Senior Software Engineer - Space & Defense

Job DescriptionJob Description

Senior Software Engineer Build Scalable Platforms for the Next of Mission-Critical Machines!

El Segundo, CA | Hybrid (two days onsite)

Opportunity Summary:

Join a fast-growing, venture-backed startup that's reshaping how high-performance machines are built, tested, and operated across space and defense. As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll play a foundational role in building a robust, scalable data platform used by some of the most demanding hardware teams in the world. This is a unique opportunity to work directly with aerospace, robotics, and autonomous vehicle customers, crafting tools that turn complex telemetry into actionable insights in real time. This role is ideal for engineers who love solving deeply technical problems, enjoy working close to hardware, and want to shape both product and culture from the ground up. You'll contribute directly to a platform trusted by companies designing spacecraft, satellites, autonomous vehicles, and other advanced systems, while working in a highly collaborative, fast-paced environment alongside a team of engineers from some of the top tech and aerospace companies in the world.

About Us:

We are a venture-backed startup based in Southern California, founded by former engineers from SpaceX, Palantir, and Google. Our platform gives engineers unprecedented visibility into high-throughput telemetry data, streamlining how machines are tested and debugged. Whether it's spacecraft, drones, or next-gen vehicles, our mission is to make complex hardware systems more reliable, scalable, and developer-friendly. With deep roots in space and autonomy, we're building essential tools for the teams building the future.

Job Duties:

• Architect and build an end-to-end, high-performance data platform to support real-time telemetry and analytics
• Develop clean, interactive front-end interfaces for large-scale time series and event-based data
• Collaborate directly with hardware engineering teams to understand technical challenges and deliver impactful solutions
• Define and refine engineering standards, design patterns, and cultural norms as an early team member
• Participate in architectural planning, peer reviews, and hands-on implementation across the tech stack
• Work with systems including distributed data processing, database optimization, and web performance at scale

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, Physics, or other technical discipline
• 5+ years of experience in software or data engineering roles
• Strong coding experience in Go, Python, or similar
• Proven experience building and scaling distributed systems or modern web applications
• Comfortable operating in a startup environment with evolving priorities and high ownership
• Excellent communication skills and a team-oriented mindset

Experience:

• Real-time stream processing with tools like Flink, Beam, or Apache Kafka
• Working knowledge of both relational and time-series databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, Druid)
• Hands-on experience with front-end frameworks like React, Redux, and TypeScript
• Familiarity with telemetry analysis tools (Grafana, Metabase, Jupyter, PowerBI, etc.)
• Experience with CI/CD, containerization, and infrastructure tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, Argo CD)

Why Join Us:

• Early opportunity to shape a high-impact product used in space, defense, and autonomy
• Fast-paced, highly collaborative engineering culture
• Influence product direction, technical architecture, and company values
• Work alongside top-tier engineers from SpaceX, Palantir, and more
• Hybrid schedule with in-person collaboration and site visits twice per week in LA
• Competitive compensation and equity

Compensation Details:

$140,000 - $200,000 plus equity

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