Senior Engineer, Spacecraft Platform

Viasat; City Of London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace communications company in the UK is looking for an experienced engineer to design and procure satellite platform subsystems. You'll be overseeing contractor teams, supporting subsystem design reviews, and ensuring high-quality standards throughout the process. A degree in engineering and extensive experience in satellite design and systems engineering are essential for success in this role.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in the field of spacecraft platform subsystems.
• Extensive experience in satellite design, manufacturing, and testing.
• Excellent writing and reporting skills.

Responsibilities

• Integrate with contractor teams to procure the satellite platform.
• Support subsystem design reviews and anomaly investigations.
• Supervise the progress of sub-vendors and ensure quality standards.

Skills

Experience in spacecraft platform subsystems

Satellite design and manufacturing

Excellent communication skills

Coaching ability

Education

Degree in Engineering

Job description

About us

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we’re on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We’re looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

What you\'ll do

Space agencies around the world are investing heavily into lunar exploration with the aim of establishing the Moon as a platform for mankind to become a multi-planetary species. Lunar exploration missions are furthering key scientific objectives around surviving and prospering in space as well as providing information on the origins of life as a whole. The lunar roadmap foresees in-situ resource utilisation on the Moon to establish a permanent human presence during the 2030s, as well as using the Moon as a “refuelling station” for further space exploration to Mars and beyond.

As part of the investment into lunar exploration, European Space Agency (ESA) created the Moonlight programme – a private-public partnership. Moonlight will develop new communications and navigation capabilities and services that will be provided to missions on and around the Moon through the launch of dedicated infrastructure.

Viasat is entering the programme as the design authority for the communications service, responsible to design and procurement of the space segment, ground segment and user infrastructure to provide communications services by the end of the decade.

Working closely with the spacecraft manufacturer at their facility, you will be required to join a team responsible for the procurement of the satellites. Your role will be to supervise the Contractor, to ensure that the design, engineering, manufacturing and testing of the spacecraft bus are of the required quality standard, within specifications and delivered in the planned time frame. Your main responsibility will be the spacecraft platform.

The day-to-day

• Integrate with the contractor teams, and coordinate their efforts to procure the satellite Platform


• Ensure contract requirements are flown down to subcontractors, subsystem and system requirements


• Support sub-system design reviews, test activities, data reviews, anomaly investigations and resolutions


• With main focus on the satellite bus support system design reviews, test activities, data reviews, anomaly investigations and resolutions


• Supervise the progress of the sub-vendor and act as point contact for all technical matters.


• Report issues and contractual conflicts affecting satisfactory problem resolution


• Organise and record all the Platform documentation on a shared documentation system


• Advise Satellite Operations on general and specific operating procedures, and ensure safe operation of the satellites at all times


• Analyse all satellite malfunctions and anomalous behaviour. Support the liaison with the satellite supplier and other parties as necessary to complete the analysis including root cause identification. Review the Satellite Anomaly Reports


• Provide and coordinate engineering team on call support according to Company policy and procedure


• Support new space infrastructure procurement tasks


• Join Space segment in-orbit fleet on-call support roster

What you\'ll need

• Degree in Engineering with proven experience in the field of Spacecraft platform subsystems


• Extensive experience in satellite design manufacturing, test, and system engineering (experience in AOCS, Propulsion or Mechanisms would be an asset)


• Extensive knowledge and understanding of satellite design, assembly integration & test


• Excellent writing and reporting skills.


• Excellent communication skills with people at all levels of the organization


• Ability to coach other member of the Satellite Engineering team

What will help you on the job

• A passionate desire to take the organization as far as it can go


• A demonstrated ability to work across organizational boundaries


• Objective, rational and multidisciplinary thinking


• Courage to act upon convictions


• A high degree of integrity


• Provide candid feedback


• Ability to face up to problems quickly and take action


• A willingness to be self-critical and learn from mistakes - avoiding hubris

EEO Statement

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic. If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this on-line application, please click here.