Spacecraft Flight Operations Lead

ClearSpace; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

ClearSpace is seeking a Spacecraft Operations Engineer to lead end-to-end mission operations design and execution. You will shape operations planning, schedule ground station passes, and manage real-time spacecraft commanding, monitoring, and anomaly resolutions.

Responsibilities include developing procedures, flight rules, and documentation; building tooling for planning and telemetry analysis; and contributing to V&V plans and mission readiness through simulations and rehearsals.

Qualifications

• University degree in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Relevant demonstrable satellite industry experience, preferably through the complete life cycle of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission.
• Comprehensive knowledge of satellite subsystems, in particular AOCS/GNC or OBDH.
• Operation of satellite ground systems, in particular procedure development, monitor and control, mission planning, on-board software management, configuration management and simulator facilities.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to end-to-end mission operations design mapped to spacecraft development schedules, system architectures, and requirements.
• Provide operations expertise at design reviews and bid proposals.
• Establish rigorous industry standards, strict configuration management, and flight ops processes to ensure high mission assurance.
• Author comprehensive Operations Concepts, Spacecraft User Manuals, flight rules, constraints, and standard operational documentation.
• Architect, validate, and maintain automated and manual flight procedures for nominal and contingency mission scenarios.
• Design, develop, and maintain software tools, automation scripts, and databases for mission planning, telemetry analysis, command generation, and pass execution.
• Formulate and execute Verification and Validation (V&V) plans for flight procedures using flatstats, simulators, and testbeds.
• Participate in operational rehearsals, anomaly simulations, and team training programs to ensure mission-readiness.
• Perform routine and critical real-time spacecraft operations execution, serving as a flight controller on a rotating shift team.
• Orchestrate short and long-term operations planning, including orbital pass scheduling, ground station assignments, and command line activity generation.
• Perform system health and performance trend analysis to generate predictive reports and ensure long-term fleet survivability.
• Contribute to complex spacecraft anomaly investigations, participating in and executing rapid resolution workflows

Skills

AOCS/GNC knowledge

OBDH knowledge

Flight operations

Anomaly troubleshooting

Telemetry analysis

Education

Engineering degree (relevant field)

Job description

ClearSpace is seeking a Spacecraft Operations Engineer to lead end-to-end mission operations design and execution. You will shape operations planning, schedule ground station passes, and manage real-time spacecraft commanding, monitoring, and anomaly resolutions.

Responsibilities include developing procedures, flight rules, and documentation; building tooling for planning and telemetry analysis; and contributing to V&V plans and mission readiness through simulations and rehearsals.