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Principal Software Engineer

Company Overview

Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world. For over 20 years, Iridium’s unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.

At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed. Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions. Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world. Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves. We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.

What We’re Looking For:

This role will serve as a Feature Team Lead for the Satellite Software Mission Software team. The Feature Team Lead takes full ownership of a specific feature’s technical lifecycle, from initial assignment through design, development, delivery, and post-delivery support. Serving as the primary technical point of contact and subject matter expert, the Feature Team Lead facilitates software design, collaborates with Systems Engineering to baseline testable requirements, and decomposes large epics into manageable tasks for the engineering team. The individual is expected to lead by example, tackle critical-path enablers, enforce code quality through constructive peer reviews, unblock team members, and actively mitigate technical risks and scope changes to protect project timelines. Additionally, the Feature Team Lead is expected to act as a key technical multiplier by providing structured mentorship and guidance to their Feature Team to expand overall team capability.

What You’ll Do:

Act as a team lead for the design and implementation of scalable, reliable, and maintainable satellite software, including conducting code reviews for other team member’s work
Provide leadership to both senior and junior engineers; cultivate technical growth and promote a culture of excellence within the engineering team
Serve as a technical authority within the team; provide technical guidance not only to other team members but also in cross-functional projects and initiatives
Be a steward of the team’s technical processes and procedures, including creating and maintaining documentation
Identify and facilitate technical training needs for team members and champion continuous improvement and growth
Partner with product owners, systems engineers, and other stakeholders to define product requirements and technical roadmaps
Play a key role as member of our Agile Scrum team; may lead daily standup meetings, sprint planning meetings, sprint reviews/demonstrations, and retrospectives
Participate in development refinement meetings; lead other engineers in gaining an understanding of technical features and providing task decomposition and task estimates

What You’ll Need to Succeed:

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering or computer system engineering, or related field
10+ years of relevant experience in the software engineering industry
8+ years of relevant experience developing embedded software using C++
Have experience developing software using Atlassian Tools: Jira for task management, Bitbucket (git) for code management, Fisheye/Crucible for code inspection and Confluence for documentation
A strong background in troubleshooting, problem solving, and working under tight time constraints
Knowledge of and experience with all aspects of the Software Development Life Cycle process
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
Be proficient in a Linux operating system, general programming capabilities, as well as standard PC usage and applications

Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:

Master’s degree in computer science, computer engineering or computer system engineering, or related engineering degree.

We’ll also need you to:

Be on call for satellite and space anomalies
Be able to travel up to approximately 15 days per year
Be able to work a hybrid schedule that includes at least 60% of your time (3 days per week) in office
Be a U.S. Citizen with no dual citizenship

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 three days per week (approximately 60%) 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: $152,000 - $198,000 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.

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