Project Lead Engineer - Ground Software
D-Orbit
Are you ready to take your career to new heights? At D-Orbit, we're pioneering the future of space logistics and transportation. Established in 2011, our company has been at the forefront of helping businesses unlock the full potential of the final frontier—profitably and sustainably.
As a member of our team, you'll have the opportunity to work alongside a diverse group of highly skilled individuals, all driven by a shared passion for innovation and excellence. So, if you are passionate about space and ready to take your ambition to new heights, join us in our global mission to push the boundaries of what's possible!
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Project Lead Engineer (PLE) to drive the end-to-end development of EOS, our Mission Control Software. The successful candidate will lead a multidisciplinary software team, oversee architectural and implementation decisions, ensure security-by-design across all components, and guide the system from concept to production.
This role requires strong technical leadership, hands-on backend and frontend expertise, solid knowledge of infrastructure and cloud-native patterns, and a proven track record in delivering complex software systems using Agile methodologies.
Task and Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Project Ownership
Lead the development, ensuring alignment with multiple missions requirements
Drive architectural decisions applying Domain-Driven Design (DDD)
Promote Security by Design practices
Collaborate with infrastructure and DevOps teams to ensure robust, scalable, and observable deployment environments (CI/CD, monitoring, logging, resilience patterns).
Own backlog prioritization, and delivery milestones
Lead, mentor, and support a cross-functional development team
Manage Agile processes (Scrum), as they have been defined by the Ground Software Engineering Group ensuring predictable delivery and transparent communication of progress and risks.
Guide the team in consistently applying engineering best practices and defined processes including code reviews, design reviews, TDD/automated testing, and documentation.
Hands-On Engineering
Contribute to the design, development, and maintenance of backend and frontend services and cloud and on-premise.
Define and implement APIs (REST, gRPC), messaging workflows; Ensure scalability, security, and mission-critical performance.
Requirements
Proven ability to design large-scale, mission-critical software systems using Domain-Driven Design, modular architectures, and well-defined domain boundaries.
Solid understanding and application of Security by Design, including identity/access management, secure communication patterns, and data protection.
Strong ability to translate mission needs into scalable, fault-tolerant system architectures.
Technical Skills — Infrastructure & DevOps
Strong, hands-on experience with Kubernetes (K8s), including designing deployments, managing microservices, configuring networking, and resilience patterns.
Deep understanding of containerization (Docker) and container-native software development.
Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, artifact management, and release strategies.
Hands-on experience with cloud environments (AWS preferred)
Technical Skills — Backend Development
Expert proficiency in Python, including FastAPI
Experience building REST and gRPC APIs
Strong experience with SQL (PostgreSQL) and NoSQL design and optimization.
Experience implementing event-driven architectures
Experience with Test-Driven Development (TDD).
Technical Skills — Frontend Development
Familiarity with modern frontend frameworks (React, Vue, Angular or equivalent)
Understanding of frontend architecture, state management, API integration, and UI/UX implications for mission-control workflows.
Ability to collaborate with frontend engineers to ensure consistency, performance, and seamless integration with backend services.
Leadership & Process
Experience leading development teams (technical lead, team lead, or project lead).
Strong experience managing Agile processes (Scrum/Kanban), planning sprints, reviewing deliverables, and coordinating cross-team work.
Proven ability to translate high-level requirements into actionable engineering work packages.
Experience mentoring engineers, conducting code/design reviews, and establishing engineering best practices.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills — capable of aligning product, systems engineering, and development teams.
Ability to drive the project from specification to production with accountability on quality, timelines, and maintainability.
Nice to Have
Space Engineering Standards & Process (ECSS, ECSS-E-ST-40C, ECSS-Q-ST-80C).
Experience with TM/TC processing, including handling real-time and offline telemetry.
Strong understanding of CCSDS standards, including packet structures, space-to-ground communication conventions, and relevant Space Link Protocols.
Knowledge of space-to-ground link architecture. Familiarity with CSP.
Understanding of PUS (Packet Utilization Standard), including PUS-C / PUS-A.
Professional Experience
Minimum 7 years of experience in software development & 2–3 years leading software teams or acting as a technical lead/project owner.
Professional proficiency in English is mandatory
Hiring Process:
Here’s how our hiring process works—simple and straightforward:
Application review: We go through all applications, but we'll only reach out to candidates who closely match what we're looking for.
If you don’t hear from us, it means we’re not moving forward with your application at this time, but we may consider you profile for more aligned opening in the future!
First chat: Selected candidates will have an initial meeting with the people team so we can get to know each other and talk through mutual expectations, motivation for change and goals.
Technical interviews: Next, you’ll have one or two technical interviews, focused on your skills and how you approach challenges relevant to the role.
Offer: If all goes well, we’ll send you an offer! Sometimes this stage can take a bit of time, as we like to carefully consider each candidate and make sure the fit with the team is just right.
We do our best to get back to everyone we interview, but sometimes things take longer than we'd like and updates might be a bit slow. If you've got any questions, just reach out to us!
We’re excited to get to know you and see if you might be the next person to help us shaping the future of space!
Extra-UE applicants:
This is NOT a full remote job, so, you need VISA to work in Italy.
At this time, we can only consider applicants who already have the legal right to work in the country where the role is advertised.
Some activities must be carried out in our facilities, many others are location-independent, and they can be performed effectively even remotely. This is why we don't measure the performance of people by how many hours they spend at the office: we only measure the outcome.
At D-Orbit, diversity and inclusivity are not just values, they are integral to our mission and the way we operate. We are committed to fostering an environment where all individuals are respected, valued, and celebrated for their unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace is not only the right thing to do, but it also leads to better decision making, innovation, and overall success. We actively strive to build a culture where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and where all voices are heard and valued. We are dedicated to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, supported, and empowered to share their ideas, and where everyone is given equal opportunities to grow and excel. We believe that our differences make us stronger, and we will continue to work diligently to create an inclusive culture at D-Orbit that reflects this belief.
