We are seeking a highly experienced Staff Software Developer to lead the design and evolution of Kepler’s backend systems and platform architecture. This role operates at a company-wide level, driving technical strategy, enabling cross-team execution, and ensuring that our systems scale to meet the growing demands of Kepler’s satellite network and mission control operations.
As a Staff Developer, you will work across multiple teams to solve complex technical challenges, guide architectural decisions, and improve engineering effectiveness. You will play a key role in shaping long-term technical direction while ensuring near-term delivery remains efficient and aligned.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead the design and evolution of large-scale backend systems supporting Kepler’s satellite network infrastructure and mission control software
Drive architectural decisions that span multiple teams and services, ensuring scalability, reliability, and maintainability
Identify and lead high-impact, cross-functional initiatives, including system-wide performance improvements, reliability efforts, and platform standardization
Partner with product, operations, and leadership to translate business opportunities into technical strategy and execution plans
Define and improve engineering processes, development workflows, and operational practices across teams
Own and guide long-term technical roadmaps, balancing immediate delivery needs with strategic investments
Act as a technical authority and advisor, providing guidance on complex system design, tradeoffs, and risk management
Mentor senior engineers and help grow technical leadership across the organization
Drive alignment across teams by influencing without authority and building consensus on technical direction
Required Skills & Qualifications:
8+ years of professional software development experience, with a strong focus on backend systems
Proven experience designing and operating large-scale, distributed systems
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-team technical initiatives and influence engineering direction
Strong expertise in system architecture, scalability, reliability, and performance optimization
Deep experience with Python and modern backend development practices
Experience with cloud platforms, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and infrastructure-as-code
Strong understanding of CI/CD systems and developer productivity tooling
Ability to navigate ambiguity and drive clarity in complex technical and organizational environments
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Bonus Points:
Experience working on mission-critical or high-reliability systems
Familiarity with satellite operations, ground systems, or aerospace environments
Experience designing platform-level systems or internal developer platforms
Strong background in observability, incident response, and reliability engineering
Experience with event-driven and distributed messaging systems (Kafka, Pulsar, etc.)
Knowledge of networking concepts and delay-tolerant networking
Track record of improving engineering processes and organizational effectiveness
