Software Engineer

Company Description

Constellation develops
ConstellationOS
, an AI-native operating system for satellite networks. Our platform ingests and processes over 100,000 telemetry and control messages per second across satellites, ground stations, and atmospheric systems to predict link degradation and network failures with greater than 90% accuracy.

ConstellationOS autonomously reroutes traffic in real time, eliminates data loss, and removes human-in-the-loop bottlenecks from mission-critical operations. We are building the control layer that makes next-generation satellite constellations autonomous, resilient, and performance-optimized in dynamic environments.

Role Description

Constellation Space (YC W26) is hiring a
Software Engineer (part-time or full-time)
based in
Seattle, WA
. While the team is highly autonomous, this role is Seattle-based due to collaboration, customer engagement, and forward-deployed elements.

This is a systems-heavy role. You will work across distributed backend services, performance-critical infrastructure, and operator-facing interfaces that power ConstellationOS. The work spans real-time telemetry ingestion, predictive modeling pipelines, autonomous routing systems, and reliability engineering.

You will also engage directly with customers in live operational environments - integrating, debugging, and iterating rapidly based on mission feedback.

Responsibilities

- Architect and implement distributed, fault-tolerant backend systems
- Build and optimize performance-critical components in
C++ and Rust
- Develop and maintain cloud-native infrastructure (AWS or equivalent)
- Contribute to frontend systems and operator tooling where necessary
- Optimize throughput, latency, and reliability for real-time workloads
- Support forward-deployed integrations and direct customer engagements
- Collaborate closely across engineering, AI, and mission operations

Qualifications

- Strong foundation in computer science fundamentals (systems design, networking, operating systems, concurrency)
- Experience building and operating distributed systems in production
- Proficiency in backend development and cloud technologies
- Working knowledge of
C++, Rust
, or other systems-level languages
- Experience in performance engineering and low-latency systems
- Comfort working across the stack when required
- Strong communication skills and ability to engage directly with customers
- Ability to operate independently in a fast-moving startup environment

Preferred (not required):

• Experience deploying AI/ML systems in production
• Background in satellite systems, networking, or real-time telemetry
• Prior forward-deployed engineering experience

Compensation

• Base salary range: $120,000 – $180,000 USD
• Equity participation
• Competitive benefits

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