Capella Space stands at the forefront of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology and signal intelligence. We provide customers in governments, academia, and commercial sectors with reliable information that enables unparalleled understanding of the world. Our mission is centered on delivering timely and reliable Earth imagery, supporting diverse applications in defense & intelligence, disaster response, energy, environmental monitoring and more. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, Capella Space designs, manufactures and operates an advanced constellation of SAR imaging satellites. Our market-leading SAR satellites are complemented by an unmatched data infrastructure and automated ordering and delivery platform for fast, reliable insights where and when customers need it most.

Recognized for our technological prowess, Capella Space was honored as one of the 10 most innovative companies in Space in 2023 by FASTCOMPANY. Capella Space is an internationally trusted Earth Observation data provider, working closely with the U.S. Space Systems Command, U.S. Space Force, NASA, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, the Canadian Government and more to make unclassified, high-resolution SAR data more accessible.

What Makes Capella Unique?

Capella Space is a highly collaborative team environment, providing an opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the space industry, though no prior space experience is needed. We’re looking for people excited about tackling seemingly impossible challenges, learning new skills and concepts, and helping each other achieve success. Our mission and our products are meant to understand the whole world and help everyone in it - regardless of race, creed, or any other distinction. We encourage you to bring your unique perspective to help make us stronger, including applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech.

About the Team

The Ground Software team is responsible for building, maintaining, and improving the software, infrastructure, and systems that communicate with & operate the Capella spacecraft & ground station constellation. We prepare for satellite launches, support LEOP, and develop new capabilities to improve how customers can collect and access Earth imagery. The team’s focus is on software and system engineering with the goal of developing and improving our fully-autonomous, rapid-response spacecraft operations system. All members of the team at all levels are expected to participate in the on-call rotation that responds to anomalies & outages so that we provide reliable performance our customers can depend on.

As part of the Platform Engineering team, you will be interacting on a daily basis with other team leads, software engineers, spacecraft operators, satellite engineers, and data product engineers to develop, maintain, and improve a fully autonomous spacecraft operations system. You will have a demonstrable track record of working with complex systems, understanding distributed systems architecture, and setting the engineering development plan and roadmap for making complex technologies easy to use.

About the Role

As the Senior Manager, Ground Software you will guide and mentor the team responsible for building, testing, deploying, and maintaining the applications that run our satellites, from improving our command and telemetry pipeline, automating spacecraft operations, building out autonomous anomaly response, and engaging with project managers to build-out new functionality. Day-to-day responsibilities include providing technical expertise in the areas of software architecture and engineering, driving team execution toward roadmap goals, and ensuring successful performance of the systems you oversee. You will help set direction and strategy and establish practices to ensure the quality and performance of the system is maintained and customer needs are met.

We’re searching for an empathetic leader who values diversity, fairness, and has a proven ability to create and grow high-performing and happy teams.

Ideal Qualifications:

• Past leadership experience mentoring and growing software engineering teams.
• Experience maintaining an engineering roadmap and leading prioritization of efforts across multiple projects.
• Excellent communications skills, ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, and enjoyment of learning from and teaching other teams new skills.
• Excellent foundations of software architecture, interface design, distributed systems, and testing patterns.
• Experience building and maintaining highly reliable software systems employing best practices in logging, monitoring, alerting, and reporting.
• Knowledge of space mission analysis & modeling complex space systems – in particular interacting subsystems and constraints.
• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Capella Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here.

Travel Requirements

This position could require ~1 week of travel per month to either our San Francisco or Colorado office.

Compensation

The annual salary range for this role as it is posted is $161,000 - $213,000. The final job level and annual salary will be determined based on the education, qualification, knowledge, skills, ability, and experience of the final candidate(s), specific office location and calibrated against relevant market data and internal team equity. Benefits listed in this posting may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Capella Space.

Benefits/Perks

In addition to an opportunity to take part in an innovative, collaborative and fast-growing business with a highly motivated and skilled team, we also take pride in taking care of our employees. Here are just a few ways that we show our appreciation:

• We offer up to 100% paid medical coverage, with robust vision and dental plans, comprehensive flexible spending accounts, and supplemental health plans
• Equity
• 401K Plan to invest in your long-term retirement planning
• Generous Parental Leave
• Flexible Paid Time Off Policy
• Commuter & Parking Benefits
• Mental Health Resources
• Monthly phone stipend
• Daily provided lunches and stocked kitchens.
• Furry friends? We’ve got you covered with dog-friendly work environment & them with pet insurance options

Equal Opportunity Statement

Capella Space is an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, and upholding equitable hiring practices.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic under federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. We actively encourage members of recognized minorities, women, Veterans, and those with disabilities to apply, and we work to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all applicants throughout the interview process. If you need assistance or require an accommodation during the job application process, please notify recruiting@capellaspace.com

To learn more about us, explore our site: https://www.capellaspace.com/ and follow us on X and LinkedIn to see our SAR imagery!