Director, Cloud Infrastructure

Wanna join the adventure?

Loft Orbital builds a space infrastructure providing a fast & simple path to orbit. We operate satellites, fly customer payloads onboard, and handle the entire mission from initial concept through in-orbit operations, significantly reducing the lead-time and risk of a traditional space mission.  As part of the cloud infrastructure team, you will be responsible for keeping our ground segment infrastructure reliable, scalable, and maintainable. You’ll work on cutting-edge technology and help build a modern, automated space infrastructure.

Today, Loft has a high performing Site Reliability Engineering team, and we are looking to further expand the scope of Cloud Infrastructure at Loft, to grow the team and expand its charter. Loft Orbital is seeking a Director, Cloud Infrastructure to lead the newly-expanded Cloud Infrastructure team. In this role, you will be responsible for the development and operation of our cloud-based infrastructure, ensuring scalability, security, and efficiency. You will drive innovation in cloud automation, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), and CI/CD pipelines to support our mission of simplifying space access.

*Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalized people tend to only apply when they meet 100% of the qualifications. At Loft, we value respectful debate and people who aren’t afraid to challenge assumptions.  We strongly encourage you to apply, even if you don’t ‘check all the boxes.

• Lead and develop a high performing team of Cloud engineers, fostering a culture of high performance, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Defining and executing a strategic vision and roadmap for Loft Orbital’s cloud infrastructure, ensuring alignment with business goals.
• Overseeing the design, deployment, and maintenance of public-cloud solutions (AWS, Azure, GCP) to optimize performance, reliability, and cost.
• Championing further adoption of best practices in cloud engineering, such as deployment automation and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC)
• Leading automation initiatives to enhance deployment, monitoring, and incident response processes.
• Collaborating cross-functionally with software, security, and hardware teams to enhance our platform’s reliability and scalability.
• Optimizing cloud usage and costs by implementing effective cost-management practices, and budgeting to align with company objectives.
• Ensuring adherence to SRE best practices, including observability, alerting, disaster recovery, and incident management frameworks.
• Leveraging Agile methodologies for infrastructure project planning and execution.
• Mentor and develop team members, focusing on skills advancement, career growth, and knowledge sharing.

• Proven people management experience, with an emphasis on developing talent and fostering a high-performing, collaborative culture.
• Expertise in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), CI/CD-driven development, and release management.
• Strong experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) using Terraform or similar tools.
• Deep knowledge of containerization, container management, and orchestration tools (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker).
• Strong understanding of automation principles and experience implementing automated deployment pipelines.
• Ability to work cross-functionally with diverse technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience leading Agile teams and driving Agile project delivery.
• Proficiency in cloud cost estimation and optimization.
• Familiarity with observability stacks (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana) and best practices in incident management and SRE methodologies.

• Strong security knowledge in cloud infrastructure and best practices for secure deployments.
• Experience in compliance frameworks
• Hands-on software development experience in Python, Go, or similar languages.
• Experience working with hybrid cloud and on-premises infrastructure solutions.

• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance option for employees and dependents
• Flexible Spending (FSA) and Health Savings (HSA) Accounts offered with an employer contribution to the HSA
• 100% employer paid Life, AD&D, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability insurance
• Flexible Time Off policy for vacation and sick leave, and 12 paid holidays
• 401(k) plan and equity options
• Daily catered lunches and snacks
• International exposure to our team in France
• Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for primary caregiver and 10 weeks for secondary caregiver
• Carrot Fertility provides comprehensive, inclusive fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits with financial support
• Off-sites and many social events and celebrations
• Relocation assistance when applicable

Who We Are

Loft Orbital builds “shareable” satellites, providing a fast & simple path to orbit for organizations that require access to space. Powered by our hardware & software products, we operate satellites, fly customer payloads onboard, and handle entire missions from end to end - significantly reducing the lead-time and risk of a traditional space mission.

Our standard interface enables us to fly multiple customer payloads on the same satellite, with capabilities such as earth imagery, weather & climate /science data collection, IoT connectivity, in-orbit demonstrations, and national security missions. Our customers trust us to manage their space infrastructure, so they can focus on what matters most to them: operating their mission and collecting their data.

At Loft, you’ll be given the autonomy and ownership to solve significant challenges, but with a close-knit and supportive team at your back. We believe that diversity and community are the foundation of an open culture. We are committed to hiring the best people regardless of background and make their time at Loft the most fulfilling period of their career.

We value kind, supportive and team-oriented collaborators. It is also crucial for us that you are a problem solver and a great communicator. As our team is international, you will need strong English skills to better collaborate, easily communicate complex ideas and convey important messages.

With 4 satellites on-orbit and a wave of exciting missions launching soon, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France.

As an international company your resume will be reviewed by people across our offices so please attach a copy in English.

Salary : $250,000 - $350,000