Senior Systems Engineer — On-Orbit Test Lead

Iridium; Grand Forks (ND); On-site; USD 115,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Annual bonus

Health insurance

Dental & Vision

Job summary

Iridium seeks a Senior Systems Engineer for the SDA Project. You will lead on-orbit checkout, develop test plans, and coordinate cross-functional teams across ground and space segments, interfacing with government and DoD customers. A current security clearance and 8+ years in relevant space operations are required.

The role involves 12-hour shifts in a 24/7 multi-satellite operations environment. Base pay range is $115,000–$155,000 USD with potential stock and annual bonus; strong benefits

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant experience in satellite operations, on-orbit testing, ground system engineering, software integration and test, and/or software development.
• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace or electrical engineering, or related field; equivalent on-orbit test experience also accepted.

Responsibilities

• Lead on-orbit checkout and commissioning of satellite and ground segment as primary technical point of contact.
• Develop, author, and execute detailed test plans for on-orbit activities including payload activation and subsystem checkouts.
• Coordinate and lead integrated test teams to ensure seamless execution and anomaly resolution.
• Analyze real-time telemetry to assess health and performance; identify anomalies and provide insights.
• Perform root cause analysis for on-orbit anomalies and implement solutions.
• Prepare technical briefings for senior leadership on mission status and risks.
• Develop and maintain documentation related to on-orbit checkout processes and test reports.
• Interface with satellite vendors to ensure test synergy and document procedures in SharePoint/Teams.

Skills

Satellite operations

On-orbit testing

Ground system engineering

Software integration

AGILE processes

System engineering methodologies

Technical communication

Stakeholder liaison

Education

Bachelors in aerospace or electrical engineering or related field

Equivalent on-orbit test experience

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

R4J

Job description

Iridium seeks a Senior Systems Engineer for the SDA Project. You will lead on-orbit checkout, develop test plans, and coordinate cross-functional teams across ground and space segments, interfacing with government and DoD customers. A current security clearance and 8+ years in relevant space operations are required.

The role involves 12-hour shifts in a 24/7 multi-satellite operations environment. Base pay range is $115,000–$155,000 USD with potential stock and annual bonus; strong benefits