The Role

We are looking for a high-agency Software Engineer to help build the core systems behind ConstellationOS — the autonomous operating system for satellite networks. You will work directly with the founders to design, implement, and scale distributed systems that process real-time telemetry, predict network failures, and autonomously reroute mission-critical traffic.

This is not a narrow feature role. You will operate across backend infrastructure, performance-critical systems code, cloud architecture, and operator-facing tooling. You will also engage directly with customers in forward-deployed environments.

This role is based in Seattle, WA.

What You'll Do:

Distributed Systems Architecture: Design and implement fault-tolerant backend systems capable of ingesting and processing high-throughput real-time telemetry streams.

Performance-Critical Engineering: Build and optimize low-latency components in C++ and Rust. Own performance profiling, concurrency design, and system-level optimization.

Cloud & Infrastructure: Develop and operate cloud-native infrastructure (AWS or equivalent), ensuring scalability, observability, and reliability.

Full-Stack Contribution: Contribute to operator-facing frontend systems when needed to ensure seamless integration between backend intelligence and mission control interfaces.

Forward-Deployed Engineering: Work directly with customers in live operational environments. Integrate, debug, and iterate rapidly based on real mission feedback.

Systems Optimization: Continuously improve throughput, reliability, and autonomous decision-making performance across the ConstellationOS platform.

Who You Are:

High Agency: You do not wait for tickets. You identify bottlenecks, propose architectures, and execute.

Systems-Minded: You deeply understand distributed systems, networking, operating systems, and concurrency.

Low-Level Fluent: You are comfortable writing and debugging performance-sensitive systems in C++ and/or Rust.

Cloud Native: You have experience deploying and operating distributed systems in modern cloud environments.

Customer-Ready: You are comfortable interfacing directly with technical customers and operating in forward-deployed settings.

Startup-Calibrated: You thrive in high-velocity environments where ambiguity is normal and impact is immediate.

Bonus: Experience in AI systems, satellite networking, real-time telemetry, or hard-tech environments.

Compensation

• Base salary: $120,000 – $180,000 USD
• Meaningful equity participation
• Competitive benefits

Compensation is commensurate with experience, technical depth, and demonstrated systems expertise.

Interview Process

1. Introductory Call (30 mins): A conversation with the CEO to discuss your background, Constellation’s vision, and mutual fit.2.
2. Technical Deep Dive (Take-Home or Live): A practical systems exercise reflecting real engineering challenges at Constellation (e.g., designing a high-throughput telemetry pipeline, optimizing a distributed service, or profiling a latency bottleneck).
3. Final Interview (Onsite/Video): A deep technical discussion with the founding team covering architecture decisions, systems thinking, performance trade-offs, and forward-deployed scenarios.