ML Runtime Engineer

Loft's AI for Space group is building the stack that runs real machine learning in orbit; turning raw sensor data into decisions on the satellite itself, so insight reaches the customer in minutes instead of hours.
The AI Engineering team is where models meet the spacecraft. We own the full path from a partner's trained model to something that actually runs — fast — on flight hardware: compiling ONNX models into optimized engines for each accelerator, the Space Inference Engine and its execution providers, the SDK that packages models for flight, and the perf tooling that proves a model fits its power, thermal, and latency budget before it ever leaves the ground. As we open the platform to a growing roster of defense and Earth-observation partners, the team's scope and the range of silicon we target are expanding fast.

As our ML Runtime Engineer, you'll own model compilation and the performance tooling behind it. We're looking for someone scrappy — the kind of engineer who takes an unfamiliar model and an unforgiving power budget, digs into the graph, and gets it running on real hardware without waiting for the path to be handed to them. You'll move between model compilation, runtime internals, quantization, and hardware-in-the-loop CI, sometimes in the same afternoon.

• Own model compilation: turn partner ONNX models into optimized engines per accelerator (TensorRT, Hailo, AMD/ROCm), within power & thermal budgets
• Build the ground-side compile & delivery path; define how a mismatched engine is detected/rejected on-node
• Build performance tooling: benchmarking, profiling, operator-coverage matrices, and budget validation
• Contribute to Space Inference Engine (execution providers) and the SDK (model build & packaging); coordinate the OBSW / Runtime team

• Strong C++ and Python
• Model compilation: TensorRT (and/or equivalent graph compilers)
• ONNX Runtime, quantization & inference perf optimization
• Embedded / edge GPU deployment (NVIDIA Jetson)
• Benchmarking & profiling / perf tooling
• CI/CD incl. hardware-in-the-loop

• Hailo SDK and/or AMD ROCm compilation (iX10)
• Writing custom kernels / operator plugins
• Remote sensing / large-image handling 
• RF / IQ signal data exposure
• Meson build, Yocto / minimal Debian images
• Model-weight protection / secure execution

Equity, we want you to have an active role in our success

Up to 35 days of Paid Time Off (vacations & RTT ) and flexible working hours, we want you to be at your best

Health and life insurance, we care about your health

Lunch Vouchers, because let’s be honest, we love food! (we even have a slack channel about it #loft-gourmand)

Cross-office travel opportunities between San Francisco, Colorado, and Toulouse to learn from our differences

Company and team off-sites and many other events to work & celebrate together

Relocation assistance to Toulouse when applicable

 *Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other underrepresented 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.

Loft: Space Made Simple. 

Founded in 2017, Loft provides governments, companies, and research institutions with a fast, reliable, and simple way to deploy missions in orbit.

We integrate, launch, and operate spacecraft, offering end-to-end missions as a service across Earth observation, IoT connectivity, on-orbit AI, national security missions, and more. Leveraging our existing space infrastructure and an extensive inventory of satellite buses, Loft is reducing years-long integration and launch timelines to months. With more than 30 missions flown, Loft’s flight heritage and proven technologies enable customers to focus on their mission objectives.

With a growing fleet on track to reach 30 satellites by 2027, we are scaling up quickly across our offices in San Francisco, CA | Golden, CO | and Toulouse, France to meet accelerating demand for space infrastructure.