Data Software Engineer

Open Cosmos Ltd
Didcot, OX11 0RL, United Kingdom
4 months ago
Job Type
Permanent
Work Pattern
Full-time
Work Location
Remote
Seniority
Mid
Education
Degree
Posted
14 Feb 2026 (4 months ago)

Aim high, go beyond!

At Open Cosmos we are solving the world’s biggest challenges from space, providing businesses, governments and researchers access to more readily available information than ever before - ready for the challenge? Then read on…

Working in our Data Division

Our Data division transforms satellite data into meaningful insights that drive real-world impact. The team delivers all data products generated by Open Cosmos and its partners, curates and develops DataCosmos — our geospatial data platform — and builds integrations that make satellite imagery easy to access and act on. Their work helps organisations turn data into action and create positive change on Earth.

As aData Software Engineer, you’ll be at the core of how we turn raw Earth Observation data into scalable, reliable and high-quality data products. You’ll design and build the pipelines and systems that power our data platform, ensuring customers across the world can access and act on satellite data with confidence.

What will you be doing?

  • Developing and maintaining data ingestion and processing pipelines for satellite and Earth Observation data

  • Translating scientific or analytical code into efficient, production-ready implementations

  • Applying software best practices regarding testing, and control mechanisms to ensure software quality

  • Designing and implementing scalable, reliable processing systems to support payload data processing and quality control

  • Establishing and enforcing data and metadata standards to ensure consistency, usability and quality across datasets

  • Balancing customer needs with technical architecture, delivering solutions aligned with platform and operational constraints

  • Proposing and implementing improvements to data architecture, scalability and performance

  • Integrating new data processing techniques and data types into existing workflows

  • Maintaining and evolving complex data processing systems with monitoring, reliability and continuous improvement in mind

  • Supporting EO data quality and performance through validation, control and optimisation mechanisms

What You’ll bring

  • Strong Python capability for building data processing pipelines

  • Confidence working in Linux environments to run and maintain workflows

  • Solid understanding of data ingestion, transformation and processing pipelines

  • Ability to design and manage data structures, formats and metadata standards

  • Capability to work with APIs and databases (particularly REST interfaces and PostgreSQL)

  • Understanding of data-driven and event-driven architectures

  • Knowledge of satellite imagery and Earth Observation data processing concepts

  • Familiarity with geospatial tools such as QGIS, ArcGIS or similar

  • Awareness of containerised and orchestrated environments (e.g. Kubernetes)

  • Ability to translate analytical or scientific code into efficient, production-ready systems

This role can be based in any location.

To apply, you must have the legal right to work in your chosen location.

When applying, please submit your CV in English.

Why Open Cosmos?

  • Work at the cutting edge of space technology with customers around the globe.

  • A mission-driven company making space accessible to help solve real-world challenges.

  • A diverse, ambitious, and supportive team.

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Software Engineer - Engineering Process Assurance

Rolls Royce United Kingdom
Hybrid Clearance Required

Senior Software Engineer (Ground Segment)

Open Cosmos Ltd Didcot, OX11 0RL, United Kingdom
On-site

Backend Software Engineer (Ground Segment)

Open Cosmos Ltd Didcot, OX11 0RL, United Kingdom
On-site

Flight Software Engineer

Open Cosmos Ltd Didcot, OX11 0RL, United Kingdom
On-site

Embedded Software Engineer

Archangel Lightworks Ox11Aa, OX1 1AA, United Kingdom
Hybrid

Senior Spacecraft Software Engineer

Spire Glasgow, Alba / Scotland, G2 1AL, United Kingdom

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Where to Advertise Space Jobs in the UK (2026 Guide)

Where to advertise space jobs UK in 2026: the specialist boards, agency channels and community routes that reach satellite, propulsion and launch talent. The candidate pool spans satellite engineers, propulsion specialists, mission analysts, ground segment software developers, space systems architects and commercial space professionals — a highly specific multidisciplinary community that general job boards are poorly equipped to reach. The strongest space candidates are often embedded in ESA programmes, academic research groups, UK Space Agency-funded projects or established primes, and move between roles through sector-specific networks, industry bodies and conference communities rather than mainstream platforms. This guide, published by UKSpaceJobs.co.uk, covers where to advertise space industry roles in the UK in 2026, how the main platforms compare, what employers should expect to pay, and what the data says about hiring across different role types.

Space Jobs UK 2026: What to Expect Over the Next 3 Years

Space Jobs UK 2026: roles, salaries and the UK space sector hiring trends shaping satellites, launch, Earth observation and space data careers. The UK space sector is in the middle of something that feels genuinely historic. A combination of government commitment, private capital, and technological progress has transformed Britain's position in the global space economy from a capable but secondary player into a nation with serious sovereign ambitions — and a jobs market that is expanding to match them. This is not the space industry of previous generations, defined by a small number of government agencies, a handful of prime contractors, and career pathways accessible only to a narrow band of elite engineers and scientists. The new space economy is broader, faster-moving, and more commercially driven than anything the sector has previously seen. Satellite manufacturing has been democratised by small sat technology. Launch is becoming domestic. Space data is flowing into applications across agriculture, insurance, climate monitoring, maritime, and defence at a scale that is creating entirely new categories of commercial hiring. And the defence and national security dimensions of space have elevated the sector's strategic importance to a degree that is driving sustained public investment in the talent pipeline. For job seekers, the UK space jobs market of 2026 represents an opportunity that is both more accessible and more technically demanding than at any previous point. The candidates who will thrive over the next three years are those who understand where the sector is heading — which programmes are moving from development into operation, which technologies are defining the architecture of modern space systems, and how the definition of a space career is expanding well beyond the spacecraft engineering core toward a much wider ecosystem of roles across the full space value chain. This article breaks down what the UK space jobs market is likely to look like through to 2028 — covering the titles emerging right now, the technologies driving employer demand, the skills that will matter most, and how to position your career at the leading edge of one of the most exciting sectors in the UK economy.