Ground Systems SDR Engineer - Networking & Automation

Astro Digital; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Astro Digital's Ground Systems Engineer will architect and maintain the digital backbone linking satellites to mission control, collaborating with GSaaS providers, Satellite Operations, IT, and Ground Software teams.

The role emphasizes secure telemetry, tracking, and command, as well as automated data flows, ICD management, and signal processing pipelines using SDRs and commercial modems.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 4+ years of experience in system design, focusing on network engineering, ground software, or IT infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Provide primary technical contact for external ground station providers and manage API integrations.
• Design, implement, and maintain secure network topologies between ground stations, cloud, and mission control.
• Coordinate end-to-end data flow testing and packet routing with Satellite Operations.
• Compile and maintain ICDs and translate requirements into software configurations.
• Serve as the COMSEC and network security point of contact, ensuring secure data transit and key management.
• Work with SDRs and software modems to ensure compatible signal processing pipelines.

Skills

Linux proficiency

Python scripting

Networking fundamentals

RESTful APIs / gRPC

Ground station/GSaaS familiarity

Documentation

Team collaboration

Education

B.S. or M.S. in CS/CE/Aerospace

Tools

GNU Radio

Kratos

qRadio

Terraform

Ansible

Docker

AWS

GCP

Job description

Astro Digital's Ground Systems Engineer will architect and maintain the digital backbone linking satellites to mission control, collaborating with GSaaS providers, Satellite Operations, IT, and Ground Software teams.

The role emphasizes secure telemetry, tracking, and command, as well as automated data flows, ICD management, and signal processing pipelines using SDRs and commercial modems.