Principal Ground Software Developer

Katalyst Space Technologies•Broomfield, CO

1d•$180,000 - $240,000

About The Position

We build robotic spacecraft that enable dynamic space operations, creating a future where maneuvering, upgrading, refueling, and exploration are as routine as they are on Earth. Getting to space and overcoming the gravity well is only half the story. What you do there is the future. We are not building the trains. We are building the machines that lay down the tracks. By developing the foundational capabilities that make sustained, responsive operations possible, we enable a new era of space activity that strengthens national security and ensures freedom of action in an increasingly contested domain. Working at Katalyst is intense, hands-on, and deeply rewarding. You’ll take real ownership and see your work move from concept to operations in an environment where the problems are hard and the impact is real. We value humility, craftsmanship, and doing things the right way, even when it’s harder. You’ll work closely with thoughtful, driven teammates who push each other to do their best.

Requirements

8-12+ years of cloud based scalable micro service architecture
4+ years leading developers/ engineers
Experience building entire ground stacks from the ground up
Experience in creating high reliability production-critical systems
Experience with new space companies not traditional primes
Owned the process and procedure for deploying, testing and integrating into a full life cycle system
Deep technical fluency in cloud, backend, frontend, and streaming systems
AWS Suite (EKS, MSK, Timestream, S3, Batch, Event Bridge), Python, C++, React, Tailwind, Redis, Kafka, influx, QuestDB, MongoDB, git, CI/CD, Docker, K8
Minimum bachelor’s degree in computer science or other related STEM fields

Nice To Haves

System level thinker understanding cloud based scalable micro service systems
Strong desire to build and design something from the ground up
Able to understand and communicate customer needs into actionable items
Someone who strives for clarity and understanding, but can make do without perfect requirements
An operations first developer and architect
Someone willing to produce code not just sit back and design
A passion for automation and creating systems that streamline operations
Someone able to clearly explain trade offs in design and architecture creating trade studies when needed
Master’s degree preferred

Responsibilities

Understand needs for mission operations interfaces, telemetry formats, commanding, and current use cases.
Audit existing tooling to determine gaps in preparation for architecting and designing new ground software
Identify critical mission operations workflows and associate them with mission milestones
Train on console for upcoming mission operations
Produce a cloud based design/ architecture on a scalable and resilient ground software
Help create automated tooling to improve ground procedures
Define developer the culture around coding standards, testing, and procedures
Mentor junior engineers
Improve and own deployment processes through CI/CD
Help own and create roadmaps needed to meet program milestones