Software Engineer

The Role

We are looking for a high-agency Software Engineer to help build the core systems behind ConstellationOS — an autonomous operating system for satellite networks.

ConstellationOS is not a traditional backend system. It is a real-time, closed-loop decision engine that:

• Ingests 100,000+ telemetry messages per second

• Maintains a deterministic world model of a live satellite network

• Predicts link degradation and network failures ahead of time

• Generates and executes autonomous rerouting decisions under real-world constraints

This is a system where software directly interacts with a physical network. Latency, correctness, and reliability are not abstractions—they determine whether the system works.

You will work directly with the founders to design and build systems at the intersection of distributed systems, networking, and real-world physical constraints.

This role is based in Seattle, WA.

This role is best suited for engineers who enjoy working on complex systems with real-world constraints. It is not a good fit for engineers looking for purely CRUD or API-focused work.

What You’ll Do

Real-Time Systems & Digital Twin

• Build and evolve the core “world model” of a satellite network, combining telemetry, predictions, and system state into a deterministic, queryable system

• Design systems that can replay, simulate, and reason about network behavior over time

Distributed Systems Architecture

• Design and operate high-throughput, event-driven systems (target: 100k+ msgs/sec sustained)

• Ensure strict guarantees around latency, ordering, and system stability under load

Performance-Critical Engineering

• Build low-latency components in C++ and/or Rust

• Own concurrency models, memory efficiency, and profiling of critical paths (telemetry → state → decision)

• Optimize for sub-second end-to-end reaction times

Autonomous Decision Systems

• Implement pipelines that transform predictions into actionable decisions

• Design scoring, optimization, and constraint-based systems for routing and scheduling under real-world limits (bandwidth, visibility, power)

Cloud & Infrastructure

• Deploy and operate distributed systems in AWS (or equivalent)

• Build observability into everything: latency, throughput, system health, and decision quality

Forward-Deployed Engineering

• Work directly with customers in operational environments

• Debug live systems, integrate with ground segment and control systems, and iterate rapidly

Full-Stack Contribution (as needed)

• Contribute to operator-facing systems to ensure decisions are visible, interpretable, and actionable

Who You Are

High Agency

• You identify problems before they are written down and take ownership from idea → system → production

Systems-Minded

• You deeply understand distributed systems, networking, operating systems, and concurrency

• You think in terms of throughput, latency, consistency, and failure modes

Low-Level Fluent

• You are comfortable working in C++ and/or Rust

• You understand memory, threading, and performance at a systems level

Comfortable with Complexity

• You enjoy systems where software interacts with the real world (latency, geometry, resource constraints, environmental effects)

• You are excited by problems that don’t have clean abstractions

Customer-Ready

• You can operate in ambiguous environments and work directly with technical users

Startup-Calibrated

• You thrive in high-velocity environments where ownership is high and ambiguity is normal

Strong Signals (Not Required)

• Experience with high-throughput or real-time systems (event-driven architectures, streaming pipelines)

• Background in networking (TCP/UDP, routing, distributed protocols)

• Experience with simulation frameworks (e.g., Basilisk, ROS, Gazebo, game engines, or custom physics systems)

• Exposure to satellite systems, orbital data, or ground segment infrastructure (e.g., SATCAT, TLEs, GSaaS)

• Experience modeling real-world systems under physical constraints (RF, robotics, aerospace, etc.)

• Experience with ML systems in production (especially inference pipelines)

You should be comfortable reasoning about systems where software interacts with the physical world, even if you have not worked in the space domain before.

Compensation

• Base salary: $120,000 – $180,000 USD

• Meaningful equity participation

• Competitive benefits

Compensation is based on experience, technical depth, and demonstrated systems expertise.

Interview Process

15-Minute Phone ScreenA quick conversation to understand your background, interests, and alignment with what we’re building.

Technical Interviews (1–2 rounds, ~1 hour each)Deep, hands-on discussions focused on real problems we face:

• Designing high-throughput systems

• Reasoning about latency and performance

• Modeling complex, stateful systems

• Debugging and trade-off analysis

These are intentionally in-depth and reflect the kind of thinking required for the role.

Culture Fit ConversationA discussion focused on how you work, how you think, and how you operate in high-agency, fast-moving environments.

Onsite (Seattle Office)Final round with the team, including deep technical discussions and working sessions on real-world scenarios.