Software Development Manager, Kuiper Government Solutions

Project Kuiper is an initiative to launch a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world. Kuiper Government Solutions (KGS) is developing secure, high-performance satellite communications technologies that support US National and International security and defense.

As part of KGS, this role offers the opportunity to shape the future of secure space-based connectivity and contribute to high-stakes, mission-critical programs with real-world impact. As a Software Development Manager, you will lead a team developing a high data rate packet processing service that plays a critical role in national security and defense. Unlike roles focused on isolated subsystems, this position provides end-to-end ownership of secure software, spanning architecture, design, deployment, and lifecycle management.

You’ll work in a fast-paced, high-impact environment, tackling complex challenges in secure satellite communications. This role requires deep expertise in network packet processing, high-assurance, fault-tolerant software and proficiency in modern programming languages such as Rust. You’ll collaborate closely with hardware, security, systems, and product teams to develop scalable, real-time solutions tailored for government customers.

If you’re driven by technical excellence, leadership, and the opportunity to build next-generation secure communication systems, we’d love to hear from you.

This role is based in Redmond, WA, El Segundo, CA, or Northridge, CA, with U.S. relocation benefits available. Due to the sensitive nature of the KGS projects, onsite work is required five days a week.

*This position requires that the candidate selected be a U.S. Citizen in order to comply with U.S. government-imposed requirements related to the nature of the work and/or where it will be performed.


Key job responsibilities
- Define and execute the technical vision for software supporting secure satellite and ground systems.
- Hire, develop, and lead a high-performing team of software engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence.
- Own the full software development lifecycle, from architecture and design to implementation, integration, testing, and secure deployment.
- Ensure compliance with government security standards, implementing cryptographic frameworks, secure boot, and trusted execution environments.
- Collaborate across hardware, firmware, security, and systems teams to develop scalable, high-performance software for custom satellite and ground terminal hardware.
- Establish and enforce best practices for coding standards, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and mission-readiness verification.
- Lead technical and program reviews, ensuring software solutions align with customer mission needs and security requirements.
- Partner with product, program, and business leaders to define strategic priorities, balance trade-offs, and drive seamless execution.
- Mentor engineers, providing technical guidance, career development support, and fostering an inclusive, high-performance engineering culture.

About the team
The Kuiper Government Solutions team is a multi-disciplinary technology team involved in developing and delivering targeted and scalable solutions for custom satellite and ground applications, including United States and allied government customers.

Basic Qualifications

- 3+ years of engineering team management experience, leading teams in software development.
- 10+ years of professional engineering experience in software, hardware, or systems engineering.
- Strong knowledge of engineering best practices for full software/hardware/networks development life cycles, including coding standards, code reviews, source control, testing, certification, and live-site operations.
- Experience partnering with product and program management teams to define and deliver complex technical solutions.
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

- 5+ years of engineering team management experience, leading software teams in aerospace, defense, or telecommunications.
- Experience in communicating with users, other technical teams, and senior leadership to collect requirements, describe software product features, technical designs, and product strategy.
- Experience in recruiting, hiring, mentoring/coaching and managing teams of Software Engineers to improve their skills, and make them more effective, product software engineers.
- Experience leading software architecture and design for real-time, fault-tolerant, high-availability systems.
- Familiarity with networking protocols (TCP/IP, UDP) and secure communication stacks for space or mili