

Participate in code reviews, design proposals, and the continuous improvement of development processes

Strong understanding of containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes, or similar runtimes)

Deep Linux system knowledge: boot process, service management, filesystem layout, and failure recovery

Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitLab-CI, Jenkins, or similar)

Proficiency with Git and collaborative development workflows

Experience with embedded or resource-constrained systems

Working Python

Understanding of software deployment strategies for critical or hard-to-reach systems — OTA updates for cars, drones, or consumer hardware, or software updates on satellites — including concepts like golden images, A/B partitions, staged rollouts, and safe rollback

C++ knowledge

Experience with CUE (cuelang)

Familiarity with additional programming languages such as Go or Rust

Experience with embedded Linux: Yocto, device trees, systemd, and Linux on ARM platforms

Proficiency with unit test frameworks (e.g., pytest, Googletest, Unity)

Experience with middleware frameworks (gRPC, ZMQ/NATS, etc.)

Equity, we want you to have an active role in our success

Up to 35 days of Paid Time Off (vacations & RTT ) and flexible working hours, we want you to be at your best

Health and life insurance, we care about your health

Lunch Vouchers, because let’s be honest, we love food! (we even have a slack channel about it #loft-gourmand)

Cross-office travel opportunities between San Francisco, Colorado, and Toulouse to learn from our differences

Company and team off-sites and many other events to work & celebrate together

Relocation assistance to Toulouse when applicable

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