Staff Software Engineer

Intuitive Machines

Palo Alto, CA, United States · Remote, United StatesFull-time$117,000–$195,000Posted Nov 4, 2026

About the role

Please review the job details below.

Intuitive Machines is a leading provider of comprehensive space technologies. We deliver innovative solutions to government and commercial customers helping them unlock the promise of space to solve problems on Earth and beyond. We address a broad spectrum of needs for our customers, including mission systems engineering, product design, spacecraft manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing. Intuitive Machines is a trusted partner in commercial and government missions, combining more than 60 years of deep mission understanding with reliable performance and longevity.

Life With Us

Intuitive Machines is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join our Ground Software group. This position can be based in Palo Alto, CA or performed remotely within the U.S. You will be part of the Ground Software team responsible for developing, deploying, and maintaining telemetry and commanding products. The software you build will support manufacturing teams, launch base operations, mission operations, and customers for multiple satellite programs under test and in orbit.

Your Career

In this role, you will develop, test, and operate highly available and scalable full-stack software that enables commanding of spacecraft and processing of satellite telemetry. The tools you build will allow operators to safely and efficiently conduct testing and operations of the spacecraft.

We are investing heavily in modernizing and unifying our software products which you will play a vital role in the evolution of. You will have the freedom to design and engineer solutions to drive innovative, modern approaches to meet our user needs and customer requirements. A successful candidate will be a passionate developer that embraces modern software development and insists others do as well. You will introduce automation and evangelize new tools and processes within a collaborative team environment.

Responsibilities

Develop frontend and backend software for a spacecraft ground software system within an agile team environment

Design and modernize software solutions for assembly, integration and test during the manufacture of satellites

Perform peer reviews and create test cases and procedures to verify software functionality

Document and maintain architectures, requirements, algorithms, and system interfaces

Participate in software requirements evaluation, generation, design, implementation, and testing discussions

Collaborate with flight software, integration & test (I&T), and mission operations teams to understand user needs

Identify opportunities to transition legacy-based systems into modern, high-performance, reliable software architectures

Share your knowledge as you help grow your fellow software engineer team members

Respond to incidents and anomalies through on-call support and improved automated performance monitoring & alerting

Minimum Requirements:

Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident

5 years of non-internship professional software development experience

Bachelor's degree in a STEM field. Four additional years of experience may be substituted for a degree.

Programming experience with all of the following: C++, Java and Python

Solid DevOps background with infrastructure as code tools (e.g., Terraform), CI/CD tools (e.g., GitLab), and containerization (e.g. Docker)

Experience building services on AWS, including use of serverless computing technologies

Experience with a large, shared codebase and continuous integration and deployment workflows and tooling

Preferred Qualifications (Nice to Have):

Development experience with command and telemetry processing, mission operations, ground segments, and/or satellite software

Experience designing and/or developing web-based observability, data visualization, and user interface applications

Familiarity with relational and NoSQL databases (e.g. MySQL, Postgres, DynamoDB)

Experience with utilizing automated testing frameworks (JUnit, PyTest, Boost)

Experience with user-interface design/development (Tcl/Tk, React)

Experience with service-oriented and micro-service architectures

Professional written communications

Highly focused self-starter that likes solving problems

Passion for learning and teaching new technical skills

In support of pay transparency at Lanteris Space Systems, we disclose salary ranges on all U.S. job postings. The successful candidate’s starting pay will fall within the salary range provided below and is determined based on job-related factors, including, but not limited to, the experience, qualifications, knowledge, skills, geographic work location, and market conditions. Candidates with the minimum necessary experience, qualifications, knowledge, and skillsets for the position should not expect to receive the upper end of the pay range.

● The base pay for this position within Colorado is: $102,000.00 - $170,000.00 annually.● The base pay for this position within New Jersey is: $102,000.00 - $170,000.00 annually.● The base pay for this position within Delaware is: $102,000.00 - $170,000.00 annually.● The base pay for this position within the Washington, DC metropolitan area is: $113,000.00 - $188,000.00 annually.● The base pay for this position within California is: $117,000.00 - $195,000.00 annually.

For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, health and welfare insurance, and 401(k) to eligible employees. More information on our benefits will be shared with candidates as they move forward in the recruitment process.

The application window is three days from the date the job is posted and will remain posted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire. If the job is reposted regardless of reason, it will remain posted three days from the date the job is reposted and will remain reposted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire.

The date of posting can be found on the Lanteris Space Systems Career page at the top of each job posting.

To apply, submit your application via the Lanteris Space Systems Career page.

Lanteris Space Systems values diversity in the workplace and is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Responsibilities

  • Develop frontend and backend software for spacecraft ground systems.
  • Design and modernize software for satellite assembly, integration, and testing.
  • Review code and create tests and procedures to verify software functionality.
  • Document and maintain architectures, requirements, algorithms, and interfaces.
  • Collaborate with flight software, integration and test, and mission operations teams.
  • Modernize legacy systems into reliable, high-performance software architectures.
  • Mentor fellow software engineers and promote improved tools and processes.
  • Provide on-call incident support and improve automated monitoring and alerting.

Qualifications

  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
  • Five years of non-internship professional software development experience.
  • Bachelor's degree in a STEM field, or four additional years of experience in lieu of a degree.
  • Programming experience with C++, Java, and Python.
  • DevOps experience with infrastructure as code, CI/CD, and containerization tools.
  • Experience building AWS services, including serverless applications.
  • Experience working with large shared codebases and continuous integration and deployment.
  • Preferred experience with spacecraft command and telemetry, mission operations, ground segments, or satellite software.

Benefits

  • Paid time off.
  • Health and welfare insurance.
  • 401(k) plan for eligible employees.

Skills mentioned

C++JavaPythonAWSServerless ComputingTerraformCI/CDDockerFrontend DevelopmentBackend Development

About Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines is a leading space infrastructure company that builds spacecraft, connects networks, and operates infrastructure-as-a-service for commercial, civil, and national security customers. With a proven track record across the space domain, the Company, through organic growth and portfolio expansion, has built over 300 spacecraft, delivered over 260 kilograms of payload to the lunar surface, and provided precision navigation expertise that has guided spacecraft across our solar system. These capabilities form an integrated Build-Connect-Operate infrastructure service company, enabling customers to achieve mission and campaign outcomes through a single prime solution. Intuitive Machines’ technology has been demonstrated across the space domain and is engineered to support the next century of opportunity in space.

Defense and Space Manufacturing1,001-5,000 employeesHouston, Texas