Mission Protection Systems Engineer

Overview

Stellar Solutions, a nationally recognized “Great Place To Work”, has exciting opportunities providing Engineering solutions for innovative new-entrant space companies, as well as established space systems manufacturers, commercial space system operators and service providers, and other industry stakeholders including investors.  

At Stellar Solutions, we offer talented, energetic, and immediately productive resources to satisfy our customers’ critical needs in systems engineering and integration, mission operations, program management and strategic planning. We are a leading service and expertise provider for high-tech commercial ventures, spanning communications, earth observation and remote sensing systems and data products, to the infrastructures that support earth orbiting and beyond earth orbit businesses.

Role/Responsibilities/Qualifications

Stellar Solutions has an opportunity for a Systems Engineer located in Northern Virginia to provide Systems Engineering and Technical Advisory (SETA) services focused on protection of mission systems. This position’s customer is responsible for understanding current and emerging threats; developing threat mitigation tactics, techniques and procedures and integrated response options; facilitating advanced training and exercises, and establishing enterprise-level policy and guidance for these matters.

The successful candidate will:

• Work as a mission protection Subject Matter Expert (SME) on a Headquarters-level staff; synchronize priorities, and activities through frequent interactions with the GPOC, mission protection teams, and Enterprise stakeholders
• Organize and/or support Enterprise involvement in mission protection exercises, and support wargaming as requested
• Collaborate with external SME to understand current and emerging threats and protection capabilities; assess equities and engage stakeholders as required
• Capture lessons learned to improve space operations and protection efforts
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to equip operators and leaders to make decisions on protection related actions
• Identify, manage, and provide SME analysis and recommendations for protection-related risks, issues and opportunities
• Produce, review, and comment on mission operations and protection related documents including policy and guidance, and new capabilities, concepts, and integration efforts
• Support meetings during non-standard duty hours as required

Required Qualifications:

• Must be a US Citizen
• Active TS/SCI clearance with CI polygraph, and DOD SAP eligibility
• Bachelor’s degree and five (5) years or more relevant experience
• Familiar with Headquarters-level staff environment and activities
• Understand satellite operations and systems design including satellite components (bus and payload), orbital mechanics, command and control (C2)/telemetry, tracking & control (TT&C) systems, ground systems, and approaches to assessing vulnerabilities 
• Experience with satellite operations training programs, tactics development processes, and counterspace capabilities & operations
• Experience developing, implementing, or participating in advanced training programs and related exercises
• Familiar with counterspace operations (i.e. on-orbit, ground/surface-based, etc.), including their employment concepts, advanced orbital mechanics, and approaches to assess and mitigate counterspace risks
• Familiar with test discipline including test design, planning, execution, data analysis, interpretation, and deriving meaning
• Familiar with cyber domain threat environment as they relate to space systems
• Self-starter, reputation for successfully anticipating and proactively addressing customer requirements with minimal supervision; ability to manage multiple tasks and deliverables
• Effective communicator (written/verbal) with sound interpersonal skills and judgment; master at collaboration and coordination with multiple stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and with a team of contractors, SETA, FFRDC, and Government
• Ability to support meetings during non-standard duty hours as required

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working on Headquarters-level staff
• Experience writing and reviewing strategic/headquarters-level space policy and guidance
• Bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) or relevant field and nine (9) years or more relevant experience; Master in STEM or relevant field and seven (7) years of more relevant experience
• Experience leading and executing spacecraft or related ground systems operations
• Experience planning and operating against threats to spacecraft and/or other mission systems in real-world and/or mod/sim software
• Experience using JP 5-0, Joint Planning, principles and/or products at the tactical and/or operational levels
• Familiar with systems design and acquisition processes including Systems Engineering and Program Management principles and constructs (Digital Engineering, Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE), AGILE Development, etc)
• Experience with Jira and Confluence

In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for a comprehensive total rewards package that includes an annual performance bonus, an employer-funded Profit-Sharing Plan (PSP) contribution based on base compensation, and comprehensive employer-paid medical benefits, PTO pay-out options, along with additional company-sponsored benefits. All of these benefits represent an additional 30-40% to your base compensation for a total compensation package.

Deliverable(s)

Deliverables will be in the format of reports, briefings, spreadsheets, or other documents as directed by the Government. The nature of the work will, at times, require a quick response to stringent deadlines and always in a high quality, professional manner.