Principal Software Engineer – Systems & Delivery (Mission Ground Systems)

About Lynk

Lynk is the inventor of satellite direct to device or D2D technology, and has the world’s only commercial license from the FCC to operate a commercial D2D system. Today, Lynk allows mobile network operators' subscribers to send and receive text messages to and from space via standard unmodified, mobile devices. Lynk’s service has been tested and proven on all seven continents, has regulatory approvals in more than 30 countries and is currently being deployed commercially based on more than 40 MNO commercial service contracts covering approximately 50 countries.

Our technology will enable all 8 billion people on the planet to stay connected with the existing standard phone in their pocket. Everywhere. No matter what.

By joining Lynk, you will have the opportunity to directly touch the lives of billions. Your mission will be to bring mobile broadband to billions, pull hundreds of millions out of poverty, and save countless lives.

Job Summary:

Lynk seeking a Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership within the Mission Ground Software team. This role is focused on turning complex, evolving mission needs into reliable, delivered software systems that support real-world satellite operations.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role. The Principal Engineer is expected to contribute directly to the codebase while also guiding a strong existing team toward clear, executable solutions. This role emphasizes execution, system reliability, and engineering clarity over abstract architecture or theoretical design.

A core responsibility of this role is to translate ambiguous, high-level initiatives into well-defined, sequenced, and deliverable engineering work. Success is measured not just by individual contribution, but by improving the team’s ability to consistently deliver complete, operationally useful systems.

This role contributes to technical direction by presenting options, trade-offs, and grounded recommendations, and by constructively challenging approaches when needed to ensure reliable execution. A successful candidate will operate through technical judgment, clarity, and quality of execution, not positional authority.

Core Responsibilities:

• Execution & Delivery Leadership:

  • Convert high-level or ambiguous initiatives into clear, actionable engineering plans

  • Break down large system efforts into sequenced, achievable units of work

  • Define what “done” means for features and systems, and ensure work meets that standard

  • Identify dependencies, constraints, and risks early, and adjust plans accordingly

  • Drive work through to completion, with a focus on delivering usable, reliable capabilities

• System Ownership & Reliability::

  • Design and implement backend services, APIs, and mission-critical software components

  • Ensure systems are robust, maintainable, and suitable for operational use

  • Improve system observability, debugging, and operational support capabilities

  • Contribute to incident resolution and ensure issues are followed through to root cause and resolution

• Technical Leadership & Team Enablement:

  • This role leads primarily through direct contribution; building, shipping, and owning systems alongside the team.

  • Provide day-to-day technical guidance and mentorship to engineers across the team

  • Help establish and reinforce engineering standards for quality, clarity, and completeness

  • Enable other engineers to execute effectively by providing structure, context, and direction

  • Improve team execution rhythm by helping prioritize, sequence, and focus work

  • Raise engineering quality through code review, pairing, and leading by example

• Architecture & Technical Direction:

  • Contribute to system architecture through practical design decisions grounded in current needs

  • Present multiple implementation options with clear trade-offs when appropriate

  • Evolve system design incrementally through delivered work, rather than large, upfront redesigns

  • Ensure architectural decisions support both near-term delivery and long-term system viability

• Bridging Software and Operations:

  • Engage with mission operators and stakeholders to understand how systems are used in practice

  • Build software that reflects real operational workflows and constraints

  • Prioritize solutions that improve reliability, usability, and operational efficiency

How This Role Creates Impact:

• Works directly in implementation to ensure ideas translate into working systems

• Balances system evolution with ongoing delivery, favoring incremental improvement over large, disruptive rewrites

Engineering Principles for This Role:

• Strong bias toward delivering complete, reliable systems

• Prioritize completing and stabilizing systems over starting new parallel efforts

• Ability to bring structure and clarity to complex problems

• Pragmatic decision-making grounded in real-world constraints

• Ownership of outcomes, not just contributions

• Incremental progress is preferred over large, disruptive redesigns

• Demonstrate an interest in how systems are used in real operations and a willingness to engage directly with operators and workflows.

Required Qualifications:

• Strong software engineering experience (typically 8+ years) with demonstrated ownership of complex systems

• Proficiency in one or more of the following: Rust, Python, or C/C++

• Experience designing and building backend systems and APIs

• Experience working with cloud-based infrastructure and managed services (AWS or similar)

• Demonstrated ability to break down complex problems into executable work

• Experience improving system reliability, maintainability, and operational readiness

• Demonstrated use of AI-assisted tools to accelerate development or debugging

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), configuration management (Ansible), or CI/CD systems

• Familiarity with distributed systems, real-time systems, or mission-critical environments

• Experience working in or supporting operational environments (e.g., 24/7 systems, hardware-integrated systems)

• Exposure to frontend technologies (React, Typescript)

• Experience using AI-assisted development tools to improve engineering efficiency

Technical Environment:

• Languages: Rust, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Bash, C/C++

• Frontend: React

• Infrastructure & Deployment: AWS (cloud-native systems), Proxmox / on-prem environments, Terraform (Infrastructure as Code), Ansible, Packer, and GitLab CI/CD pipelines

• Development Practices:

  • AI-augmented development workflows (Claude Code, Codex, or equivalent)

  • Log-based diagnostics and operational debugging

  • Infrastructure as Code

  • Linux-centric development and deployment environments

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.

Location: Chantilly. VA