Principal Software Engineer Cloud Systems (Denver)

KSAT Inc. 7600 E Eastman Ave, Suite 415 Denver, Colorado 80231 ksat.no

Introduction

With headquarters in Tromsø, Norway, Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) supplies ground station services for satellite communications. KSAT is the world’s largest supplier of telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) and data acquisition services for non-geostationary satellites.

Founded in 1968, KSAT has grown to over 500 employees with about 50% of KSAT’s annual revenue coming from the US. The wholly owned subsidiary KSAT Inc. (aka. KSAT US) is located in Denver, Colorado and is rapidly growing in response to strong US Government and industry demand for commercial ground segment services. As a result of KSAT’s continued growth in the US, more critical talent is needed.

Summary of Position

KSAT is seeking a Principal Software Engineer / Cloud Architect to lead the evolution of mission-critical software platforms supporting satellite operations, ground segment services, and customer mission systems. This individual will serve as the technical lead for the migration of a complex ecosystem of applications, services, databases, and integrations from a Norway-administered Azure commercial cloud environment into a U.S.-administered Azure Government cloud environment.

This role combines software architecture, cloud architecture, technical leadership, and organizational development. The successful candidate will establish the technical strategy for cloud-native application modernization, guide architectural decisions across multiple software products, and build a high-performing U.S.-based software engineering team responsible for long-term product development and operational support.

The ideal candidate possesses deep expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native application architectures, Kubernetes platforms, software modernization, and Azure-based deployments. They must be comfortable operating at both strategic and hands-on levels, driving architectural decisions while remaining actively engaged in system design, code reviews, deployment strategies, and technical mentoring.

This position serves as the primary U.S. technical counterpart to KSAT's Norway-based software and product organizations and will play a critical role in shaping the future software capabilities of KSAT's U.S. operations.

Joining the KSAT Team means

• Opportunity to work across the commercial, civil, and defense space industry
• Flexible work environment
• Experience in an international company with a global footprint and opportunities to work across cultures
• Engaging team: inspire small, dedicated, A-class teammates. Being part of a nimble and passionate start-up team, with the financial security and product technology readiness level of an established company - the best of both worlds

Compensation

The On-Target base salary range is $140K - $170K annually.

Benefits Package Highlights

• Four weeks of PTO annually
• $0 individual medical insurance with generous coverages
• Flexible working environment
• Fitness expense reimbursement program
• Tuition reimbursement program
• International travel opportunities

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead technical planning and execution of a phased migration from Azure Commercial cloud environments to Azure Government cloud environments.
• Assess existing software, database, integration, and infrastructure dependencies and develop migration strategies that minimize operational disruption and technical risk.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across U.S. and Norwegian organizations to prioritize migration initiatives and align technical execution with business objectives.
• Identify opportunities to modernize legacy applications and services as part of migration activities.
• Serve as the lead software architect for U.S.-based software initiatives.
• Establish architecture standards and technical design practices for cloud-native applications and services.
• Lead architecture reviews, technical planning sessions, and design decisions across multiple software programs.
• Guide engineering teams in implementing maintainable, secure, and scalable software solutions.
• Maintain technical ownership of critical software systems throughout their lifecycle.
• Define application deployment patterns, CI/CD strategies, container standards, and operational support models.
• Ensure software products are designed for high availability, operational resilience, and maintainability.
• Establish software engineering best practices, development standards, and operational procedures.
• Mentor engineers across multiple experience levels and cultivate technical leadership within the organization.
• Collaborate with mission operations personnel, product managers, and systems engineers to define and prioritize software requirements.

Qualifications and Skills

Required

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 5+ years leading software architecture, technical leadership, or principal-level engineering initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering large-scale cloud-native applications and distributed systems.
• Significant experience with:
  • Python
  • Rust
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • Microservices architectures
  • REST API design
• Experience designing highly available and resilient production systems.
• Experience leading large-scale cloud migration, application modernization, or platform transformation initiatives.
• Deep understanding of software architecture principles including:
  • Scalability
  • Fault tolerance
  • Observability
  • Security
  • Performance optimization
• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and modern software delivery workflows.
• Strong understanding of relational and non-relational database architectures and migration strategies.
• Outstanding communication skills and ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Strongly Preferred

• Experience designing software solutions within Azure Government, Azure Commercial, AWS GovCloud, or other regulated cloud environments.
• Experience migrating workloads between cloud environments or organizational boundaries.
• Experience supporting systems subject to government security and compliance requirements.
• Experience with:
  • OpenStack
  • Helm
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • Service Mesh architectures
  • Event-driven systems
• Familiarity with cloud-native observability platforms including Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, and related technologies.
• Experience implementing DevSecOps and secure software development lifecycle best practices.

Preferred

• Aerospace, satellite communications, mission operations, or ground segment software experience.
• Familiarity with mission control systems, telemetry processing, spacecraft operations, scheduling systems, or command and control architectures.
• Experience supporting operational systems requiring high availability and continuous service delivery.
• Experience leading geographically distributed software teams.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline.

Master’s degree and/or significant industry experience preferred.

Other Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DoD Secret Clearance.
• Ability to support systems handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).
• Ability to travel internationally and collaborate with engineering teams located in Norway.

Travel

• Travel estimated at 10%.

Occasional travel to customer sites within the United States and opportunity for international travel