Senior Software Engineer, Government Programs

About the role Muon Space is building and operating a growing portfolio of infrared (IR) space missions — starting with the FireSat constellation — that generate mission-critical imagery and analytics of interest to the US Defense and Intelligence (D&I) communities. Muon's IR Missions and Data team is building the software systems that process, package, and deliver data from these missions to government end-users, including customers within the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and other members of the Intelligence Community (IC). This role will be the technical lead on building the software pipelines that process and deliver data from Muon's IR missions to government programs. The engineer in this role will design, build, and operate the production software infrastructure that connects Muon's spacecraft and data platform to government-facing systems. This will include developing data processing and integrating data delivery pipelines with government software architectures in classified environments. In this role, the candidate will initially focus on three key areas: • Build and operate government-facing data pipelines: Design, implement, and run the production pipelines in Muon's cloud infrastructure that process IR mission data and deliver it to NRO and other government customers. Take ownership of adapting processing pipelines to operate in classified environments. • Integration with US Government software architectures: Own the software integration between Muon's data platform and government software architectures, including NRO systems and other IC data infrastructure. This includes designing interfaces, meeting security and compliance requirements, and shepherding data flows into classified environments. • NITF and government data product engineering: Serve as the engineering owner for National Imagery Transmission Format (NITF) formatting of Muon's IR imagery products, including metadata design, validation, and iteration with government customers. Additionally, the role will work closely with Muon's Business Development (BD) team and D&I community end-users to clarify customer needs and shape the technical roadmap for government-facing software. This role will interact with Muon's software, data platform, instrument, and mission operations teams to ensure that government-program pipelines are cleanly integrated with Muon's mission-agnostic software architectures, and will interact with government stakeholders and program offices to align on requirements, security posture, and delivery. The ideal candidate has deep experience with US Government software architectures — particularly at or with the NRO — and has hands-on experience deploying and operating software infrastructure in classified environments. They combine strong geospatial domain knowledge (geospatial processing, packages, and infrastructure) with software engineering rigor, including experience with NITF and other government imagery formats. Responsibilities • Design, build, and operate the production software pipelines in Muon's cloud infrastructure that process and deliver data from Muon's IR missions to government programs. • Own the software integration between Muon's data platform and US Government software architectures, including NRO systems and other IC data infrastructure. • Deploy, operate, and maintain software infrastructure that delivers Muon data into classified environments, including meeting relevant security, compliance, and accreditation requirements. • Engineering owner for NITF file formatting of Muon's IR imagery products, including metadata design, validation, iteration with customers, and integration of vendor NITF tooling into Muon pipelines. • Write production-ready code for product processing and delivery pipelines. • Work closely with Muon's BD team and government end-users to clarify customer needs and translate them into technical requirements and software designs. • Cross-functional work with Muon teams in software, data platform, systems engineering, instrument engineering, operations, and program management to ensure the success of government programs. • Ensure the product quality, quantitative validation, and integrity of Muon's government-facing data products and services are of the highest standard. Qualifications • Bachelors with 8+ years or MS with 6+ years of relevant experience. • 5+ years building production software systems, including data or geospatial pipelines. • Knowledge of US Government software architectures, particularly those used by the NRO and broader Intelligence Community. • Experience integrating data delivery systems into customer systems, preferably into US Government systems • Experience building and operating high-volume data processing pipelines in commercial and/or government cloud infrastructure. • Exceptional skills in Python-based development, plus comfort with adjacent languages/tools used in government software stacks. • Ability to work with a distributed, interdisciplinary team (scientists, engineers, data support, program management). • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment while meeting the rigor required of government programs. • Active US security clearance; TS/SCI strongly preferred. Preferred Qualifications • Strongly preferred: Experience deploying and operating software infrastructure in classified environments, particularly NRO environments (e.g., IC-level cloud, cross-domain systems, classified enclaves). • Strongly preferred: Experience working at or with the NRO (as an employee, contractor, or vendor integrator). • Direct experience delivering imagery or geospatial data products into NRO ground systems or IC data services. • Experience with National Imagery Transmission Format (NITF) file formatting, including metadata tagging, TREs, and downstream consumer requirements. • Strong geospatial domain knowledge, including hands-on experience with geospatial processing, common geospatial packages (e.g., GDAL/OGR, rasterio, PROJ), and geospatial data infrastructure. • Familiarity with common geospatial data formats (such as Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF, NITF, and related IC formats). • Experience with cross-domain solutions and moving data between unclassified and classified environments. • Experience working with infrared and/or novel imaging instrument data. • Experience integrating third-party government software into production pipelines. • Experience working with large geospatial datasets. • Experience working directly with government customers and program offices to understand needs and pain points. • Familiarity with government accreditation processes (e.g., ATO, RMF) and DevSecOps in classified environments. Salary The salary range for this role is $175,000 - $198,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process. About Muon Space Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world. Taking Care of Our Team At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave. Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know. ITAR/EAR Requirements This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.