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.
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
Carrot Fertility provides comprehensive, inclusive fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits with financial support
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.