Director of Software Engineering

Overview

In this role, you will define the technical vision for fully autonomous, self-healing constellation operations. You will set architecture for the data platform, reliability systems, and automation, while leading a small high-caliber team. You’ll stay hands-on, reviewing code and prototyping where it matters, refining standards, and elevating craftsmanship. The role centers on replacing manual, operator-driven processes with automated, data-guided software that scales with the constellation. You will shape a mission-critical platform, driving reliability, speed, and continuous improvement at Spire.

Pay / Benefits

• Name Your Satellite Program (NYSP)
• Launch Attendance
• Generous Time Off Policy
• Education Assistance Program
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)

Responsibilities

• Define and own the technical roadmap for autonomous constellation operations
• Set architectural direction for data platform, reliability systems, and automation infra
• Maintain hands-on involvement: review code, prototype solutions, and deep-dive when needed
• Establish and enforce engineering standards (code quality, design, testing, observability)
• Be the go-to person for challenging engineering problems
• Build and lead a team of 6–10 reliability/platform engineers
• Lead operational transformation from manual to automated, self-healing systems
• Define and drive SLOs, error budgets, and reliability targets
• Collaborate with satellite operations and mission teams to translate pain points into software
• Influence architecture, infrastructure, and platform strategy across the organization
• Mentor engineers and promote growth through hands-on leadership

Key requirements

• 7+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3 in technical leadership or staff-level IC role
• Proven track record shipping reliable production systems at scale
• Deep credibility with engineers; strong judgment and impact beyond titles
• Experience with SRE principles, reliability engineering, or large-scale automation
• Strong foundation in Python, distributed systems, data platforms, and cloud infrastructure
• Experience hiring and developing engineers
• Effective communication and influence across teams

• leadership and mentorship
• collaboration
• strategic influence
• SRE principles
• reliability engineering
• large-scale automation

…