Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer, Mission SystemsWe're looking for a Principal Engineer, Mission Systems to lead Quindar's Command & Control (C2) and Ground Systems Integration teams. This role combines technical leadership, software and systems architecture, and people management to deliver mission-critical capabilities for commercial and government space operations.You'll lead a focused team of engineers building world-class command and control software while also serving as a systems and software architect on strategic customer programs that apply Quindar's platform to complex government and defense use cases. This role requires deep technical expertise, strong program leadership, and the ability to bridge product development with mission-specific integration efforts.This is a hybrid role with 3 days in office. We aim to maximize the benefits of in-person collaboration while maintaining flexibility through a remote-friendly work environment.Key ResponsibilitiesLead and mentor a multidisciplinary engineering team focused on Command & Control (C2) software and Ground Systems Integration capabilitiesDrive technical execution across mission systems programs, balancing delivery timelines, system reliability, and long-term architectural scalabilityServe as system and software architect for strategic government and defense programs leveraging Quindar's platformDefine and evolve software architecture across distributed systems, mission operations tooling, integration layers, and operator-facing applicationsCollaborate closely with product, mission operations, customer success, and executive leadership to translate mission requirements into scalable technical solutionsGuide the team through complex integration efforts involving third-party systems, mission partners, and government stakeholdersMaintain hands-on involvement in technical design and software development, contributing directly to architecture reviews, implementation strategy, and critical code pathsSupport hiring and organizational growth for mission software engineering functionsMentor engineers and technical leads, helping develop technical depth, ownership, and leadership across the organizationCoordinate with Engineering and Product leadership to proactively identify architectural gaps, technical risks, and cross-team dependenciesContribute to engineering standards, operational excellence, incident response processes, and post-mortem reviewsCommunicate technical concepts, program status, and architectural decisions clearly across technical and non-technical stakeholdersQualificationsProven experience leading complex software engineering efforts in aerospace, defense, mission operations, autonomy, robotics, or other high-reliability domainsStrong software architecture experience across distributed systems, backend infrastructure, APIs, operator tooling, and mission-critical applicationsExperience serving as a technical lead, systems architect, or chief engineer on large-scale customer or government programsDemonstrated ability to lead and mentor engineering teams while remaining deeply technical and hands-onExperience integrating software systems across multiple teams, vendors, or external mission partnersStrong understanding of software development life cycles, systems engineering principles, and Agile development methodologiesAbility to code and review production-quality code in languages relevant to Quindar's technology stackExcellent communication and leadership skills with the ability to align technical execution with strategic mission objectivesStrong organizational and program leadership skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and drive execution across parallel effortsExperience working with government customers, defense programs, or regulated environments is a strong plusAbility to obtain U.S. Security Clearance (Active clearance strongly preferred)Why You'll Love Working at QuindarWe take work-life balance seriously. We require employees to take 15 days off while offering unlimited PTO and observing most U.S. federal holidays.Mental health is just as important as physical health, so we provide quarterly wellness benefits.Comprehensive health insurance for you and your family with 100% employee coverage.4% 401(k) matching to help employees invest in their future.Quarterly 4-day company offsites. Previous locations include San Francisco, Nashville, Denver, Santa Fe, New Orleans, and San Diego.Our culture and company are evolving rapidly — you'll play a major role in shaping the future of mission operations software at Quindar.