Satellite & Ground Systems Engineer

Vantor; Westminster (MD); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with company match

Mental health resources

Student loan repayment

Adoption reimbursement

Pet insurance

Job summary

Vantor is seeking an experienced Satellite & Ground Systems Engineer to lead and sustain systems engineering activities across space and ground programs. You will define mission concepts, ConOps, capture stakeholder needs, manage system requirements, and ensure architectural consistency from concept through verification.

Successful candidates collaborate across engineering disciplines, drive architecture decisions, and communicate complex technical ideas clearly.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline such as Systems, Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Engineering, or Physics.
• Minimum 6 years of professional systems engineering experience on complex aerospace/defense/robotics programs.
• Experience developing system architecture from stakeholder needs through verification.
• Experience creating Concepts of Operations (ConOps) and mission scenarios.
• Experience eliciting and managing system requirements across the lifecycle.
• Experience maintaining requirements traceability from needs to tests.
• Knowledge of MBSE and SysML.
• Experience across hardware, software, and operational domains.
• Strong lifecycle understanding and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead Systems Engineering activities across space and ground development programs.
• Define mission concepts, ConOps, and capture stakeholder needs.
• Develop high-level system architecture and ensure technical consistency.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across the full lifecycle.
• Translate objectives into implementable designs and verify through integration and test.

Skills

Systems engineering

MBSE

SysML

ConOps development

Stakeholder management

Communication

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering or related

Tools

Cameo Systems Modeler

Enterprise Architect

MagicDraw

SysML tools

Jira

Confluence

IBM DOORS Next

Jama Connect

Job description

Vantor is forging the new frontier of spatial intelligence, helping decision makers and operators navigate what’s happening now and shape what’s coming next. Vantor is a place for problem solvers, changemakers, and go-getters—where people are working together to help our customers see the world differently, and in doing so, be seen differently. Come be part of a mission, not just a job, where you can: Shape your own future, build the next big thing, and change the world.

To be eligible for this position, you must be a U.S. Person, defined as a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, Asylee, or Refugee.

Export Control/ITAR: Certain roles may be subject to U.S. export control laws, requiring U.S. person status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

TheSpaceWrxdivision of Vantoris developing the next generation of satellite systems, ground infrastructure, and mission operations capabilities that enable responsive, high-performance commercial and national security space missions. The Mission Architecture & Systems Engineering (MASE) team provides technical leadership that transforms missionobjectivesinto integrated, executable system designs spanning spacecraft, payloads, ground systems, software, communications, and operations.

We are seeking an experienced Satellite & Ground Systems Engineer to leadand sustainsystems engineering activities across multiple complexspace and grounddevelopment programs andsustainedoperational capabilities. This roleis responsible forestablishingand maintainingthe technical foundation of our systems by defining missionconcepts, developing Concepts of Operations (ConOps), capturing stakeholder needs, managing system requirements, developing high-level system architecture, and ensuring technical consistency from concept through verification and operational deployment.

Systems engineering atSpaceWrxis fundamentally a technical discipline—not a documentation exercise. Successful engineers actively engage across the entire system lifecycle, collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams, and drive architecture, integration, analysis, and technical decision-making. You will work across every phase of the systems engineering “V-model” to ensure missionobjectivesare translated into implementable designs andultimately verifiedthrough successful system integration, test, and operations.

This role requires a systems thinker who enjoys solving complex multidisciplinary problems, building consensus across engineering organizations, and enabling development teams to execute with clarity, speed, and technical rigor.

Minimum Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 6 years of professional systems engineering experience supporting complex aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, or other multidisciplinary engineering programs.
• Demonstrated experience developing system architecture from stakeholder needs through implementation and verification.
• Experience developing Concepts of Operations (ConOps), operational scenarios, mission threads, and use cases.
• Experience eliciting, decomposing,allocating, and managing system requirements throughout the development lifecycle.
• Experience developing andmaintainingrequirements traceability between stakeholder needs, use cases, system requirements, architecture, design artifacts, verification plans, and test results.
• Working knowledge of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodologies andSysML.
• Experienceparticipatingin architecture development and high-level system design across hardware, software, and operational domains.
• Strong understanding of the complete systems engineering lifecycle, including concept development, architecture, design, implementation, integration, verification, validation, deployment, and sustainment.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across multiple engineering disciplines andwithtechnical subject matter experts.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to diverse engineering audiences.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, highly collaborative engineering environment while balancing multiple concurrent programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10 or more years of professional systems engineering experience supporting spacecraft, satellite constellations, remote sensing systems, ground systems, or mission operations.
• Experience leading systems engineering activities on end-to-end space systems including spacecraft, payloads, communications, ground infrastructure, and mission operations.
• Familiarity with inter-satellite communications including optical crosslink and R/F.
• Experience with MBSE tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler,Enterprise Architect,MagicDraw, or equivalentSysMLenvironments.
• Familiarity and exposure to the Ansys engineering tool suite, including STK.
• Experience with requirements management tools such as IBM DOORS Next, Jama Connect,Polarion, or similar platforms.
• Experience performing functional analysis, interface definition, andsystemdecomposition.
• Experience developing system interface definitions and Interface Control Documents (ICDs).
• Familiarity with digital engineering practices and model-centric development environmentsand their use across the development lifecycle
• Experience supporting formal systems engineering reviews including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and SVR.
• Experience planning or supporting system verification and validation activities, including development of verification methods, test plans, and verification matrices.
• Working knowledge of systems engineering standards such as ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288,the INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook, or the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook
• Experience supporting agile or iterative development environments whilemaintainingdisciplined systems engineering practices.
• Familiarity with configuration management and engineering change processes.
• Experience with Git, Jira, Confluence, or similar engineering collaboration and development tools.

Successful candidates are technically credible systems engineers who balance architectural thinking with practical execution. They take ownership of complex technical problems, communicate clearly across organizational boundaries, and help engineering teams move quickly without sacrificing rigor. They are comfortable operating across the full systems engineering lifecycle, engaging with stakeholders, defining mission architecture, collaborating with implementation teams, and ensuring that every level of the systemremainsconnected through disciplined traceability.

WithinSpaceWrx, systems engineers are expected to lead through technicalexpertise, initiative, and collaboration. They build bridges between disciplines, make data-driven decisions, continuously improve engineering practices, and help deliver resilient space systems that perform in demanding operational environments.

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Pay Transparency: To support pay transparency, Vantor includes salary ranges in all U.S. job postings. Starting pay for this role will fall within the listed range and will be based on factors such as experience, qualifications, skills, location, and market conditions. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role should not expect to receive compensation at the top of the range. The listed range reflects the expected pay for this position, and final offers will be determined based on each candidate’s experience, expertise, and alignment with the role.

The base pay for this position within Colorado is: $109,000.00 - $145,000.00 - $159,500.00 annually.

For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range.

Benefits: Vantor offers a competitive total rewards package that goes beyond the standard, including a robust 401(k) with company match, mental health resources, and unique perks like student loan repayment assistance, adoption reimbursement and pet insurance to support all aspects of your life. You can find more information on our benefits at: https://www.Vantor.com/careers

Additionally, this position is incentive eligible with a target based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results achieved; the specific incentive plan and target amount will be determined based on the role and breadth of contributions.

The application window is three days from the date the job is posted and will remain posted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire. If the job is reposted regardless of reason, it will remain posted three days from the date the job is reposted and will remain reposted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire.

The date of posting can be found on Vantor’s Career page at the top of each job posting.

EEO Policy: Vantor is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace. We believe in fostering an environment where all team members feel respected, valued, and encouraged to share their ideas. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.