Senior Software Engineer

Fleet Space is building the software platform behind ExoSphere, our end to end mineral exploration solution powered by space and AI. The platform brings together geophysical survey results, large scientific datasets, interactive 3D visualisation, machine learning predictions, customer data upload, project management and the delivery of results to customers, and it is growing quickly.

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer to design and evolve the technical foundation underneath it. You will establish scalable, maintainable architecture across AWS infrastructure, data storage, databases, APIs and backend services, and define the patterns that let an evolving set of products and tools work together as one platform.

You will also work beyond the platform team, providing technical guidance for software initiatives across the wider organisation, helping teams make sensible build versus buy decisions and making sure independently developed tools integrate cleanly with Fleet’s broader technology ecosystem.

What you'll do

• Design and evolve Fleet's cloud, data and backend architecture in AWS.
• Define how large scientific, geospatial and customer datasets are stored, processed, accessed and managed.
• Design data models, database schemas, APIs and service boundaries so multiple applications operate as one platform.
• Build backend services, APIs and data processing pipelines, contributing production code yourself.
• Improve deployment, observability, security, reliability and cost efficiency across the cloud estate.
• Design how authentication, authorisation and access to customer and internal data work.
• Work with software engineers, data scientists and machine learning engineers to productionise models and get their outputs in front of customers.
• Provide architectural guidance for software built elsewhere in the business, including operational, CRM and other internal tools.
• Weigh up build versus buy decisions and integration strategies for third party and internally developed software.
• Set engineering standards that let Fleet move quickly without compromising maintainability, security or reliability.

• Around 7+ years in software engineering, with significant time spent in cloud architectures and production backend systems.
• Tech stack: AWS, Python and/or Go, SQL, Docker, infrastructure as code, GitLab and CI/CD, REST, OpenAPI, GraphQL and gRPC.
• Strong understanding of AWS compute, networking, storage, databases, identity and security, and the judgement to pick the right service for the workload.
• Backend and API experience from first principles: you can design a service and its data model, not just wire up a framework.
• Strong SQL and database experience, including schema design, query optimisation and migration management.
• Data architecture and data engineering experience with large scale processing workflows.
• Ability to make architectural decisions and explain them clearly, trading off simplicity, performance, scalability, security, cost and maintainability.
• Experience integrating multiple applications, services and data sources into a cohesive platform, including authentication, authorisation, data governance and multi tenant concerns.
• Comfort operating strategically at the architecture level and practically in the codebase.
• Effective use of AI assisted development tools, with clear judgement about where to move fast and where deliberate engineering design is required.
• Experience with Jira or similar project and issue tracking tools.
• Experience designing systems for large scientific, geospatial or similarly complex datasets.
• Knowledge of geology, geospatial data, mining or scientific computing.

How we work

We want engineers who see AI assisted development as an important part of modern software engineering. We encourage rapid experimentation and AI assisted implementation, particularly for interfaces, prototypes and well contained features. At the same time, we expect engineers to understand the systems they build and take ownership of architecture, data models, APIs, testing, security and maintainability.

We value simplicity over unnecessary complexity, and we expect engineers to ask not only how we build something, but what is the simplest thing we can build that solves the problem well. The goal is to use modern tools to move quickly while continuing to build software we understand, trust and can maintain.

About Fleet Space

Fleet Space Technologies’ vision from the beginning was to build technologies to help humanity explore and connect the Earth, Moon, and Mars.

This led us to develop and launch one of Australia’s largest constellation of satellites, create our satellite-enabled mineral exploration technology (ExoSphere), and send Australia’s first seismic technology (SPIDER) to the Moon in 2026. ExoSphere, our end-to-end mineral exploration solution powered by space and AI, aims to accelerate critical mineral discovery needed for the clean energy technologies foundational to humanity’s future.

As part of Fleet’s founding vision, we also apply our technology to innovative solutions for defense and space exploration, including an upcoming mission to the Moon. Headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, Fleet has a growing team in the USA, Canada, and beyond.

In 2023 we were recognised by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) as the #1 fastest growing technology company in Australia.

Company Culture

As a company, we are revolutionising the exploration of new worlds with advanced space technology to build a more prosperous future for humanity.

As a culture, we are ambitious, innovative, and collaborative and we put our customers first in everything that we do.

Our company values guide us to our North Star of ambitious, collaborative success: AD ASTRA ("To the Stars!")

• Add Value: Obsessively add value for our customers
• Drive Excellence: Benchmark against the best
• Agile Action: Take Action. Independent, fast, frugal action
• Seek Truth: Be curious. Explore
• Take Responsibility: Make decisions and own them
• Radical Ideas: We are unique. We do things differently
• Always Deliver: We always find a way to get it done on time

• We have an extremely flexible work culture, with a mix of onsite, hybrid and remote workers who take time for school runs, exercise and appointments. It's about getting the work done, not time at desk.
• Equity (ESOP) grants.
• 20 days of annual leave + 10 extra Wellness days per year.
• Learning budgets.
• Access to confidential Psychologist appointments via our Employee Assistance Program.
• Plenty of opportunity to be part of an amazing STEM program to create the next generation of explorers.