Senior Software Systems Architect_Edge Computing & Distributed Platforms
Who we are:
You just found your job destination! At Thales Alenia Space, we believe in space as a new horizon to build a more sustainable life on Earth. Space-based solutions contribute to connecting people, bridging the digital divide, navigating efficiently, and monitoring our planet.
If you are willing to work on exciting space programs for a leading satellite manufacturer, Thales Alenia Space, do not hesitate and apply online now!
Based in Belval (Esch-sur-Alzette), Thales Alenia Space in Luxembourg is a Digital Competence Centre developing state-of-the-art digital solutions using big data, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity technologies to address complex end-to-end space system challenges.
What we can do together:
We are looking for an experienced Senior Software Systems Architect to join our engineering team and contribute to the design of innovative software solutions supporting future space systems.
You will lead key architectural decisions related to software architecture, system design, and technology choices for complex distributed and edge computing solutions deployed across ground, cloud, and onboard environments.
The role covers a broad range of software platforms and systems, including ground segment solutions, onboard and edge data processing, distributed services, digital twins, and edge-to-cloud architectures.
You will address complex architectural challenges related to scalability, resilience, autonomy, interoperability, cybersecurity, resource efficiency, data distribution, and software lifecycle management. Depending on project needs, solutions may combine cloud-native, embedded, on-premise, and low-footprint technologies.
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in architecting, designing, developing, integrating, validating, deploying, and maintaining complex software systems.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Define and maintain the end-to-end software architecture and technical roadmap for distributed and edge computing solutions deployed across ground, cloud, and onboard environments.
- Collaborate with customers, project stakeholders, and engineering teams to understand operational needs, technical constraints, and system objectives.
- Translate functional, operational, performance, cybersecurity, and resource constraints into clear technical specifications and architectural solutions.
- Design secure, scalable, resilient, and resource-efficient systems capable of operating in challenging environments, including limited resources, reduced connectivity, high latency, and autonomous operation scenarios.
- Define architectures for distributed and federated services supporting multi-site operations, edge-to-cloud continuity, data synchronization, remote operations, and digital twin use cases.
- Lead architectural studies, trade-off analyses, prototypes, benchmarks, and proof-of-concepts to evaluate performance, resilience, portability, security, interoperability, and operational suitability.
- Define and maintain software architecture baselines, including architecture reviews, interface definitions, deployment models, Architecture Decision Records, design principles, and technology choices.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation, including C4 Model and UML diagrams, software architecture descriptions, software requirements, software design specifications, interface documentation, deployment views, user guides, and API documentation.
- Ensure architectural consistency throughout the software lifecycle, from development and integration through validation, deployment, operations, and evolution.
- Collaborate with cybersecurity specialists to integrate security requirements, risk assessments, and cybersecurity-by-design principles into software architectures.
- Support software integration and validation activities, ensuring appropriate functional, performance, resilience, interoperability, and security testing.
- Provide technical leadership during project proposals, customer workshops, technical reviews, architecture reviews, and engineering activities.
- Work closely with development, infrastructure, validation, and DevSecOps teams to ensure architectural decisions are understood and correctly implemented.
- Contribute to engineering governance through technical standards, development guidelines, architecture reviews, and mentoring of engineering teams.
- Evaluate emerging technologies and assess their relevance, maturity, risks, and applicability to future software systems.
About you:
We are looking for an engineer with significant experience designing and architecting complex software systems and distributed architectures.
You should have:
- Min.5 years of professional experience in software architecture, systems design, or technical leadership roles involving distributed, cloud-native, embedded, or edge computing systems.
- Strong systems-thinking capabilities, with the ability to decompose complex problems into clear solutions by identifying boundaries, interfaces, subsystems, and interactions.
- Proven experience designing complex software systems involving multiple components, deployment environments, interfaces, and operational constraints.
- Strong knowledge of distributed systems concepts, including fault tolerance, asynchronous communication, service discovery, workload management, data consistency, resilience, and disconnected operations.
- Experience with cloud-native and container-based platforms, including workload orchestration, networking, storage, observability, security, and deployment.
- Experience designing software for resource-constrained environments, considering CPU, memory, storage, bandwidth, power consumption, startup time, and runtime footprint.
- Strong programming experience in Go and Python. Experience with Rust or another memory-safe systems programming language is highly valued.
- Good understanding of Linux-based systems, networking, operating system concepts, process isolation, virtualisation, containerisation, and secure workload execution.
- Experience designing service interfaces and communication mechanisms, including REST APIs, asynchronous messaging, event-driven architectures, and interface standards such as OpenAPI.
- Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases, object storage, messaging systems, streaming technologies, or distributed data management solutions.
- Understanding of DevSecOps practices, including Git-based workflows, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, automated testing, artefact management, vulnerability scanning, and release management.
- Experience with technologies and tools such as Docker, Git, Jira, Confluence, Postman, or equivalent solutions.
- Experience using software architecture and modelling approaches such as C4 Model, UML, Architecture Decision Records, or equivalent frameworks.
- Understanding of cybersecurity-by-design principles and experience integrating security requirements into software architectures.
- Experience working throughout the complete software lifecycle, from requirements definition and architecture through implementation, integration, validation, deployment, maintenance, and evolution.
- Ability to produce clear and comprehensive technical documentation.
- Ability to analyse complex technical problems, compare architectural alternatives, make justified decisions, and communicate trade-offs clearly.
- Strong communication skills in English, with the ability to explain complex technical topics to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, collaboration, and technical leadership skills.
Additional skills and experience that would be highly valued:
- Understanding of satellite operations, onboard computing, payload processing, space communication protocols, ground segment architectures, or related space technologies.
- Experience with satellite image processing, Earth observation data processing, artificial intelligence inference, or algorithm optimisation for edge and onboard environments.
- Knowledge of Kubernetes and lightweight distributions, WebAssembly runtimes, unikernels, or other low-footprint execution technologies.
- Experience with hardware-software integration, embedded Linux, real-time operating systems, hardware acceleration, GPUs, FPGAs, or specialised processing units.
- Experience with distributed digital twins, data spaces, simulation environments, or federated platforms.
- Knowledge of edge-to-cloud architectures, IoT integrations, autonomous systems, or store-and-forward communication models.
- Experience with system observability, including logging, metrics, tracing, telemetry, health monitoring, and remote diagnostics.
- Knowledge of secure software practices, including zero-trust architectures, secure boot, trusted execution environments, software bills of materials, cryptographic signing, and secure software supply chains.
- Experience with high-availability systems, graceful degradation, autonomous recovery, disaster recovery, and fault-tolerant architectures.
- Familiarity with space software engineering standards and processes, including ECSS or comparable safety-, mission-, or security-critical development frameworks.
- Knowledge of open-source software ecosystems and experience evaluating, integrating, or contributing to open-source technologies.
We are looking for skilled and ambitious people as we continue building our team and creating a positive, diverse, and collaborative work environment.
What we offer:
Together, we will contribute to building a new company driven by an entrepreneurial mindset. You will experience new ways of working and help create innovative digital technologies for Space.
You will become part of the dynamic Luxembourg space and digital ecosystem and work for an inspiring group of 80,000 people present in 68 countries.
We offer a competitive remuneration package aligned with your qualifications and experience.
We look forward to discussing your next career move.
Innovation, passion, ambition: join Thales now and create tomorrow’s world with us.
At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working. Great journeys start here, apply now!