Ground Segment Architect

Job Title: Ground Segment Architect - Satellite Communication

Job Description: We are seeking a highly skilled Ground Segment Architect to join our team. As a Ground Segment Architect, you will play a critical role in driving, designing, and developing the architecture and engineering supporting our dual-use service-focused Ground Segment. Your primary responsibility will be to effectively architect, implement, and meet the satellite constellation's service provisioning requirements across the terrestrial network. This includes ensuring low signal latencies, exceptional signal integrity, supporting required service data rates, geo-localization of receivers and ground stations, and maintaining best-in-class signal continuity and availability.

The Ground segment encompasses Ground stations (operations, telemetry, tele-commanding, and bi-directional data transfer) and User Terminals (mobile and fixed assets, customer-specific receive and transmit assets).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conduct simulations of NTN-TN traffic handover, steering to the constellation, antenna configurations, and global ground segment planning.
• Perform coverage analyses to identify satellite network coverage gaps in relation to data rates.
• Analyze interference that may impact neighboring constellations and ensure accurate BPE (Beam Pointing Error) meeting requirements while maintaining maximum data rates.
• Educate and communicate simulation results to the extended team, highlighting and addressing any issues.
• Collaborate closely with other technical and commercial team members in executing business development, space segment, and payload development responsibilities.
• Responsible for critical variables such as antenna steering, beam forming and tracking, beam pointing errors, and throughput validation to meet customer SLAs.

Primary Skills:

• Strong understanding of the end-to-end RF chain, including satellite link budget computations.
• Proficiency in antenna beamwidths, terrestrial asset optimizations, and antenna beam side-lobe interdependencies.
• Knowledge of RF amplifier gains, OBO (Output Back-off), DPD (Digital Pre-Distortion), rain fade effects, atmospheric loss computation, and frequency attenuations over distance.
• Expertise in NTN-TN signal reception and service provisioning diversity.
• Understanding of modulation, coding, forward error correction overheads, and associated optimizations.
• Familiarity with "Make-before-Break" optimizations and trade spaces.
• Experience with cloud-based flight operations and scheduling.
• Proficient in implementation and maintenance of zero-trust architecture topologies.
• Knowledge of partner supply chain and procurement management.

Secondary Skills:

• Ability to work effectively in ambiguous situations and maintain focus and direction.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to navigate complex organizations and technological landscape shifts.

Background/Experience Required:

• Demonstrable success in ground segment solution instantiation and service activation.
• Proven experience in documenting and recording analyses of satellite constellation system's ground segment solutions.
• End-to-end system testing experience, including simulations and field-testing, feature validation, test description documentation, parameter optimization, performance analyses, test strategy creation, troubleshooting, and data logging.
• Customer demonstration experience of fielded technologies and services.
• Proficiency in simulation tools such as Keysight SystemVue, Matlab, STK, LabView.
• Programming skills in Python, VHDL, Java, C/C++, Perl, Ruby, or ability to quickly gain fluency.

Education/Background Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering with 5-10 years of relevant experience.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to comprehend system computations.
• Excellent communication skills to effectively convey technical details.
• Adaptability to evolving requirements and proactive in securing forward progress.

Your Benefits:

• Join a unique opportunity to contribute to the future of the space industry.
• Thrive in a vibrant startup environment with a strong network of investors and partners.
• Enjoy a positive company culture, empowerment, visionary leadership, and efficient communication channels.
• Work with a multinational team from diverse industry verticals.
• Located in the heart of Munich with flexible work hours

Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.