Senior Earth Observation Engineer

Wanna join the adventure? Are you passionate about optical payloads, image quality, and turning pixels into products customers can actually use? If so, this is the perfect role for you! Loft flies multiple satellites per year and is building the next generation of Earth observation capability - from payload design through calibration, processing, and delivery - across a growing fleet of spacecraft. We're looking for a Senior Earth Observation Engineer to serve as the technical authority for optical payloads, image quality, and Earth observation mission performance across Loft. This role requires expertise in imagery calibration, optical payloads, and image processing pipelines. You'll work closely with mission teams, customers, and payload suppliers to define performance requirements, drive payload development and test, support in-orbit calibration and commissioning, and ensure Loft can reliably process and deliver imagery to customers. You'll help build the data processing and image-quality foundation that turns raw payload data into a sellable product, enabling Loft to simulate, calibrate, and deliver imagery across diverse customer missions and to leverage the AI boom through vision-based Earth observation. We’re hiring for one position across multiple locations - you only need to apply once.

About this role:

Work with Earth observation customers to derive mission and payload requirements, along with verification techniques, and flow these down to software and hardware teams, including suppliers

Follow and drive optical payload suppliers' development and test activities

Develop, with the AIT and OPS teams, the on-ground and in-orbit test and calibration strategy

Develop the on-board and on-ground data processing strategy

Support the Lead Systems Engineer in mission CONOPS development

Support business development activities for optical payload customers and Earth observation virtual missions

Support test procedures and participate in integration, test campaigns, launch, and in-orbit commissioning

Contribute to and own the development of the company's Earth observation roadmap

Must Haves:

You have 5 or more years of demonstrated experience as a space systems engineer on earth observation missions

You are very familiar with image quality metrics and imagery calibration aspects (geometric, radiometric, spectral, etc.)

You have good experience in optical payloads

You have coded in Python for at least one year

You have strong communication and organizational skills

You challenge norms in aerospace engineering and testing activities, and/or have experience in a fast-paced development environment

You handle pressure positively and are always ready to put in the hands-on work

Nice to Haves:

Good knowledge of deep learning and artificial neural networks

Experience in optics and detector technologies

Experience in optical ground support equipment

Knowledge of ADCS and navigation/flight dynamics aspects

International experience

Some of Our Awesome Benefits:

100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance option for employees and dependents

Flexible Spending (FSA) and Health Savings (HSA) Accounts offered with an employer contribution to the HSA

100% employer paid Life, AD&D, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability insurance

Flexible Time Off policy for vacation and sick leave, and 12 paid holidays

401(k) plan and equity options

Daily catered lunches and snacks in office

International exposure to our team in France

Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for birthing parent and 10 weeks for non-birthing parent

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Off-sites and many social events and celebrations

Relocation assistance when applicable

*Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other underrepresented people tend to only apply when they meet 100% of the qualifications. At Loft, we value respectful debate and people who aren’t afraid to challenge assumptions. We strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t check all the boxes.

Who We Are

Loft: Space Made Simple.

Founded in 2017, Loft provides governments, companies, and research institutions with a fast, reliable, and simple way to deploy missions in orbit.

We integrate, launch, and operate spacecraft, offering end-to-end missions as a service across Earth observation, IoT connectivity, on-orbit AI, national security missions, and more. Leveraging our existing space infrastructure and an extensive inventory of satellite buses, Loft is reducing years-long integration and launch timelines to months. With more than 30 missions flown, Loft’s flight heritage and proven technologies enable customers to focus on their mission objectives.

With a growing fleet on track to reach 30 satellites by 2027, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France to meet accelerating demand for space infrastructure.

As an international company your resume will be reviewed by people across our offices so please attach a copy in English.