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Kepler Communications

Real-time space communications network for missions

Satellite Systems Designer - Analysis & Support

Full-Time
CA$100.6k - CA$150.6k/yr+ Equity plan
Mid
Bachelor's, Master's
Toronto, ON, Canada
Hybrid
Aerospace EngineeringSpacecraft & Launch Vehicle Systems

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Engineering Science, or a related technical field is required.
  • At least 4 years of experience in systems engineering, spacecraft development, mission analysis, payload engineering, satellite operations, or a related technical role is required.
  • Strong understanding of spacecraft systems, payload integration, mission design fundamentals, system interfaces, and the engineering lifecycle is required.
  • Experience supporting requirements development, interface definition, verification planning, technical documentation, or system-level engineering activities is required.
  • Experience performing technical analysis using Python, MATLAB, STK, or equivalent engineering analysis tools is required.
  • Familiarity with orbital mechanics, access analysis, coverage analysis, link analysis, pointing constraints, payload operations, or mission planning is required.
  • Ability to support technical budgets, including mass, power, link, reliability, availability, or payload performance budgets, is required.
  • Experience coordinating technical inputs across cross-functional engineering teams, resolving interface questions, and supporting subsystem integration is required.
  • Ability to develop engineering documentation, including requirements, interface control documents, verification matrices, analysis reports, design notes, CONOPS inputs, and review materials, is required.
  • Ability to identify risks, evaluate trade-offs, and communicate technical findings clearly is required.
  • Ability to work independently on defined technical tasks while coordinating with senior engineers, subsystem leads, and program stakeholders is required.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical findings to internal engineering teams, are required.
  • Familiarity with systems engineering standards, spacecraft development practices, or guidance such as NASA, ESA/ECSS, INCOSE, or equivalent internal standards is required.
  • Willingness and ability to leverage artificial intelligence-assisted engineering and development tools is required.
Responsibilities
  • Support system-level engineering for spacecraft, payloads, mission operations, and ground segment interfaces under the guidance of senior systems engineers.
  • Contribute to requirements development, flow-down, traceability, interface control, verification planning, and evidence tracking for assigned systems or work packages.
  • Support payload integration by helping define interfaces, operational constraints, data flows, calibration needs, verification approach, and system-level impacts.
  • Perform mission and system analyses, including coverage, access, link, payload performance, operational constraints, and trade study support.
  • Develop and maintain technical budgets and analysis products, including power, mass, link, reliability, availability, payload accommodation, and mission performance summaries.
  • Coordinate with subsystem teams across payload, radio frequency, avionics, software, mechanical, thermal, attitude determination and control systems/guidance navigation and control, ground systems, and mission operations to support integration and resolve interface questions.
  • Maintain engineering documentation, including requirements, interface control documents, verification control documents, technical budgets, analysis reports, CONOPS inputs, review packages, and decision records.
  • Support verification, integration, test, commissioning, and operational readiness activities by preparing technical inputs, tracking evidence, and supporting closure of assigned requirements.
  • Support troubleshooting, anomaly investigation, and root cause analysis using test results, telemetry, data products, and interface performance information.
  • Participate in technical discussions with internal teams, suppliers, customers, and external stakeholders with support from senior engineers as required.
  • Contribute to proposals, feasibility studies, early mission concepts, and new business initiatives by preparing analysis inputs, assumptions, and supporting documentation.
  • Apply systems engineering best practices with increasing autonomy and use analysis tools, scripting, automation, and artificial intelligence-enabled tools to improve engineering efficiency.
Desired Qualifications
  • A master's degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field is preferred.
  • Experience with payload integration, payload accommodation, payload commissioning, calibration planning, or payload operations support is considered an asset.
  • Experience with remote sensing instruments, radio frequency payloads, optical payloads, communications payloads, or payload data processing chains is considered an asset.
  • Experience with mission operations planning, launch and early orbit phase support, in-orbit checkout, commissioning, operational validation, or anomaly investigation is considered an asset.
  • Experience with ground segment interfaces, payload data pipelines, mission planning tools, operations procedures, or data product generation is considered an asset.
  • Experience with radio frequency link budgets, antenna coverage, payload-to-ground data flow, feeder links, inter-satellite links, or communications system analysis is considered an asset.
  • Experience with spacecraft environmental testing, electromagnetic compatibility/electromagnetic interference testing, radio frequency testing, optical testing, calibration testing, or payload functional testing is considered an asset.
  • Experience with reliability analysis, failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis, fault detection, isolation, and recovery, reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety, safety analysis, or risk tracking is considered an asset.
  • Experience with verification and validation tools, requirements databases, configuration management tools, or model-based systems engineering/digital engineering environments is considered an asset.
  • Experience with scripting, automation, artificial intelligence-enabled tools, version control, data analysis, or software development practices using Python, MATLAB, Git, or similar tools is considered an asset.
  • Participation in technical reviews such as system requirements review, preliminary design review, critical design review, test readiness review, flight readiness review, material review board, mission readiness reviews, or operational readiness reviews is considered an asset.

About the company

Kepler Communications builds and operates a space communications network. It provides real-time, continuous connectivity for space missions through The Kepler Network, which includes satellite constellations, ground stations, payload technology, and intersatellite links to improve telemetry, tracking, and command. The company offers S Band, Ku Band, and Optical communication services to extend data downlink capacity and enable on-orbit data access, while also handling regulatory filings for customers. This setup helps satellite operators, space stations, launch vehicle operators, and other space assets access space-generated data without needing to manage their own communications infrastructure. Kepler’s goal is to remove barriers in space communications and enable global access to data from space.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Grant

Total Funding

$178.8M

Headquarters

Toronto, Canada

Founded

2015

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • August 2026 Kepler began commercial services from Tranche 1 after commissioning.
  • January 2026’s ten-satellite launch added 33 satellites, expanding capacity and customer coverage.
  • Canadian RADARSAT+ studies and ESA contracts diversify revenue beyond commercial telecom.

What critics are saying

  • SpaceIntelReport said ISED sought deadline relief after propulsion defects on two pathfinder satellites.
  • Kepler still depends on SpaceX launches and ESA procurement cycles for expansion financing.
  • If the 2028 Neutron launch slips, Kepler's optical roadmap loses momentum against better-capitalized rivals.

What makes Kepler Communications unique

  • Kepler became ESA HydRON prime contractor in April 2026, proving sovereign optical-network credibility.
  • Its January 2026 launch created the first commercial optical data relay constellation.
  • Distributed on-orbit compute with NVIDIA, announced March 2026, separates Kepler from pure bandwidth players.

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Benefits

Hybrid Work Options

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

2%

1 year growth

1%

2 year growth

0%
Yahoo Finance
Oct 5th, 2026
Kepler appoints Caitlin Marsh as US president to accelerate optical data relay growth

Kepler Communications has appointed Caitlin Marsh as President of Kepler U.S. to lead the company's American expansion. Marsh brings 15 years of experience in aerospace and national security sectors. Kepler operates 33 satellites and the first commercial optical data relay constellation, providing real-time space connectivity with on-orbit compute and hosted payload capabilities. The company has demonstrated SDA-compatible optical links between spacecraft and successful space-to-ground connectivity. Marsh previously served as Senior Director of Global Operations at Auterion, where she delivered a $47 million international security initiative in six months. She also held positions at SpiderOak, Ball Aerospace, and In-Q-Tel, managing technology portfolios for US intelligence and defence customers. Kepler plans constellation expansion in 2028, introducing optical data rates up to 100 Gbps.

BetaKit
Jun 12th, 2026
Canada awards $2.4M to MDA Space, Calian, and Kepler for RADARSAT+ ground system development

The Canadian Space Agency has awarded $804,000 contracts to MDA Space, Calian and Kepler to develop ground-segment concept studies for RADARSAT+, Canada's next-generation satellite system. The total funding amounts to $2.4 million. The three companies will deliver concepts for modern, flexible ground systems — the Earth-based satellite control and data management infrastructure. They must also provide implementation plans and technology overviews. The government allocated just over $1 billion in 2023 for Canada's Earth observation satellite needs, which support activities from monitoring illegal fishing to disaster relief. MDA Space and Kepler previously received $747,000 each in December to develop satellite concepts for the project. The contracts reflect Canada's renewed focus on space as a sovereign capability under its Defence Industrial Strategy.

SpaceQ Media Inc.
Apr 1st, 2026
FedDev Ontario injects $7M into Kepler’s high-speed satellite constellation

Toronto's Kepler Communications secures $7M from FedDev Ontario for its optical satellite network and boost Canada's sovereign defence capabilities.

BetaKit
Oct 18th, 2024
Wyvern secures $8.2M CAD funding

Wyvern, an Edmonton-based satellite imaging startup, secured $6M USD in funding led by Squadra Ventures, with participation from Uncork Capital, Y Combinator, and others. The funding will help Wyvern expand into the US market, addressing demand in sectors like forestry and agriculture. Founded in 2018, Wyvern has grown from four founders to 33 employees. This follows a previous $7M USD "seed-plus" round and additional funding for agricultural and wildfire mitigation technology.

PYMNTS
Dec 21st, 2023
A Boundaryless Constellation: Amazon’S Space Lasers Redefine Global Connectivity

The future of digital connectivity is increasingly shuffling off the binds of its terrestrial coils. This, as Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite initiative has taken a key step toward establishing a globally connected optical mesh network powered by a space lasers system. Since its successful launch and deployment of two prototype satellites with optical inter-satellite link (OISL) capabilities in October 2023, Amazon has been attempting to build an OISL ecosystem capable of moving and landing data anywhere via a mesh network in space, creating an end-to-end communications payload and network