Senior Software Design Engineer

Company Overview

Iridium is an award-winning satellite communications company operating the world's only truly global voice and data network, delivering reliable connectivity anywhere on Earth. For more than 20 years, Iridium has powered mission-critical communications for governments, businesses, aviation, maritime, and the rapidly expanding Internet of Things.

Now part of Iridium, Aireon is the world’s only space-based air traffic surveillance system, providing real-time visibility of aircraft over oceans, the poles, and remote regions. Together, Iridium and Aireon are helping build a safer, more connected, and more efficient future for global aviation.

Join our team and help shape how the world stays connected. We foster a collaborative, inclusive culture where employees are empowered to innovate, grow professionally, and make a meaningful impact.

What We’re Looking For

If you are an experienced software developer with 8+ years of experience in software engineering and enterprise architecture, then you will be excited about the Senior Software Design Engineer opening with Aireon on our Product Development team. As a Senior Software Design Engineer, you’ll be responsible for identifying and autonomously implementing ideas and solutions in support of designing new software products at the forefront of the aviation surveillance industry. In this role, you will focus primarily on owning technical solutioning from prototype through production implementation, evaluating architectural tradeoffs, and providing technical leadership to software engineers. You will thrive in this role if you are passionate about building scalable, maintainable, and production-ready solutions, and excel at making sound technical decisions in ambiguous situations.

What You’ll Do

• Collaborate with product owners and aviation experts to develop rapid prototypes and guide solutions from concept through production
• Own technical solutioning from prototype through production implementation, including participating directly in development, testing, deployment, and production troubleshooting
• Evaluate architectural tradeoffs and document technical decisions through ADRs, diagrams, prototypes, benchmarks, and other appropriate artifacts
• Work with Requirements Engineers to develop detailed agile user stories and validation criteria
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to software engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and architectural guidance
• Lead software design decisions across all levels of development, ensuring solutions are scalable, maintainable, and production-ready
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of enterprise design patterns and Well-Architected Framework to drive sound technical decisions

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 8+ years of relevant experience in software development and architecture
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey products, deliverables, analyses, and/or issues to groups outside of your team or those who are unfamiliar with the topic
• Have confidence and be able to easily build relationships with leadership and colleagues outside of your team
• Possess an analytical mindset, with the ability to understand a situation or problem and think critically to make decisions and come up with out-of-the-box solutions
• Be proactive in providing feedback and be enthusiastic in sharing your knowledge with others
• Capable of prioritizing your own tasks and potentially the tasks of others while making sure deadlines are met
• Strong hands-on C# .NET development experience with object-oriented programming and design patterns
• Experience designing event-driven architectures and asynchronous messaging systems
• Skilled at designing and operating production workloads in a public cloud environment, preferably Azure
• Experience with Kubernetes, microservices, and developing containerized applications
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases and query optimization
• Experience with distributed computing
• Ability to make sound technical decisions in ambiguous situations and communicate effectively with cross-functional teams
• Excellent teamwork and problem-solving skills

Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table

• Experience working in regulated, safety-critical environments
• Experience using AI code assistants effectively to accelerate delivery while actively elevating code quality, security, and maintainability
• Proficiency with additional programming languages such as Python, Go, JavaScript, or Node.js
• Experience deploying data streaming solutions using tools like Kafka, NATS.io, or Solace
• Demonstrated experience developing cloud solutions following the Well-Architected Framework
• Successful working experience with Agile Scrum
• Working experience with cybersecurity standards and practices (e.g., NIST SP 800)

Work Environment

This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer.

We believe in-person connection drives innovation, strengthens mentorship, and builds culture, while flexibility enables employees to do their best work. Under Iridium’s Hybrid Work Policy, employees are expected to work at least four days per week (approximately 80%) in an Iridium office to support collaboration, relationship-building, and professional growth.

Additional Information

This job description outlines the general nature and level of work for this role and is not a comprehensive list of duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Employees may be assigned additional responsibilities as needed.

Base Pay Range: $120,000 - $165,000 USD

Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors and this range represents an estimate of compensation at the time of posting. Base salary is only one part of our compensation package for this role. You may also be eligible for company stock and annual bonus. Employee benefits also include medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage; 401(k) retirement plan options; paid time off and paid holidays; paid parental leave; and other discounts and perks.

Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.