Space Datacenter Networking Engineer

Space Datacenter Networking Engineer | Job Description

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in low Earth orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute and transmitting energy via infrared lasers to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we are unlocking entirely new ways to operate in orbit and on Earth.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co‑founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We are moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

The Role

As a Space Datacenter Networking Engineer, you will design the high-performance fabric that allows accelerators in orbit to operate as a cluster. You will own the compute, storage, management, and diagnostic networks inside the payload and their interfaces to spacecraft communications and ground systems.

A degraded link cannot require a technician. You will design performance, telemetry, failure isolation, and recovery into the network, then prove that behavior with representative workloads and injected faults. This architecture and lab role is based in San Carlos, California.

Responsibilities

• Own topology, protocols, addressing, routing, performance targets, and failure domains for Space Datacenter networks.
• Select and integrate switches, adapters, interconnects, cabling, and management components.
• Model and measure collective performance, congestion, latency, availability, and workload sensitivity.
• Define management and diagnostic paths that remain available through compute‑fabric failures.
• Build telemetry that identifies marginal links and components before they fail.
• Develop isolation, rerouting, and graceful‑degradation behavior with firmware and software teams.
• Build representative test fabrics, automate validation, inject faults, and lead root‑cause analysis.
• Define spacecraft and ground interfaces and qualify critical components for the mission environment.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years designing or operating high‑performance AI, HPC, storage, or low‑latency networks.
• Deep experience with InfiniBand, RoCE, high‑performance Ethernet, or a comparable compute fabric.
• Strong understanding of topology, congestion control, collective communication, failure domains, and telemetry.
• Hands‑on experience configuring, benchmarking, and debugging network hardware.
• Proficiency in Python or another language used for test automation and telemetry analysis.
• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Rail‑optimized network design for distributed training or inference.
• Embedded, remote, power‑constrained, or radiation‑exposed networking experience.
• Switch or adapter firmware, FPGA, kernel‑driver, or low‑level network‑software experience.
• Automated fault injection, health scoring, adaptive routing, or link isolation.
• Spacecraft communications, optical inter‑satellite links, or ground‑link interface experience.

What You Will Accomplish

In your first year, you will:

• Establish the baseline Space Datacenter network topology, interfaces, and performance model.
• Demonstrate representative collective‑workload performance on an integrated test fabric.
• Prove detection, isolation, and recovery for the network failure modes that matter in flight.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $196,720 - $236,484 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job‑related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan.
• Paid time off and 10 paid holidays per calendar year.
• Paid parental leave.
• Relocation assistance, if applicable.
• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks.

ITAR Requirements

Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.'s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities, and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state, or local laws.

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