Network Operations Engineer

This is a future role. We're building a shortlist now and will contact you when it opens.

About us

Foundational is building the most precise picture of Earth and orbit, using lasers fired from the ground. We call it ground truth for orbit.

We design and run low-cost, autonomous satellite laser ranging stations. They measure the distance to satellites with extreme precision, day and night. Our data platform turns those measurements into tracking data and orbit products for satellite operators, space agencies and governments. We also build our own flight-proven laser retroreflector arrays, so any satellite can be tracked.

Our station network is expanding across Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. The data supports resilient navigation, Earth observation and the safe, sustainable use of space.

We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators in London. We're backed by venture investors and supported by ESA, the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the European Innovation Council.

Position Overview

London · Full time · On-site

Our stations run autonomously, and you'll make sure the network does too. You'll monitor stations, respond to faults, and build the tools and processes for our network operations centre.

What you'll do

• Monitor station health, tracking and data delivery across the network

• Triage faults, and coordinate fixes with field engineers and host sites

• Build dashboards, alerting and runbooks

• Track network performance and report it to the team and to customers

• Help plan tracking schedules against customer commitments

• Help shape on-call and shift cover as the network grows across time zones

What you'll bring

• Operations experience with ground stations, observatories, telecoms networks or similar

• Scripting skills (Python, Bash) and Linux experience

• Experience with monitoring tools such as Grafana or Prometheus

• Clear communication under pressure

Nice to have

• Satellite operations or satellite laser ranging

• Networking and secure remote access

• Experience setting up a network operations centre

What We Offer

• A high-impact role with real ownership at an early-stage, venture-backed spacetech company

• EMI share options (UK employees)

• 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

• Enhanced Parental Leave

• Cycle to work schemes

• Work alongside engineers and scientists across optics, lasers, software and astrodynamics

• Offices in central London, with snacks, tea, coffee and regular socials

We actively champion underrepresented groups and seek to bridge gaps in our workforce. If you're excited by the role but don't match every point, or you’re seeking a part time role, please apply anyway and add a note into your application. Building the best team is our priority.