Senior Systems Engineer

Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world.   For over 20 years, Iridium’s unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.

At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed.  Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions.  Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world.  Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves.   We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.

What We’re Looking For:

If you are an experienced systems engineer with a background in space systems architecture and design, and have at least 8 years of experience, you will be excited about the Senior Systems Engineer opening with Iridium on our SDA (Space Development Agency) Project. As a Senior Systems Engineer, you’ll be responsible for identifying and autonomously implementing ideas and solutions as it relates to numerous technical aspects regarding the architecture and design of core system components (Mission Planning, Flight Dynamics, Ground Entry Point Manager, and Fleet Operations Monitoring) during the development life cycle of the SDA project. You will also perform various tasks with Space Vehicle Vendors and SDA customer point of contacts to ensure that our system level development meets mission objectives. If you enjoy new challenges and dynamic environments, then we want to talk to you!

What You’ll Do:

• Perform requirements analysis, definition, decomposition, and management for Iridium Ground Segments
• Collaborate with system architects and project managers to define system-level requirements, establish technical baselines, and track performance metrics throughout the integration process.
• Provide technical expertise for various components within a satellite ground system, ensuring compatibility, functionality, and performance at the system level
• Develop and maintain system-level architecture and design documentation, ensuring alignment with project requirements, industry standards, and best practices
• Conduct impact assessments and mitigation planning for system design and development activities, identifying potential risks, developing contingency plans, and implementing risk mitigation strategies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including hardware, software, and network engineers, to ensure seamless design, integration, and interoperability of system components
• Conduct required system analysis (functional & performance), interface definition, and detailed trade studies, analyzing data sources to respond to frequent and high impact situations
• Play a role in major reviews such as: System Requirements Review, Engineering Design Review, Critical Design Review, Test Readiness Review, & Operations Readiness Review as well as Program Increment Demonstrations

What You’ll Need to Succeed:

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey products, deliverables, analyses, and/or issues to groups outside of your team or those who are unfamiliar with the topic
• Have confidence and be able to easily build relationships with leadership and colleagues outside of your team
• Possess an analytical mindset, with the ability to understand a situation or problem and think critically to make decisions and come up with out-of-the-box solutions
• Be proactive in providing feedback and be enthusiastic in sharing your knowledge with others
• Bachelor’s degree in system’s engineering or related field, OR equivalent relevant experience in lieu of a degree
• 8+ years of relevant experience in the Satellite Operations and/or Ground Segment Development industry areas
• Previous experience with requirements generation, management and decomposition
• Strong knowledge of system engineering methodologies and AGILE processes
• Strong familiarity with tools and software applications that support system engineering best practices
• Capable of prioritizing your own tasks and potentially the tasks of others while making sure deadlines are met

Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:

• Experience with designing, developing, and operating Space Vehicle Subsystems and various command and control systems (e.g. OS Comet, InControl, etc.)
• Experience with aspects of the Hardware Software Development Life Cycle process
• Experience with orbital mechanics, space vehicle launches and early orbit functions
• Experience with modeling and simulations of mesh networks
• Programming languages such as: Java, Java-Script, Python, Shell scripting
• Working knowledge of networking protocols, routers, switches, etc.
• Familiarity with Atlassian Tool Suite such JIRA, R4J and Confluence

We’ll also need you to:

• Be able to travel up to 10%
• Be a US citizen
• Be able to work in the office at least 2 days a week to foster collaboration with the team

Work Environment:

This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer. 

Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.