Role: Full Stack AI Software Engineer
Department: Engineering
Location: Portugal (Lisbon), must be based in-country
Reports to: CEO ICEYE Portugal
Working type: Hybrid
Career path: Launchpad into ICEYE's Forward Deployed Engineering track (embedded, customer-facing, higher travel)
Must be eligible and able to attain relevant national and NATO security clearances
Excellent communication skills in English, and C2 / near-native proficiency in Portuguese.
You are the technical engine of ICEYE Portugal. You build the software that turns raw satellite intelligence into mission-critical decisions, full-stack, from robust data models to intuitive interfaces. This isn't just a feature-building role; you are architecting the reliability and scale required for global intelligence operations.
This is also a launchpad. It is where strong engineers build deep product and platform expertise and then grow into Forward Deployed Engineers, embedded directly with defence and intelligence customers, deploying and developing ICEYE's platform in the field. We are hiring builders who want the foundations now and the frontier next.
We are architecting systems at the intersection of earth observation intelligence and distributed AI. You will own the implementation of complex services designed for high-stakes, resource-constrained operational environments, including:
Deterministic Agentic Orchestration: Engineering stateful, multi-agent workflows that move beyond simple inference to provide reliable outcomes in non-deterministic environments. You will build systems that resolve cross-modal semantic conflicts between high-resolution SAR signatures and heterogeneous SIGINT/OSINT feeds directly at the edge.
Geospatial RAG & Distributed Vector Consistency: Architecting hybrid RAG systems that maintain strict semantic alignment and vector consistency across air-gapped and DDIL (Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited) environments, ensuring mission-critical data remains actionable without persistent cloud connectivity.
High-Concurrency Spatial Engineering: Optimizing geospatial data performance via advanced indexing and query tuning to enable ultra-low latency spatial analysis over massive satellite datasets within highly constrained hardware profiles.
AI & Mission Intelligence: Integrate AI into real workflows and products where it improves decisions and use AI-native engineering tooling day to day including services, APIs, and data flows that are reliable, observable, and scalable across cloud and on-prem environments.
Must-haves
2–7 years of professional software engineering, shipping production systems end to end.
Degree in Computer Science, Aerospace, Electrical / Electronic Engineering, or a related technical field — or equivalent hands-on experience.
Full-stack capability: strong backend (Python required, plus a typed language such as Go, TypeScript, or Rust) and comfort building modern web front ends (e.g., React / TypeScript).
Strong systems architecture fundamentals: designing services, APIs, and data flows that are reliable, observable, and scalable.
Solid database design and data modelling (relational, ideally spatial), able to write and optimise SQL.
Fully proficient with AI: building on LLMs, RAG, and AI-powered workflows, and working fluently with AI-native engineering tools.
Networking foundations: comfortable reasoning about protocols, latency, and data movement across networks.
Hands-on with Linux and Docker; familiarity with Kubernetes, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code.
High-intensity builder mindset: you thrive on shipping fast, iterating based on real-world mission needs, and owning the outcome of your code.
Excellent communication in English (written and spoken), plus C2 / near-native Portuguese.
Eligible and able to attain relevant national and NATO security clearances.
Nice to have
Familiarity with geospatial data, satellite imagery, or remote sensing (GDAL, Rasterio, PostGIS, GeoJSON, COG, Cesium).
Experience with observability (Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry), event-driven systems (e.g., NATS), and auth standards (OAuth, OIDC, JWT).
Experience in model inference and throughput optimization on local hardware
Experience deploying to secure / isolated / air-gapped environments.
Experience in defence, intelligence, or government operational environments.
Signal / RF, embedded, or edge-to-cloud systems background (EE / aerospace crossover).
Genuine interest in a Forward Deployed path — working embedded with customers on mission-critical problems.
At ICEYE, you’ll join a diverse and highly engaged team united by the ambition to make the impossible possible. As a global scale-up, we combine speed and ambition with the opportunity to take real ownership from day one. Your growth, wellbeing, and success are a priority, with continuous professional development, training opportunities, and a culture where collaboration is how we win.
Make the impossible possible: We set ambitious goals and stay calm under pressure. We bring grit, optimism, and ownership when things get hard, and we keep moving until we find a way.
Be curious: Go deep, ask questions, listen carefully, and think critically. Understand the “why” behind decisions.
See the big picture: Stay close to what’s happening across the company so you can make better decisions. Consider how your work affects others.
Drive effective teamwork: Create psychological safety, invite different perspectives, and build inclusive teams. There are no bad questions.
Act as one team: We win together. We match tasks to the right owner and stay agile as priorities shift.
Have fun: What we do matters—and it should be enjoyable. Celebrate progress, take pride in results, and share the wins.
Our benefits are designed to support your health and wellbeing at work and beyond. We keep improving them based on employee feedback, and offerings vary by location. Talent Acquisition will confirm what applies for this role and location during the process.
We want ICEYE to be a place where people can be themselves and do great work. Different backgrounds and perspectives make us stronger, which is why we work to create an environment where people feel included, respected, and able to speak up. Whatever your background, we want you to bring your authentic self to the table.
We’re committed to fair, inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Everyone is welcome to apply. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, tell us—we’ll do our best to help.
Apply now to start your ICEYE journey, and help us continue to make the impossible possible together. Read more about ICEYE and working with us at iceye.com
