Software Chief Engineer

At Kepler Communications, we're not just imagining the future of on-demand space connectivity - we're leading it!   Our mission is to provide real-time on-orbit connectivity for critical missions, enabling a new era of data-driven intelligence and innovation. With 33 satellites launched to date, Kepler operates the first commercial optical data relay constellation, enabling real-time, continuous space communications while supporting advanced on-orbit compute and hosted payload capabilities.    Industry-leading technology is only part of the story. What sets Kepler apart is our team: bold thinkers, skilled builders, and passionate problem-solvers who thrive on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space. We believe great ideas come from diverse perspectives, and we’re committed to creating an environment where you can grow, lead, and make a global impact.    If you’re ready to reach higher, move faster, and do work that shapes the future space economy - this is your launchpad. Come build the future with Kepler!        What We Offer: - Competitive compensation designed to recognize and reward your contributions.  - Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance—including dependents.  - 401(k) and an annual Wellness Allowance. - Unlimited vacation, supportive parental leave policy, and company-wide holiday shutdown.  - Semi-annual company-wide parties and regular (virtual and team events.  - Relocation packages available for approved roles.  - $1,500 annual professional development fund to support your growth.  - Town Halls, Celebration Calls and Frequent company-wide events to stay connected and engaged.  - We’re a certified Great Place to Work®, seven years in a row at our Canadian Headquarters. 

As the Software Leader/Chief Engineer, you are the senior technical authority for software across Kepler’s programs and the point of technical accountability for the integrity and coherence of our flight and ground software as an integrated capability. You will provide cross-program technical leadership to ensure software is architected, developed, verified, and operated to standard. You set software technical direction, vision, and roadmap, own the reference architecture and software standards baseline, resolve the hardest cross-cutting technical problems, conduct rigorous technical reviews, and communicate clearly with engineering teams, systems and program leadership, customers, and partners. 

This is a horizontal technical-authority role. You do not own program delivery, schedule, or line management, those remain with the program managers and software leads. You are the technical conscience that keeps the software portfolio coherent, sound, and mission-ready, and a force multiplier for the architects and leads already embedded on programs. 

Primary Accountability 

The Software Leader/Chief Engineer is accountable for the technical integrity and coherence of Kepler's software across programs. You are responsible for the soundness of software architecture, cross-program reuse and interface consistency, verification rigor, security, and the maturity of the software technical baseline. You balance capability, reliability, maintainability, schedule realism, and technical risk to ensure Kepler's software is delivered to standard and fit for purpose across every program and product line. 

Authorities 

• Establish the software technical direction, vision, and roadmap across programs, reviewed and approved with the Director of Software & Digital Design 

• Own and approve the software architecture and standards baseline (KEDS, ECSS-E-ST-40 / Q-ST-80, NASA NRP 7150.2 heritage). 

• Chair software technical decision boards, architecture reviews, and cross-program trade studies. 

• Resolve cross-program and cross-discipline software technical disagreements. 

• Require additional analysis, review, refactoring, or verification when software risk warrants. 

• Assess software technical readiness at major program milestones (PDR, CDR, TRR-equivalent gates) and provide recommendations to the program execution team. 

• Recommend acceptance of software technical risks, waivers, and deviations. 

• Escalate software technical issues that threaten program or platform success. 

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership 

• Provide software technical leadership across flight software, built-in test, GNC software, onboard autonomy, edge/orbital compute, ground software, and the developer platform and SDK

• Drive convergence toward a coherent, reusable software architecture across programs 

• Ensure software activities remain aligned with mission and platform objectives 

Engineering Execution 

• Take on the highest-risk and hardest cross-cutting software problems and drive them to resolution 

• Identify and remove software technical roadblocks that span teams and programs 

• Ensure timely software technical decisions and clear technical accountability across programs

Design Reviews & Technical Oversight 

• Lead deep software technical reviews across programs: architecture, interfaces, timing and real-time behavior, fault management, margins, and security 

• Challenge assumptions, designs, analyses, test evidence, and verification coverage 

• Lead software design reviews, anomaly investigations, and readiness reviews 

Decision Making 

• Make timely, evidence-based software technical decisions 

• Balance capability, reliability, security, maintainability, schedule realism, and technical risk 

• Prevent teams from stalling on unresolved cross-cutting software issues 

Communication & Alignment 

• Communicate software technical direction clearly and consistently across the engineering organization 

• Translate complex software issues into concise recommendations for leadership 

• Represent software engineering in customer reviews, supplier and partner meetings, and governance boards

• Ensure software decisions, assumptions, risks, and actions are clearly documented (KEDS) and communicated

• Build alignment across Software, Systems, Program Management, Product Assurance, and leadership 

Engineering Excellence 

• Mentor software leads, architects, and senior engineers, and grow the next tier of technical leaders 

• Raise the standard of software technical rigor, review quality, and standards compliance 

• Drive reuse, platform standardization, tooling and CI/CD maturity, and lessons learned 

Key Interfaces 

• Director of Software & Digital Design: joint review and approval of software technical direction, vision, and roadmap 

• Chief Engineer (Systems) and program Chief Engineers 

• Program Managers 

• Software Managers, Tech Leads, and Architects 

• Systems, GNC, and Payload Engineering 

• Software Product Assurance and Quality 

• Mission Operations 

• Customers, Suppliers, and Partners 

Decision Making 

• Set and evolve technical strategy, including direction, vision, and roadmap, jointly with the Director of Software & Digital Design, while retaining decision authority for execution-level technical choices across programs 

Measures of Success 

• Software teams remain technically aligned across programs 

• Major cross-cutting software decisions are made on time 

• Software technical risks are understood before they become program risks 

• Software design reviews achieve high technical maturity 

• Reuse and architectural coherence increase measurably across programs 

• Leadership has confidence in the technical status of the software portfolio 

• Flight and ground software are delivered to standard and perform in orbit 

Leadership Principles 

• Lead through technical credibility 

• Challenge assumptions constructively

• Strengthen the program leads and architects rather than override them 

• Communicate clearly and decisively 

• Make sound decisions under uncertainty 

• Develop future technical leaders 

• Maintain unwavering technical integrity 

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• 15+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including significant experience as a Chief Engineer, Software Architect, Distinguished Engineer, Technical Fellow, or equivalent senior technical authority
• Demonstrated success providing technical direction across a software organization of 50+ engineers, multiple programs, and several engineering disciplines
• Strong understanding of the complete software lifecycle: requirements, architecture, detailed design, implementation, integration, verification, validation, deployment, operations, maintenance, and anomaly resolution
• Experience mentoring senior engineers, architects, and technical leads and developing the next generation of technical leadership
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline
AI Leadership & Adoption
• Demonstrated experience establishing and executing an AI strategy across software engineering and the broader organization
• Demonstrated success driving organizational change, building AI fluency, and encouraging adoption among engineers, technical leaders, and non-technical teams

Bonus Points:

Direct experience developing flight software, spacecraft autonomy, GNC software, payload software, onboard or edge computing, and ground-segment systems

Experience with spacecraft operations, on-orbit commissioning, anomaly resolution, or software updates to operational systems

Familiarity with digital engineering, model-based systems engineering, requirements management, software product assurance, and formal verification methods

Experience building common software platforms, SDKs, reusable services, and shared infrastructure across several products or programs

Experience working within a scaling technology company where processes, architectures, and organizational structures are continuing to mature

Equal Opportunity Employer  Kepler is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.    If you require accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact our People & Culture team at accommodation@kepler.space, and we will work with you to meet your needs.