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Full-Stack Software Engineer (Mission Operations)

Los Angeles, CA

K2 Space is building large, high-powered spacecraft for the next generation of space development. Backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Altimeter Capital, and many others ($180M raised to date), we intend to mass produce the highest-powered satellite platforms ever built for missions across LEO to Deep Space. 

The rise of launch vehicles like Falcon 9 and Starship enables the move from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance. We believe this new era requires spacecraft with a fundamentally different design in order to fully utilize the massive rockets coming to market.  

We’re a team that believes the future lies in building large, high-powered satellites that can handle multiple orbits. This is a necessity if we ever want to develop the solar system, and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization.  

If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series B space startup, we’d love for you to apply. 

The Role 

K2 is working towards our first launch and operation of our Mega class satellite bus. Quickly after that, K2 will expand to operating many satellites at a single time, followed by many constellations. Your immediate focus will be designing and developing the frontend and backend of our Operations Software that K2 internally will use to control and monitor satellites and payloads. With the K2 software stack being written in Rust, this application should at least be able to play nice with the existing set of software solutions, if not fully integrate with them. This application will need to scale for supporting multiple constellations and interface securely with both K2 Operations and customer operation teams. You’ll regularly work with engineering teams across the company to capture requirements and bring our Operations Center to life in order to support our growing customer needs. 

Responsibilities 

  • Design and create interfaces to enable and facilitate the build, testing, and operations of our vehicles and software 

  • Collaborate with mission operators and engineers throughout the company to understand needs and timelines 

  • Perform data analysis and anomaly investigations to ensure high uptime during critical scenarios 

  • Support the users of your products in initial roll outs and on a continuous basis 

Qualifications 

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, math, or a STEM discipline or 3+ years of professional experience in software engineering  

  • Professional experience building full-stack software solutions 

Nice to Have 

  • Experience with front-end languages, frameworks, and technologies (Typescript, Javascript, Rust, HTML, CSS). 

  • Experience with version control, continuous integration, build, deployment, monitoring. (Bazel) 

  • Experience building systems that interact with a separate large code base. (Rust, C++) 

  • Experience with databases (PostgreSQL or similar) 

  • Experience developing reliable, scalable systems.  

  • Ability to identify and correct security vulnerabilities.  

  • Experience with Docker and/or Kubernetes 

Compensation and Benefits: 

  • Base salary range for this role is $118,700 - $200,000 + equity in the company 

  • Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level 

  • Comprehensive benefits package including unlimited paid time off, medical/dental/vision/ coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks 

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

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The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

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K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

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To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

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