Staff Backend Software Developer

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.

• 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 

• 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