Software Engineering Manager (Mission Ops)

ABOUT SIFT
Sift is the data infrastructure platform for hardware engineering teams. Sift turns high-frequency telemetry into engineering insights for mission-critical systems. Teams use Sift to build and operate rockets, satellites, autonomous vehicles, energy systems, defense platforms, and more.
Founded by former SpaceX engineers who built the tools behind Dragon and Starlink, Sift is building the data infrastructure to herald the AI era for physical systems.
THE ROLE
We are looking for a hands-on Software Engineering Manager to lead our Mission Ops squad. Mission Ops builds the systems and tools our customers use to monitor the health and operations of their machines and fleets, get alerted when a machine enters a critical state, start root-cause analysis and track issues through resolution. You will own technical scope for the squad's user interfaces, APIs and backend systems. Our software must deliver best-in-class performance, scalability and reliability through the most demanding launch campaigns and live operations. Many of our customers run space operations on Sift today, using it to develop and operate rockets, satellites, and orbital laboratory and storage hardware in low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit. In addition to aerospace, we serve other key sectors, such as biomedical tech, energy, transportation and construction.
This role will report directly to the VP of Engineering and is ideal for someone who loves working on the cutting edge of science and technology.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Leadership: Manage and build a team of high-performing engineers, provide mentorship and guidance to accelerate their growth.
- Strategy: Collaborate with our Product and Go-To-Market teams to define a technical roadmap shaped by how customers monitor and operate their fleets.
- Execution: Ensure the team delivers best-in-class results at high velocity while meeting the reliability bar that launch and live operations demand.
- Process Excellence: Establish and refine engineering processes, agile rituals and use of AI to accelerate development and expand our core capabilities.
- Hands-on Contribution: Actively engage the architecture and codebase across frontend, APIs and backend services, contribute to high-impact features and help resolve critical technical challenges.
REQUIRED SKILLS
- Experience: 7+ years in software engineering with 2+ years in a people management role.
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, STEM, or a related field.
- Software Development: Strong experience with distributed systems and web applications using Go, Rust, or Python, and with modern frontends built in React and TypeScript.
- Operations Expertise: Experience building real-time monitoring, alerting, or incident management systems. Familiarity with time-series data and event-driven architectures. Expertise in observability tools such as Grafana or Prometheus.
- Leadership: Proven ability to guide teams through ambiguity and a track record of being a "force multiplier" for engineering talent.
BONUS POINTS
- Experience in Aerospace, Autonomous Vehicles, Robotics, Defense or Energy.
- Experience building mission control, ground systems, or fleet operations software.
- Experience in leading AI-first teams and AI initiatives.
- Experience designing alerting, anomaly detection, or root-cause analysis workflows for operators.
ENGINEERING AT SIFT
You'll have the opportunity to help evolve and scale our platform because we're still in the early stages of building the product. Relevant technologies include:
- Web frontend & backend: ECharts, Go, gRPC, PostgreSQL, Protobuf, Radix, React, Redux, and TypeScript
- Data: Arrow, DataFusion, Flink, Parquet, and Rust
- Infrastructure: Argo CD, AWS, Docker, GitHub Actions, Grafana, Kubernetes, Kustomize, Linux, Prometheus, and Terragrunt
WHY JOIN SIFT?
- Real Impact: Build the infrastructure that enables the next generation of hardware breakthroughs.
- Amazing Talent: Work alongside veterans from NASA JPL, SpaceX, Palantir, Google, Amazon, Tesla, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
- Vibrant Culture: Develop great things with people who all love what they are doing.
- In-Person Collaboration: Join us in our Marina Del Rey office (2x per week) to stay close to the hardware companies we serve.
- Comprehensive Benefits: Unlimited PTO, equity ownership, 401(k), and full medical/dental/vision coverage.
LOCATION
Sift's headquarters is in Marina Del Rey, CA. We collaborate in person twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, and come together for a full week once every quarter. We're open to relocating candidates to LA for the right candidate.
Salary range: $200,000 - $265,000 per year. Plus equity and benefits.
U.S. Person Required: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident (Green Card Holder), or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee in compliance with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) regulations.

Employment type
FullTime

Work arrangement
Yes