Sr. Communication Sys Engineer, Modeling and Simulation

Amazon; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 151,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Leo is a high-impact role focusing on modeling, simulation, and analysis of a satellite constellation designed for government use. You will translate customer missions into scenarios and measures of effectiveness, demonstrating how Leo delivers required outcomes with coverage, latency, and availability.

The candidate will apply orbital mechanics, develop reference missions, and extend simulations in MATLAB/C++/Python to support a dynamic network topology and government programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in an engineering field.
• 8+ years of satellite or network system design, modeling, and analysis.
• Strong understanding of orbital mechanics and constellation geometry.
• 8+ years of coding in MATLAB, C, C++, or Python with good practices.
• Working knowledge of RF or optical link budgets and how they drive capacity and availability.
• Experience with resource scheduling, allocation, or optimization for a communications or satellite system.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for customer/ review content.

Responsibilities

• Own system-level modeling, simulation, and analysis for government mission scenarios and constellation designs.
• Perform mission engineering and develop CONOPS and measures of effectiveness.
• Apply orbital mechanics for coverage, access, and contact analyses.
• Design and evaluate resource scheduling and beam assignment under constraints.
• Evaluate RF/optical link budgets and system capacity and availability.
• Model inter-satellite geometry and access for handover behavior.
• Extend simulation code and create models in MATLAB/C++/Python for dynamic topology.
• Prepare technical content for government customers and program reviews.

Skills

Satellite system design

Orbital mechanics

Code in MATLAB/C/C++/Python

RF/optical link budgets

Resource scheduling/optimization

Communication skills (written/verbal)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent

Tools

MATLAB

C

C++

Python

Job description

Description

Amazon Leo is a low Earth orbit satellite constellation providing low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world. The mission of Amazon Leo for Government is to leverage Leo and provide high speed, low latency, and secure satellite services to United States and allied government customers. As a Modeling and Simulation Systems Engineer supporting that mission, this role is primarily responsible for assessing and analyzing how both Leo's capabilities and Leo products built for government perform against government use cases, and for producing the analyses that underpin government contract work. You will evaluate system and network performance from the capacity, coverage, latency, and availability point of view to determine how Leo delivers the operational outcome the customer mission needs. It is a unique opportunity to innovate and define groundbreaking wireless technology with few legacy constraints.

Key job responsibilities

• Own system-level modeling, simulation, and analysis for government mission scenarios and constellation designs, across coverage, capacity, latency, and availability, from concept trades through customer deliverables

• Perform mission engineering: translate customer mission objectives into scenarios and measures of effectiveness, develop design reference missions and CONOPS, and model whether the end-to-end system delivers the required operational outcome

• Apply orbital mechanics, including orbit and constellation geometry, reference frames, revisit and access behavior, and station-keeping and conjunction considerations, as the foundation of coverage, access, and contact analyses

• Design and evaluate resource scheduling and allocation approaches, heuristic or solver-based, for contact scheduling, satellite beam assignment, and prioritization under power, thermal, and spectrum constraints

• Evaluate complex multi-disciplinary trades involving RF bandwidth and network resource allocation to customers, optimizing customer experience against cost, power, and spectrum, including constellation design and link selection trades

• Build and/or utilize RF and optical link budgets and combine them with orbital constellation dynamics to model time-varying system capacity, latency, and availability

• Model inter-satellite geometry and access, including link availability windows, contact scheduling, and handover behavior

• Extend existing simulation code and tools, and create new simulation models representative of the target system (primarily MATLAB, also C++ / Python), designing around hardware and software capabilities and constraints to support a dynamic network topology

• Prepare and present technical content for government customers and program reviews, including analysis packages, visualizations, briefings, and proposal material

• Account for self-interference and interference with other space and terrestrial communication systems in coverage and capacity analyses

Security Clearance

This position requires a recent or active US Government TS/SCI security clearance (polygraph preferred) and the ability to maintain it. U.S. citizenship is required.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or an equivalent field

• 8+ years of experience in satellite or network system design, modeling, and analysis

• Strong understanding of orbital mechanics and constellation geometry, including modeling orbits, reference frames, and vector geometry to simulate the time-varying relative geometry of satellites and ground nodes

• 8+ years of experience developing code in MATLAB, C, C++, or Python, including industry-standard coding and regression practices

• Working knowledge of RF or optical link budgets and how link performance drives system capacity and availability

• Experience with resource scheduling, allocation, or optimization for a communications or satellite system (e.g. contact scheduling, link or beam assignment)

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including preparing and presenting technical content for customers and program reviews

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, a related discipline, or equivalent experience

• Experience with satellite constellation design and constellation management trades

• RF or communications system design and modeling background, covering link-level analysis, communication theory, OFDM/MIMO, and digital/wireless communication systems

• Experience with optical inter-satellite links and space-to-space access analysis

• Experience with graph theory and network topology analysis

• Familiarity with satellite operations, mission planning, and contact scheduling

• Experience supporting government or national security programs and proposals

• Experience with mission engineering or mission-level analysis, including design reference missions, CONOPS development, scenario and vignette analysis, and measures of effectiveness

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits .

USA, CA, El Segundo - 151,200.00 - 204,600.00 USD annually