Head of Compute | Job Description

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

The Role

As the Head of Compute, you will own the strategy, architecture, and deployment, and operations of our AI compute infrastructure in orbit. This individual will be responsible for transforming orbital power and datacenter hardware into a scalable, reliable, commercially consumable GPU cloud platform.

You will define and build systems that operate in power-constrained, thermally challenging, and radiation-exposed environments, working closely with software, spacecraft, and mission teams to deliver robust, high-performance compute infrastructure. The role spans GPU infrastructure, compute architecture, networking, storage, orchestration, cloud control plane, capacity management, utilization, and compute economics.

This role requires a significant amount of cross functional work with satellite engineering, launch, software, operation, reliability, product, and finance teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and drive the end-to-end AI compute architecture across GPU, CPU, networking, storage, orchestration, and cloud platform layers from concept through design, prototyping, validation, and production.

• Define infrastructure requirements for training, inference, dedicated clusters, and managed compute services, including rack, cluster, networking, storage, and power-density requirements.

• Develop scalable storage and networking architectures optimized for AI training and inference across a constellation of orbital data centers.

• Establish testing, validation, and qualification roadmaps for compute hardware

• Stand-up, grow, and lead an agile team that can meet tight timelines and execute efficiently.

• Work with the software team to establish the orchestration strategy and workload management of orbital compute platforms.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with software, GNC, RF, and spacecraft teams to ensure seamless system integration and increase the overall system reliability.

• Optimize systems for power efficiency, thermal constraints, and reliability in space environments, including lifecycle, refresh, and residual-capacity strategies.

• Guide vendor selection and external partnerships for components and manufacturing

• Participate in system-level trade studies to balance performance, cost, mass, and power

• Represent compute hardware in design reviews (PDR, CDR) and executive-level discussions.

Basic Qualifications

• 10+ years in cloud infrastructure, hyperscale computing, HPC, AI infrastructure, or large-scale platform engineering.

• Deep experience deploying and operating large GPU clusters and multi-tenant cloud infrastructure.

• Deep knowledge of InfiniBand, RoCE, high-performance Ethernet, and AI storage architectures.

• Experience designing and shipping complex hardware systems (e.g., compute platforms, embedded systems, or high-performance electronics)

• Strong background in one or more of the following:

  • Embedded systems or avionics

  • High-performance computing (HPC) systems

  • FPGA, ASIC, or GPU-based systems

  • Distributed or edge compute systems

• Experience leading technical projects or small teams, with increasing scope and ownership

• Strong understanding of system architecture and hardware/software co-design.

• Demonstrated ability to manage large technology vendors and infrastructure investments.

• Strong commercial understanding of GPU economics, utilization, capacity planning, and cloud unit economics.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing compute systems for space, aerospace, or other high-reliability environments

• Familiarity with radiation effects and mitigation strategies (e.g., rad-hard/rad-tolerant design)

• Experience optimizing systems for SWaP constraints (Size, Weight, and Power)

• Familiarity with AI/ML accelerators or specialized compute architectures for edge environments

• Experience working with real-time systems and low-latency processing requirements

• Experience working on mission-critical or safety-critical systems with rigorous validation processes

• Strong cross-functional leadership experience working with software, spacecraft, and systems engineering teams

• Passion for space systems, energy infrastructure, and building novel compute platforms in orbit

Compensation and Benefits:

The salary range for this position is $200,000 - $285,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) retirement savings plan

• Paid time off

• 10 paid holidays per calendar year

• Paid parental leave

• Relocation assistance if applicable

• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.