Ground Systems Software Engineer

Job description

About Elveo Elveo is what happens when two pioneers in direct-to-device (D2D) communications join forces. Elveo brings together a combined 20 years of expertise to close the coverage gap for more than 50 mobile network operators (MNOs) and major distribution partners operating in 60+ countries worldwide. That heritage and our technology powers what we call ‘elevated intelligence’ — a new approach that processes and adapts on orbit, delivering voice and data services straight to mobile users, IoT devices and machines across enterprise, government and humanitarian sectors worldwide. As a team, we’re on a mission to deliver powerful compute and connectivity directly to individuals and objects everywhere on Earth. Join us, and become part of a globally inclusive company that is transforming satellite communications from a niche service to an essential global infrastructure, and democratizing connectivity for billions worldwide. Ready to take the next step? Join us. JOB SUMMARY Elveo is looking for an experienced Software Engineer to join the Mission Operations team, focused on the ground segment of our satellite constellation. You will design, build, and ship the backend services, APIs, and automation that connect Elveo's global ground station network to our Mission Operations Software — the platform our operators use to command, monitor, and fly the constellation every day. This is first and foremost a software development role. Our Mission Operations Software is a growing platform of Python microservices (FastAPI) with web dashboards (React and Vue), event-driven messaging (MQTT), and hybrid AWS/on-prem infrastructure managed as code. You will own services end to end: designing APIs and data models, writing well-tested code, reviewing your teammates' merge requests, running CI/CD pipelines, and operating what you ship. You will also help build the next generation of this platform as we move toward a cloud-native, event-driven architecture on AWS. Because the software commands real satellites through real RF ground stations, the role also touches Linux systems, networking, and ground station hardware interfaces. You don't need to be an RF engineer, but you should enjoy writing software whose bugs and successes show up in the physical world, and working closely with the flight software, telecom, and ground site engineers who live there. CORE RESPONSIBILITIES SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (THE MAJORITY OF YOUR TIME) - Design, develop, test, and maintain backend services that schedule satellite contacts, prepare and transmit spacecraft commands, ingest and process telemetry, and manage ground station configuration. - Build and evolve REST APIs and event-driven integrations (MQTT, message queues) between ground stations, network services, and Mission Operations tools. - Write production-quality Python; contribute to shared libraries, service patterns, and developer tooling used across the Mission Operations codebase. - Contribute to web dashboards and operator-facing tools (React/Vue) that visualize telemetry, contact schedules, and system health. - Participate fully in the team's engineering practices: merge request reviews, automated testing, GitLab CI/CD, architecture decision records, and AI-augmented development workflows. NEXT-GENERATION ARCHITECTURE - Help design and implement Elveo's next-generation, cloud-native Mission Operations platform on AWS — event-driven services, managed API gateways and identity (Amazon API Gateway, Cognito), serverless and container workloads, and first-class observability. - Migrate existing services incrementally from today's hybrid environment without disrupting live constellation operations. GROUND STATION INTEGRATION & OPERATIONS - Develop the software interfaces that integrate new and upgraded ground stations — network equipment, modems, RF systems — into the operational environment. - Automate ground station deployment, configuration, monitoring, and recovery using infrastructure as code (Terraform, Ansible). - Improve observability across the ground segment: telemetry pipelines, dashboards, alerting, logging, and metrics. - Troubleshoot issues that span software, networks, and hardware interfaces; provide occasional on-call support for mission-critical operations. DURING YOUR FIRST 12 MONTHS - Ship early: Land your first merge requests into production Mission Operations services within your first weeks, and take ownership of one or more backend services within your first few months. - Learn the domain: Build a working understanding of Elveo's ground segment — contact scheduling, command and telemetry flows, ground station architecture — deep enough to design features independently. - Raise the engineering bar: Deliver measurable improvements in test coverage, deployment repeatability, and observability for the services you own. - Shape the next generation: Contribute design and code to the cloud-native Mission Operations architecture, starting with early pilot services. - Become a trusted responder: Serve as a reliable technical point of contact for ground station software troubleshooting and anomaly investigation. TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT - Languages: Python, Rust and TypeScript in parts of the stack - Backend: FastAPI microservices, MQTT and event-driven messaging, REST APIs, PostgreSQL - Frontend: React and Vue dashboards - Infrastructure & Deployment: AWS (moving toward API Gateway, Cognito, Lambda, and managed services), Proxmox/on-prem environments, Terraform, Ansible, Packer, GitLab CI/CD - Practices: Merge-request-driven development with mandatory review, automated testing, infrastructure as code, log-based diagnostics, AI-augmented development workflows, Linux-centric development for high-availability systems QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. - 5+ years of professional experience developing production software — services, APIs, or applications, not primarily scripts — preferably in Python. - Experience owning a service or system in production: designing it, shipping it, operating it, and debugging it when it breaks. - Experience designing and consuming REST APIs and working with relational databases. - Experience with modern development practices: version control workflows, code review, automated testing, and CI/CD. - Strong working knowledge of Linux environments. - Working knowledge of networking concepts (TCP/IP, DNS, VPNs, firewalls) sufficient to build and debug networked services. - Ability to troubleshoot systems that span software, networks, and hardware interfaces. - Strong documentation habits, including architecture documentation and technical decision records. - Interest in satellite operations, ground systems, mission operations, telecommunications, or space systems. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Experience building event-driven or message-based distributed systems (MQTT, Kafka, SQS/SNS, or similar). - Experience with AWS services and cloud-native architecture (API Gateway, Cognito, Lambda, ECS/EKS, CloudWatch). - Experience with FastAPI or similar Python web frameworks; frontend experience with React or Vue. - Experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform, Ansible) and hybrid cloud/on-prem environments. - Experience with observability tooling (Grafana, Prometheus, Loki, OpenTelemetry, CloudWatch, ELK/OpenSearch). - Experience with Rust. - Experience with satellite ground systems, mission operations software, RF ground equipment, or telemetry systems. - Experience supporting high-availability operational systems, or working in a startup, satellite/telecom operator, or mission operations environment. ITAR REQUIREMENTS To comply with U.S. Government export control regulations (ITAR), applicants must be one of the following: (i) a U.S. citizen or national, (ii) a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) a refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) an asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158. Individuals who do not meet these criteria must be eligible to obtain the necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. For more information, please refer to the ITAR guidelines. Learn about ITAR here. https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/ddtc_public?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987 LOCATION Chantilly. VA