Ground Station Software Engineer

Background

Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport.

Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases.

Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others.

This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

The Role

We're looking for a Ground Station Software Engineer to own the software that forms the communications backbone between earth and space. You'll be responsible for the software - written in Python and Go - which will deliver secure highly reliable communications.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop distributed software systems for ground station network operations and core infrastructure services.
• Test and integrate software systems that run on both commercial and in-house developed hardware.
• Build simulation and testing frameworks to validate system behavior before deployment
• Collaborate with hardware engineers to integrate, test, and debug systems end-to-end
• Write performant, reliable code for resource-constrained and mission-critical environments
• Develop internal tools to support testing, automation, and operational workflows
• Participate in system bring-up, integration, and launch preparation activities
• Monitor and support on-orbit operations, including debugging and performance optimization
• Contribute to system architecture decisions across software and hardware boundaries
• Balance speed, reliability, and scalability in a fast-paced development environment
• Investigate anomalies across hardware/software boundaries, perform root cause analysis, and drive fixes to closure
• Mentor engineers on the team and review designs and code to raise overall software quality
• Help drive the team toward a near-term on-orbit demonstration, making pragmatic scope and risk tradeoffs along the way

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field
• 2+ years of experience building production software systems
• Strong programming skills in languages such as Python or Go
• Experience working close to hardware, distributed systems, or real-time systems
• Solid understanding of systems fundamentals (operating systems, networking, concurrency)
• Experience working in fast-paced, engineering-driven environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with real-time operating systems software, embedded systems, or robotics
• Background in aerospace, autonomous systems, or high-reliability environments
• Experience building simulation frameworks or hardware-in-the-loop testing systems
• Familiarity with Linux-based systems and low-level debugging
• Experience with cloud infrastructure or distributed systems for mission operations
• Track record of owning systems end-to-end in high-ownership environments

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $145,000 - $171,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Paid time off
• 10 paid holidays per calendar year
• Paid parental leave
• Relocation assistance if applicable
• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.