Ground Systems Engineer - Space-Based Environmental Monitoring

Overview

Stellar Solutions, a nationally recognized “Great Place To Work,” delivers engineering solutions across commercial space and national security missions—from innovative new entrants to established space systems organizations.

We bring talented, energetic, and immediately productive professionals to meet critical customer needs in systems engineering and integration, mission operations, program management, and strategic planning—helping teams deliver resilient capability to the mission with speed, quality, and focus.

Stellar Solutions is seeking a Ground Systems Engineer – Space-Based Weather / Environmental Monitoring to support ground systems engineering, integration, data validation, and mission-data delivery within the Space-Based Sensing and Tracking mission area. The role will support Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather Systems and Weather System Follow-on – Microwave capabilities while contributing to the integration of commercial environmental monitoring data into government weather mission architectures. This position is well suited for a hands-on engineer who can coordinate across technical teams, mission partners, and operational data users.

Role/Responsibilities/Qualifications

This journeyman-level role supports the engineering and integration of ground systems that process, validate, and deliver weather and environmental monitoring data for operational use. The engineer will work across government stakeholders, ground systems teams, data users, and mission partners to coordinate technical activities, resolve integration challenges, and support the transition of capabilities into operational mission environments.

Key responsibilities include:

• Support ground systems engineering for Space-Based Weather Systems and Environmental Monitoring programs.
• Provide engineering support across Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather Systems and Weather System Follow-on – Microwave mission areas.
• Lead or coordinate Ground Integrated Product Team activities, including meeting rhythms, action tracking, technical issue resolution, and stakeholder coordination.
• Develop ground architecture mappings, conduct interface analyses, support integration planning, and define mission-data flows.
• Support data calibration, validation, and data-quality assessment activities for Weather System Follow-on – Microwave capabilities.
• Integrate commercial environmental monitoring data services into government weather mission workflows.
• Define interfaces between commercial data-as-a-service capabilities and ground systems, data-processing environments, and operational users.
• Develop and maintain requirements, requirements traceability, technical documentation, interface controls, test plans, and verification artifacts.
• Coordinate across space vehicle, payload, ground, data processing, calibration and validation, mission operations, and user communities.
• Support technical baseline reviews, readiness reviews, integration events, anomaly resolution, risk tracking, and program review activities.
• Assess data latency, quality, availability, interface readiness, and operational suitability of weather and environmental monitoring products.
• Support the transition of capabilities from development, demonstration, or prototype activities into operational ground systems and mission use.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in systems engineering, ground systems, satellite systems, mission processing, data integration, remote sensing, environmental monitoring, weather systems, or related aerospace and defense programs.
• Experience supporting government or customer teams in a ground systems, mission systems, or systems engineering role.
• Familiarity with satellite ground systems, mission-data processing, data dissemination, operational data flows, interfaces, or integration and test activities.
• Experience supporting requirements development, interface control documents, concepts of operations, technical baselines, test planning, verification, validation, or readiness reviews.
• Ability to coordinate effectively across government, engineering, operations, mission-user, and partner organizations.
• Strong technical communication, meeting coordination, documentation, and action-tracking skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with Space-Based Environmental Monitoring, Space-Based Weather Systems, EWS, EWS-G, WSF-M, DMSP, NOAA, NESDIS, NASA, USSF, SSC, SYD 810, or related environmental and weather satellite programs.
• Familiarity with Electro-Optical/Infrared weather imagery, cloud characterization, theater weather imagery, microwave sensing, ocean surface winds, tropical cyclone intensity, snow, ice, soil moisture, or space weather and environmental data products.
• Experience supporting data calibration, validation, data-quality assessment, algorithm or product validation, or mission-data acceptance.
• Experience integrating commercial data sources, data-as-a-service models, or third-party mission data into government architectures.
• Familiarity with spectrum management, radio-frequency coordination, frequency authorization, communications constraints, or ground station and satellite-link considerations.
• Experience working within an Integrated Product Team structure or supporting government Integrated Product Team leadership.

Clearance & Additional Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Active TS clearance is required with SCI eligibility.
• Ability to access U.S.-only data systems and support classified government mission environments is required.
• Ability to travel to temporary work locations up to 10%, as needed

Location

El Segundo, CA. Other Stellar and customer mission locations may be considered based on program need.

Compensation:

The typical salary range for this position is USD $145,000 - $176,000 per year. Individual pay is determined by many factors including work location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

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, using Government-approved and/or mandated systems/software and processes governed by guidance/instructions/policy or direction. The nature of this work will, at times, require quick responses to stringent deadlines and always in a high-quality, professional manner.