Principal Software Engineer

Iridium is seeking a hands-on technical leader with expertise in test automation, software architecture, and the engineering tooling that powers modern development teams. In this role, you will serve as the technical authority over automation framework for our Solutions Automation team. You will partner closely with the associate director, engineering managers, and stakeholders to translate the long-term technical roadmap into well-designed solutions, leading through technical authority rather than direct reports. You will thrive in this role if you are a technically sound engineer who is able to solve complex architecture problems, set standards that elevate the entire team, and drive innovation through automation.

Our work spans the full stack and then some: from device-level integration (Python/pySerial talking directly to hardware) up through Python data and automation services (FastAPI, Pandas, NumPy, Airflow), event streaming with Apache Pulsar, PostgreSQL and the ELK stack, and out to React front-ends on Linux. Parts of our infrastructure run on AWS (EC2, ECS/ECR, ALB/NLB), and we’re actively expanding our cloud footprint. We’re looking for someone comfortable operating across that whole range, not an expert in every tool.

What You’ll Do:

• Partner with technical leadership to define and evolve the framework architecture for the Solutions Automation team, including design patterns, technology selection, and integration standards
• Define standards and reference patterns for integrating generative AI into the software development lifecycle, including AI-assisted test generation, triage, and developer tooling, with clear attention to quality, code provenance, IP, and security
• Prototype new frameworks, patterns, and AI-augmented tooling to validate architectural decisions before team-wide adoption
• Partner with the associate director and engineering managers to shape and drive the long-term technical roadmap, establishing and maintaining technical standards, coding practices, and quality benchmarks, and reviewing and approving designs
• Own lab and framework standardization, ensuring consistent environments and tooling across all teams, and drive technical modernization and platform scalability initiatives
• Represent the Solutions Automation team (SAT) in Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs), Daily Change Control Boards (DCCBs), and other technical forums, and facilitate architecture reviews and technical workshops that elevate the team’s capabilities
• Grow the technical depth of every engineer on the team through mentorship, design and code reviews, pairing on hard problems, and leading technical onboarding for new hires
• Provide technical evaluation support during hiring, including the design of technical interview assessments and candidate evaluation

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field
• 10+ years of progressive engineering experience, preferably in software development, automation, and/or testing
• Demonstrated experience defining software architecture, framework design, and technical standards for automation or software development teams
• Comfort operating across the full stack, including low-level device or hardware integration, with the ability to reason about system behavior from the protocol layer up to the user interface
• Demonstrated experience integrating generative AI tooling into software development or test automation workflows, with the judgment to know where AI adds leverage and where it adds risk
• Strong understanding of modern software development practices, CI/CD pipelines, cloud-native architectures, and software testing principles (including test strategy, automation, and integration with the SDLC)
• Proven ability to define and communicate technical vision, making architecture decisions that balance innovation with pragmatism, and to evaluate and introduce new technologies, tools, and patterns that improve team productivity and product quality
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts clearly to both engineering and non-technical stakeholders
• Product-minded engineering judgment and strong design taste, with experience collaborating with product managers or directly with end users to ensure the team solves the right problems and ships tooling users genuinely want to use
• Curiosity and a growth mindset, with a pattern of learning new domains and tools quickly, sound judgment in assessing risks, tradeoffs, and second-order effects when making architecture decisions, and the willingness to change direction when new evidence contradicts earlier assumptions
• Bias for action and a track record of shipping complex technical initiatives end to end

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

• Knowledge of satellite communications, computer networking, or telecommunications systems
• Exposure or experience with laboratory test environments
• Experience with internal developer platforms, platform engineering, or developer experience (DX) initiatives
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code, modern CI/CD platforms (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.), or DevSecOps practices
• Experience with agentic or autonomous systems, AI evaluation frameworks, or evaluating AI coding assistants at team or org scale
• Experience with software management tools (JIRA, etc.)
• Experience scaling engineering practices across multiple Agile delivery teams

We’ll also need you to:

• This position directly performs under, supports, or is exposed to a U.S. government contract. To comply with the requirements of that U.S. government contract, applicants for this position must be a U.S. citizen.
• Be on-call to support operational issues
• Be able to travel up to 15 days annually

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.

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: $150,000 - $200,000 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 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.