Flight Telecom Systems Engineer II - Spacecraft Communications

Jet Propulsion Laboratory; United States; On-site; USD 114,000 - 134,000; Full time

Job summary

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA seeks a Flight Telecom Systems Engineer II to join the Flight Communications & Tracking Section. The role covers telecom subsystem development, system-level analyses, and collaboration across spacecraft teams to ensure mission success.

Responsibilities include defining telecom interfaces, performing link analyses, and supporting verification plans, tests, and operational readiness across deep-space and Earth-orbiting missions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 3+ years of work experience in a related field or Master’s with 1+ year, or PhD with minimal experience.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with cross-team collaboration.
• Emerging leadership qualities and ownership mentality to drive tasks to completion.

Responsibilities

• Provide telecom system engineering support on flight telecom subsystems for deep-space and Earth missions.
• Develop interface agreements between telecom subsystems and other spacecraft subsystems.
• Conduct system-level link analyses and verify performance against budgets.
• Create detailed test plans, procedures, and reports aligned with V&V objectives.
• Support ATLO tests, ground-station compatibility testing, and mission support activities.

Skills

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Ownership mentality

Emerging leadership

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Hardware Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Physics or Mathematics

Master’s degree in a similar technical discipline

PhD in a similar technical discipline

Tools

Python

Jupyter Notebook

MATLAB

RF test equipment

Spectrum analyzers

Network analyzers

Software-Defined Radios

Job description

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA seeks a Flight Telecom Systems Engineer II to join the Flight Communications & Tracking Section. The role covers telecom subsystem development, system-level analyses, and collaboration across spacecraft teams to ensure mission success.

Responsibilities include defining telecom interfaces, performing link analyses, and supporting verification plans, tests, and operational readiness across deep-space and Earth-orbiting missions.