Staff Ground Software Engineer

Turion is developing the critical infrastructure of the space economy. We're doing this by building vertically integrated hardware and software: DROID, our line of space vehicles, and Starfire, our software suite covering simulation, modeling, planning, and operations.

We're a group of people who fell in love with the future sci-fi promised us, and we're building it into reality. We build hard things. We build them well. And we're just getting started.

We are seeking a dedicated Staff Ground Software Engineer to join our team in Irvine, CA. As a Staff Ground Software Engineer

, you will architect, automate, and operate the mission‑critical infrastructure that powers Turion’s spacecraft operations. You will ensure that ground systems are highly available, observable, secure, and scalable, enabling operators to command satellites, process high‑volume downlinks, and respond quickly to on‑orbit events.

You’ll work across the full software and infrastructure lifecycle, influencing architectural decisions, developing core platform services, improving reliability, and driving engineering best practices. You will tackle complex distributed‑systems challenges involving:

Scale:

orchestrating high‑rate telemetry ingestion, processing pipelines, and global operations

Reliability:

building fault‑tolerant, resilient services for mission‑critical workflows

Automation:

enabling fully automated deployments, testing pipelines, and operational workflows

Observability:

delivering deep insight into system performance, failures, and spacecraft behavior

Security:

safeguarding command paths, data integrity, and operational access control

You will partner closely with mission operators, flight software engineers, and cross‑functional teams to ensure our ground systems remain robust, maintainable, and operationally efficient as mission complexity grows.

This is a full‑time, exempt position based on‑site at our office in Irvine, California.

What You’ll Build

• Mission Control Infrastructure
• Core components of a scalable, cloud‑native platform for spacecraft operations
• Automated deployment and operational tooling for satellite fleets
• Reusable infrastructure modules and shared platform capabilities
• Observability, telemetry, and alerting systems for real‑time operations

Key Responsibilities

• Design, automate, and operate the infrastructure enabling spacecraft operations
• Define architectural direction for mission‑critical systems, including autonomy, data pipelines, and real‑time processing
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines, deployment frameworks, and environment‑level automation
• Establish and uphold reliability and performance standards across ground systems
• Lead and participate in on‑call rotations for high‑availability production environments
• Partner with mission operators to turn operational needs into reliable services and tools
• Drive engineering excellence through documentation, reviews, and technical mentorship
• Improve the accessibility, efficiency, and reliability of satellite operations at scale

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of software or infrastructure engineering experience, including ownership of major components or services
• Strong experience with distributed systems
• Expertise with cloud‑native and container‑based architectures
• Deep Kubernetes experience (design, operation, and tuning)
• Significant experience operating live, customer‑facing, cloud‑hosted systems
• Demonstrated leadership in on‑call for high‑availability environments
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in Go
• Expertise in multiple cloud stacks (e.g. AWS + Azure)
• Experience with real‑time data processing or data engineering pipelines
• Proficiency in database administration
• Interest in space systems and mission operations

Staff Ground Software Engineer Salary Range: $175,000 - $225,000 USD

Employees may be asked to support alternate shifts, extended shifts, and/or travel during peak work periods.

ITAR Requirements:

This position may include access to technology and/or software source code that is subject to U.S. export controls. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.