Backend Software Engineer (Ground Segment)
Aim high and Go Beyond!
At Open Cosmos we are solving the world’s biggest challenges from space, providing businesses, governments and researchers access to more readily available information than ever before.
We build, test, launch and operate satellites to solve the problems of our customers. It’s an exciting time to join as we scale up to meet the demands of the fast-growing space industry.
Working in our ground segment team
You can think of our satellites as essentially Linux computers 500km away travelling at 8km/s that we can only talk to for a few minutes per day. In that time we download telemetry, verify satellite health, respond to anomalies, plan the next orbit's activities and retrieve payload data such as images.
These constraints create unique and exciting engineering challenges. The Ground Segment team builds and runs software to test and operate satellites with high levels of automation. The operational infrastructure we provide is critical to the success of our missions, and the tools we build on top make everyone in the company more productive. We're scaling fast to support upcoming missions.
Our operations platform runs Go and Python microservices on Kubernetes, backed by PostgreSQL, with a React/TypeScript frontend. We favor proven technologies so we can focus on the problems that actually matter: reliably operating a growing constellation at scale.
What You'll Be Doing
Designing and owning backend services and APIs used in satellite and mission operations
Leading technical design discussions and guiding implementation approaches across the team
Talking with system engineers, spacecraft operators and avionics developers to understand their needs and defining the product roadmap
Writing high-quality, maintainable and well-tested code and setting standards through peer review
Monitoring backend services, troubleshooting issues and leading incident resolution
Participating in sprint planning, stand-ups, retrospectives and technical reviews
What You’ll Bring
Strong programming capability in Go and Python (or comparable backend languages)
Ability to lead complex software projects and mentoring other engineers
Confidence debugging issues in complex systems
Familiarity with computer networking and software performance principles
Knowledge of automated testing practices and CI/CD pipelines
Understanding of monitoring, logging and observability concepts
For these roles you can be based in any of our locations.
To apply, you must have the legal right to work in your chosen location.
Please submit your application in English
Why Open Cosmos?
Work at the cutting edge of space technology with customers around the globe.
A mission-driven company making space accessible to help solve real-world challenges.
A diverse, ambitious, and supportive team.
- Division
- CTO
- Department
- GROUND SEGMENT
- Locations
- Harwell, UK, Athens, Greece, Barcelona, Spain, Porto, Portugal, Tenerife
- Remote status
- Hybrid
- Employment type
- Full-time
About Open Cosmos
Open Cosmos is dedicated to solving customer problems with insights from space. Whether this is monitoring agricultural yields, assessing the damage of oil spills or providing navigation solutions, we believe that data from satellites is the most effective and sustainable way of achieving this.