Full-Time

Technical Manager

Ground System Director

Posted on 10/31/2025

Deadline 3/3/27
Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications

501-1,000 employees

Global mobile satellite communications provider

No salary listed

No H1B Sponsorship

Huntsville, AL, USA

In Person

US Top Secret Clearance, UK Citizenship Required

Category
Engineering Management (1)
Requirements
  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field OR equivalent relevant experience in a network operations or spacecraft operations environment in lieu of degree
  • 8+ years of related engineering experience
  • Experience in leading a team in a real-time operations environment
  • Capable of being a strong motivator and source of direction for your team and role modelling commitment to your team’s goals
  • Strong communication skills, with the ability to confidently present information and ideas to others
  • Possess an analytical mindset, with the ability to understand a situation or problem and think critically to make decisions or come up with solutions
  • Have confidence and be able to easily establish valuable relationships with management, members of your team, mission partners, and customers
  • Must be able to prioritize key tasks and have a strong sense of ownership over your work
  • Have the ability to efficiently manage multiple projects for yourself and your team while making sure to meet deadlines
  • Be active in seeking out ways to continuously improve yourself and gain new knowledge
Responsibilities
  • Foster and develop a highly effective team to manage and coordinate daily mission objectives and recovery from unplanned events
  • Mentor and develop shift personnel operational performance and career advancement through regular feedback and annual Performance Review cycles
  • Manage and coordinate execution of planned daily mission objectives
  • Manage real-time monitoring of the ground system in support of the SDA mission, and analysis for first level troubleshooting and resolving issues
  • Manage and coordinate recovery of issues within the ground system applications
  • Manage and coordinate detection and recovery of issues at remote teleport antennas as well as Wide Area Network (WAN)
  • Coordinate real-time anomaly investigation and resolution, following established Fault Escalation policies and procedures for both ground and space system issues
  • Support process improvement initiatives by properly documenting all events through the anomaly and issue reporting process
  • Create accurate, timely, and descriptive event logging for all ground system outages or system events
  • Supervise daily mission activities of up to twenty mission partner and customer personnel
Desired Qualifications
  • Proficiency in the LINUX operating system, as well as standard PC usage and applications
  • Familiarity with software development and programming skills
Iridium Communications

Iridium Communications

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Iridium Communications provides global mobile satellite services. It operates a constellation of low-Earth-orbit, cross-linked satellites that offer voice and data coverage anywhere on the globe, including areas without terrestrial networks. Users connect via satellites through compatible devices to reach ground networks and partners, enabling reliable communications in remote or challenging environments. The company serves commercial markets and government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, through a worldwide partner network. Iridium differentiates itself by offering truly pole-to-pole coverage with a global satellite network that remains accessible where ground networks do not reach, along with secure, mission-critical services. The goal is to deliver dependable, secure communications globally for customers in industries like maritime, aviation, utilities, oil and gas, mining, public safety, and transportation, and to grow its customer base and partner ecosystem.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Bethesda, Maryland

Founded

2000

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Certus 100 FAA compliance enables cost-effective fleet retrofits amid aging GEO satellite failures.
  • Project Authentic targets $1B+ authentication market with July 2026 ASIC launch.
  • Iridium 9604 IoT module achieves 60% board space savings, driving commercial adoption June 2026.

What critics are saying

  • Starlink Direct to Cell erodes D2D market share via 5G NTN on existing smartphones.
  • FAA certification delays for Certus AvSafety allow Viasat to retain FANS-1/A dominance.
  • Q1 2026 EPS dropped 27% to $0.20; persistent cost pressures compress aviation margins.

What makes Iridium Communications unique

  • Only global LEO satellite network with polar coverage for aviation and maritime safety.
  • Project Authentic delivers satellite-based device authentication via PNT for data centers.
  • Certus 100 retrofit solution offers 88 Kbps safety services at fraction of competitor cost.

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Benefits

Remote Work Options

Hybrid Work Options

Company News

Yahoo Finance
Apr 12th, 2026
Iridium cuts 2025 service revenue guidance to 3–5% as maritime shifts and PNT delays weigh on growth

Iridium Communications has reduced its 2025 service revenue growth guidance to 3–5%, citing faster-than-expected maritime customer shifts, delayed Positioning, Navigation and Timing revenue into 2026, and lower voice subscribers following USAID funding cuts. Despite the near-term outlook tempering, the satellite communications company is banking on new offerings including Iridium Certus IoT, NTN Direct and satellite-based time and location services for longer-term growth. The company recently launched its 9604 IoT module, which combines satellite, LTE M and GNSS in one package, targeting device makers. Analysts had previously projected Iridium to reach $1 billion in revenue and nearly $195 million in earnings by 2028. The guidance reduction raises questions about whether these forecasts remain realistic given competitive pressures and delayed monetisation of new services.

Yahoo Finance
Apr 10th, 2026
Iridium adjusts service revenue outlook to 3-5% growth amid maritime transition delays

Iridium held its second quarter 2025 earnings call, with CEO Matthew Desch and CFO Vincent O'Neill discussing financial results. The company remains on track for 5% operational EBITDA growth at the midpoint of guidance but has adjusted its service revenue growth outlook to between 3% and 5% for the year. The reduction stems from three factors: the maritime broadband transition to a companion service, voice subscriber losses from cancelled USAID funding noted in the first quarter, and delayed positioning, navigation and timing revenue now expected in 2026 rather than 2025. Despite the adjusted outlook, Iridium continues to grow across most product lines. The company referenced its earnings materials available on its investor relations website for detailed financial metrics and reconciliations.

Wash100
Mar 13th, 2026
Iridium CEO Matt Desch Receives 2026 Wash100 Award

Iridium CEO Matt Desch receives 2026 Wash100 Award. Matt Desch, CEO and director of Iridium Communications, has accepted the 2026 Wash100 Award, marking his 12th time receiving Executive Mosaic's prestigious recognition for leadership across the government contracting sector. The Wash100 Award was presented to Desch by Jim Garrettson, Executive Mosaic CEO and founder of the Wash100 Award, recognizing his continued impact on satellite communications innovation, major contract wins, and the expansion of Iridium's role supporting defense, intelligence and civilian missions worldwide - reflecting his ability to guide the satcom company's growth while strengthening partnerships across the rapidly evolving space technology ecosystem. Why did Matt Desch win the 2026 Wash100 Award? Garrettson said Desch's 12 consecutive Wash100 recognitions reflect the consistency of his leadership and the strong confidence federal agencies place in Iridium's capabilities. One example of that trust is a U.S. Space Force contract worth up to $86 million awarded to Iridium to support enhanced mission-critical satellite communications through the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services program. Under Desch's leadership, Iridium has also continued developing advanced communications technologies. In May 2025, the company introduced an enhanced version of its Iridium 9603 two-way satellite communications module, designed with improved transmission security for use by the United States and allied nations. The compact system supports applications such as command-and-control communications and secure image or data transfer. Iridium has also expanded its footprint in positioning, navigation and timing technologies. In October, the company announced its PNT ASIC chip, an alternative positioning, navigation and timing solution designed to serve as a backup to GPS and other global navigation satellite systems. The chip uses signals from Iridium's low Earth orbit satellite constellation, which the company says are significantly stronger than traditional GPS signals and capable of penetrating buildings - offering additional resilience against jamming and spoofing. Strategic partnerships have also been a major focus. Iridium teamed with Syniverse to advance direct-to-device satellite connectivity for mobile network operators through its Non-Terrestrial Network DirectSM service, enabling global connectivity beyond traditional terrestrial networks. Who is Matt Desch? Matt Desch has served as CEO of Iridium Communications since 2009 and as a company director, helping transform the organization into a leading provider of advanced satellite communications. Before leading Iridium Communications, Desch served as CEO of the company's predecessor, Iridium Holdings, from 2006 to 2009 and as chief executive of Telcordia Technologies, now part of Ericsson, from 2002 to 2005. Desch also spent more than a decade at Nortel Networks, including serving as president of its global wireless networks business. Beyond Iridium, Desch contributes to several industry and national security organizations. He serves as a director of VeriSign and Unisys, where he chairs the compensation and human resources committee. He is also a member of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, which provides recommendations to the president on ensuring the resilience and security of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure during crises. Desch holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Ohio State University and a master of business administration degree from the University of Chicago. What is the Wash100 Award? The Wash100 Award is Executive Mosaic's annual recognition of the 100 most influential leaders across government and the government contracting sector. Each year, Executive Mosaic selects honorees based on leadership impact, strategic vision, innovation and their ability to shape federal missions and national priorities. Wash100 recipients include senior government officials, military leaders and executives from leading GovCon companies. Now widely recognized as one of the GovCon industry's most prestigious honors, the Wash100 Award highlights leaders whose achievements and influence are helping shape the future of national security, government modernization and federal technology innovation. Desch's 12th Wash100 Award reflects the long-term influence he has built across the space and communications sectors. Through innovation, major federal partnerships and continued expansion of Iridium's satellite capabilities, his leadership continues to strengthen the role of space-based connectivity in supporting global government and defense missions. Executive Mosaic congratulates Matt Desch on his 2026 Wash100 Award. Share the Post:

PR Newswire
Feb 24th, 2026
Iridium unveils compact 9604 IoT module combining satellite, cellular, and GNSS connectivity

Iridium Communications has unveiled the Iridium 9604, a compact IoT module that integrates satellite, LTE-M cellular connectivity and GNSS positioning into a single platform. The device combines Iridium Short Burst Data satellite service with cellular and location services, reducing solution complexity and costs for high-volume deployments. The module measures 16mm × 26mm × 2.4mm, saving 60% or more in board space compared to multi-component solutions. An oversubscribed beta program earlier this year received positive feedback, with developers reporting simplified designs and improved product economics by eliminating multiple components. Built on the u-blox SARA-R5 platform, the Iridium 9604 targets industrial, infrastructure and mobility applications. Commercial availability begins in June 2026, with the Development Kit available for testing. The launch represents Iridium's shift towards unified, multi-mode connectivity architecture.

PR Newswire
Feb 12th, 2026
Iridium reports $872M revenue, 5% growth in 2025; projects $480M-490M OEBITDA for 2026

Iridium Communications has reported fourth-quarter 2025 total revenue of $212.9 million, flat year-over-year, with service revenue reaching $158.9 million and representing 75% of total revenue. Full-year 2025 revenue grew 5% to $871.7 million, driven by IoT demand and mission-critical applications. The satellite services provider ended the quarter with 2,537,000 billable subscribers, up 3% year-over-year. Operational EBITDA for 2025 reached $495.3 million, a 5% increase from the prior year. For 2026, Iridium projects service revenue growth of flat to 2%. The company expects OEBITDA between $480 million and $490 million, reflecting a $17 million impact from shifting entirely to cash-based incentive compensation. Iridium repurchased 6.8 million shares in 2025 for $185 million and paid $62.9 million in dividends.

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