Telesat is seeking a highly experienced Senior UT System Engineering Specialist to provide technical leadership for User Terminal systems engineering activities supporting secure communications programs and advanced connectivity applications. This senior individual-contributor role will guide operational concept development, system requirements, User Terminal architecture, and verification strategy for demanding government, enterprise, and partner use cases.
The successful candidate will work across internal engineering teams, customers, suppliers, and partners to translate operational needs into practical terminal solutions for fixed, mobile, airborne, maritime, portable, and autonomous platform applications.
Main Responsibilities
- Lead government, enterprise, and partner User Terminal Concepts of Operations (CONOPS), operational scenarios, and system-level documentation.
- Define and mature requirements for fixed, mobile, airborne, maritime, portable, autonomous, and other specialized User Terminal applications.
- Lead specialized communications requirements, including location protection, transmission-security scheduling, resiliency, operational assurance, and deployment-planning considerations.
- Provide technical leadership for architecture, requirements allocation, interfaces, design trades, verification planning, and system integration.
- Direct general requirements cleanup, Product Requirements Document support, compliance matrices, and requirements-to-test traceability across terminals, modems, and software.
- Lead technical workshops, requirements reviews, design reviews, customer meetings, and supplier engagements.
- Guide evaluation and engagement of specialized User Terminal vendors and international partners.
- Support contractual requirements reviews, bids, proposals, statements of work, CDRLs, test reports, and customer deliverables.
- Lead Capella model catch-up and maintenance for operational and functional architecture.
- Mentor systems engineers and promote consistent systems engineering practices.
Education and Experience Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- 14+ years of relevant engineering experience in systems engineering, satellite communications, telecommunications, aerospace, secure communications, networking, or a related field.
- Experience supporting complex multidisciplinary product-development activities across requirements, design, integration, verification, and delivery.
Specialized Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Expert knowledge of systems engineering, requirements management, architecture, traceability, verification, and lifecycle processes.
- Deep understanding of satellite communications and User Terminal architectures, including antennas, RF, modems, waveform processing, networking, and software.
- Knowledge of secure satellite communications, transmission-security concepts, location protection, resiliency, and mobile platform constraints.
- Proficiency with requirements and architecture tools such as Jama, DOORS, Capella, Jira, Confluence, or equivalent.
- Exceptional technical writing, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.
Decision Making & Supervision
- Operates with a high degree of autonomy and accountability on complex, high-impact assignments.
- Makes and recommends significant technical decisions affecting architecture, requirements, verification strategy, supplier direction, and customer commitments.
- Provides functional leadership and mentorship without necessarily having direct supervisory responsibility.
- Acts as a senior technical advisor to engineering management, program leadership, customers, and partners.
Working Conditions
- Hybrid office environment based in Ottawa or Bethesda, with regular virtual and in-person engineering meetings.
- Work may include activities in laboratories, integration facilities, customer sites, and supplier facilities.
- Occasional domestic and international travel may be required for workshops, reviews, integration, demonstrations, and customer or supplier engagements.
- Occasional schedule flexibility may be required to support tests or collaborate across time zones.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- 14+ years of relevant engineering experience in systems engineering, satellite communications, telecommunications, aerospace, secure communications, networking, or a related field
- Experience supporting multidisciplinary product development across requirements, design, integration, verification, and delivery
- Expert knowledge of systems engineering, requirements management, architecture, traceability, verification, and lifecycle processes
- Deep understanding of satellite communications and User Terminal architectures, including antennas, RF, modems, waveform processing, networking, and software
- Knowledge of secure satellite communications, transmission-security concepts, location protection, resiliency, and mobile platform constraints
- Proficiency with Jama, DOORS, Capella, Jira, Confluence, or equivalent requirements and architecture tools
- Exceptional technical writing, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills
- Ability to work in Canada and obtain Canadian Controlled Goods Program and reliability clearance for the Ottawa-based position
What We Do
Backed by a legacy of engineering excellence, reliability, and industry-leading customer service, Telesat is one of the largest and most successful global satellite operators. Telesat works collaboratively with its customers to deliver critical connectivity solutions that tackle the world’s most complex communications challenges, providing powerful advantages that improve their operations and drive profitable growth. Continuously innovating to meet the connectivity demands of the future, Telesat Lightspeed, the company’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, will be the first and only LEO network optimized to meet the rigorous requirements of telecom, government, maritime and aeronautical customers. Telesat Lightspeed will redefine global satellite connectivity with ubiquitous, affordable, high-capacity links with fiber-like speeds.
