As a Senior Ground Segment Engineer, you play a pivotal role in building software to operate our fleet of in-orbit satellites, and to prepare for the challenges associated with operating different satellite buses in a variety of configurations. Your expertise will be instrumental in ensuring reliable, efficient, and scalable connectivity between our growing fleet of satellites via both ground stations and inter-satellite links.
You will configure Cockpit, Loft’s mission control system, to expand our ground segment connectivity, working with our ground station providers and the product teams that build Cockpit. You will manage cross-fleet contact allocation and planning, optimizing resource usage to maximize communication opportunities and minimize latency. Work closely with our Space Infrastructure, Spacecraft Deployment, Mission Deployment and Execution, and regulatory teams to manage commissioned satellites and prepare for the commissioning of new ones. This position will also give you the opportunity to become a rotating Flight Director, responsible for the health and safety of our satellite fleet.
There is opportunity for growth in this position. Your expertise in network infrastructure will be crucial in ensuring the reliability of our global satellite network, enabling us to deliver exceptional service to our customers. This role offers a broad scope to work on different aspects of satellite connectivity and play a significant part in shaping the future of satellite operations at Loft.
About this role:
- Manage architecture for ground station and inter-satellite link (ISL) connectivity solutions
- Own cross-fleet contact allocation, planning, and satellite connectivity configurations
- Support satellite operations both in nominal operations and by providing on-call support during commissioning.
- Own our network infrastructure alerting capabilities (ground station availability and anomaly detection, intersatellite link stability, etc)
- Own ground segment management – project management, cost management, contract management, RF compatibility test management, licensing coordination
- Own ground segment optimization – both technical performance and financial
- Own ground segment operation – escalation for ISL or Ground Station issues, serve as point of contact with providers during launch and early operations, commissioning of ISLs, new ground station sites.
- Occasionally test connectivity between Loft’s cloud and network providers, together with our Cloud Infrastructure team
- Serve as a rotating Flight Director, overseeing incident response and ensuring the health and safety of the fleet.
- Manage RF licensing together with our regulatory team
Must haves:
- 4-5 years relevant experience
- RF knowledge sufficient to develop ground station or intersatellite link configurations
- Protocol knowledge (internet/transport layer): CCSDS (131.0/132.0, 231.0/232.0) and/or ECSS standards, TCP/IP, UDP
- Licensing knowledge
- Ability to debug connectivity issues in a complex network environment
- Experience with Kubernetes (k8s), Docker, Git, Python
- Willingness and enthusiasm to be trained as a satellite controller and Flight Director (including participation in the on-call rotation).
Nice to haves:
- Having held this type of position in the past
- Proven experience developing software
Some of our awesome benefits:
- 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance option for employees and dependents
- Flexible Spending (FSA) and Health Savings (HSA) Accounts offered with an employer contribution to the HSA
- 100% employer paid Life, AD&D, Short-Term, and Long-Term Disability insurance
- Flexible Time Off policy for vacation and sick leave, and 12 paid holidays
- 401(k) plan and equity options
- Daily catered lunches and snacks in office
- International exposure to our team in France
- Fully paid parental leave; 14 weeks for birthing parent and 10 weeks for non-birthing parent
- Carrot Fertility provides comprehensive, inclusive fertility healthcare and family-forming benefits with financial support
- Off-sites and many social events and celebrations
- Relocation assistance when applicable
Skills Required
- 4-5 years relevant experience
- RF knowledge sufficient to develop ground station or intersatellite link configurations
- Protocol knowledge (CCSDS 131.0/132.0, 231.0/232.0) and/or ECSS standards, TCP/IP, UDP
- Licensing knowledge (RF licensing coordination)
- Ability to debug connectivity issues in a complex network environment
- Experience with Kubernetes (k8s), Docker, Git, Python
- Willingness and enthusiasm to be trained as a satellite controller and Flight Director (including participation in the on-call rotation)
What We Do
Space Made Simple. We are a true end-to-end service provider letting our customers rapidly deploy and operate their payloads on reliable high-performance satellites at an unprecedented simplicity and affordability.
