Orbital Analyst

Foundational; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EMI share options (UK employees)

Cycle to work scheme

Enhanced parental leave

Offices in central London with snacks

Job summary

Foundational in London is seeking an Orbital Analyst to join our Astrodynamics team. You will monitor orbit determination, run analyses, and engage with customers through the business development process to address operational issues and bespoke requirements.

You will collaborate with ground-station teams to ensure smooth operation of our tracking network. You will be a primary contact for customers, producing papers and materials that demonstrate the precision of our SLR data while working with

Qualifications

• Operational experience with spacecraft tracking data and orbit determination.
• Ability to explain astrodynamics to non-specialists.
• Willingness to engage with customers for support.
• Strong analytical approach to astrodynamics problems.
• Experience with Python to build analysis tooling.

Responsibilities

• Monitor orbit determination and prediction pipelines.
• Produce white papers and marketing materials showcasing SLR accuracy.
• Collaborate with customers to understand needs and maximize product use.
• Provide operational support for customers as needed.
• Support and supervise SLR tracking operations.

Skills

Spacecraft tracking

Orbit determination

Non-specialist communication

Data analysis

Python tooling

Tools

Python

Job description

Orbital Analyst

About us

Foundational is building the most precise picture of Earth and orbit, using lasers fired from the ground. We call it ground truth for orbit.

We design and run low-cost, autonomous satellite laser ranging stations. They measure the distance to satellites with extreme precision, day and night. Our data platform turns those measurements into tracking data and orbit products for satellite operators, space agencies and governments. We also build our own flight-proven laser retroreflector arrays, so any satellite can be tracked.

Our station network is expanding across Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. The data supports resilient navigation, Earth observation and the safe, sustainable use of space.

We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators in London. We're backed by venture investors and supported by ESA, the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the European Innovation Council.

Position Overview

You'll be the operationally responsive member of the Astrodynamics team. You'll take on a wide range of tasks, from producing analysis to demonstrate Foundational's world leading capabilities, through customer facing discussions with the business development team to supporting customers with operational issues or special requirements. Expect to also be a key point of contact for our ground station teams to help ensure smooth functioning of our tracking network.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor Foundational's orbit determination and prediction pipelines, identifying failure cases and areas for improvement

• Produce white papers, conference papers, and marketing materials demonstrating accuracy provided by SLR data

• Work closely with potential and existing customers to understand needs, and ensure they get the most from Foundational's product offering

• Perform operational support for customers where necessary

• Support and supervise SLR tracking operations

Required

• Operational experience working with spacecraft tracking data and orbit determination/prediction

• Ability to communicate with non specialists about astrodynamics, orbit determination, etc

• Willingness to engage with existing and potential customers to provide support

• Able to apply rigorous analysis to problems/datasets in astrodynamics

• Experience with Python, ability to build tooling to conduct analysis

Nice to have

• Prior experience working with Business Development teams/in a sales environment

• Good overall understanding of the space sector

• Experience writing proposals
  

What We Offer

• A high-impact role with real ownership at an early-stage, venture-backed spacetech company

• EMI share options (UK employees)

• Cycle to work scheme

• Enhanced parental leave

• Work alongside engineers and scientists across optics, lasers, software and astrodynamics

• Offices in central London with snacks, tea, coffee and regular socials