Spacecraft Ground Systems - Chief Engineer

Chief Engineer – US National Security Program

Introduction

With headquarters in Tromsø, Norway, Kongsberg Satellite Services AS (KSAT) supplies ground station services for satellite communications. KSAT is the world’s largest supplier of services for telemetry, tracking, and commanding (TT&C) and data acquisition from non-geostationary satellites.

Founded in 1968, KSAT has grown to more than 400 employees. About 60% of KSAT’s annual revenue comes from the US. The KSAT Inc. (aka. KSAT USA) offices are located in the Denver Colorado area. KSAT USA holds a strong position within the industry, serving government and commercial space programs.

Summary of Position

KSAT Inc is seeking an experienced, senior level systems engineer to serve as a Chief Engineer for a US national security program. This Chief Engineer will design, develop, and deploy ground systems for space communications. This role will act as a subject matter expert resource for key customers and internal engineering teams in the USA and stakeholders in Norway while working closely with KSAT’s broader global engineering and program teams. Critical functions include integrating, testing, and operationalizing complete radio frequency based ground systems and implementing monitoring, control, and scheduling software in cloud environments. Knowledge of satellite communications waveforms, data framing standards, link budgets, digital signal processing, scheduling systems, and cloud architectures are required.

This position will report to Austin Cooner, Director of US Engineering.

The role will be local to the Greater Denver region with flexible teleworking opportunities. Relocation assistance to the Greater Denver region is available for the right candidate.

Joining the KSAT Team means:

• Opportunity to work across the industry with many different players in industry and government; (big market share in non-geostationary space means KSAT knows most of the industry)
• Opportunity to actively grow and directly contribute to the success of the space industry
• Flexible work environment
• Experience in an international company with a global footprint and opportunities to work across cultures
• Engaging teammates: small team of dedicated, “A-class” teammates. Being part of a nimble and passionate team (like a start-up), with the financial security and product technology readiness level of an established company – the best of both worlds

Details of the Role

Essential Job Duties, Responsibilities, Requirements:

KSAT will consider all candidates meeting the below qualifications.

Primary tasks and responsibility

• Act as responsible engineering for the development of new satellite ground systems
• Provide engineering oversite for complete ground entry point site build-out, from site survey, through design, installation, testing, and operations
• Represent KSAT as lead engineer for face-to-face customer technical interchanges and testing efforts for RF communications and network interfaces.
• Coordinate with the KSAT global technical and program teams to design, develop, and implement long-term solutions for challenging space-ground communications
• Work in a matrixed organization.

Requirements

• Current US Citizenship
• Eligible to maintain a US DoD Security Clearance

Qualifications and Skills

Minimum

• 10-years of demonstrated engineering experience developing, deploying, and/or testing complex systems
• 6-years of demonstrated SATCOM experience developing, deploying, and/or testing space to ground RF systems to include narrowband TT&C and wideband mission data
• In depth technical competency and experience with RF communication systems including modulation/demodulation of SATCOM signals, forward error correction, front end processing of data (framing, encoding, and synchronization), and ground segment monitoring and control systems
• Lab experience using test equipment to include specifically: Spectrum Analyzer

Preferred

• Previous experience with RF systems using space data standards such as CCSDS and DVB-S2
• Hands-on experience testing of full satellite communications chain to include: RF digitizers, down/upconverters, modems, FEPs and gateways.
• Experience with Digital-IF and the deploying of virtualized or software-defined communications systems.
• Hands-on experience configuring Linux systems utilizing command line interfaces and shell scripting
• Familiarity with RESTful API development and integration with external customer or supplier systems
• Familiarity with antenna design, operations and performance metrics.
• Familiarity with public and private cloud architectures for digital signal processing including Solutions Architect certifications from AWS or Microsoft Azure

Travel

• Travel is estimated at 20%
• Travel will be necessary to customer sites (primarily within the USA)
• Travel will be necessary to Tromsø, Norway a couple times per year (1 - 2 minimum)
• Travel to other global locations may be required on a case-by-case basis

Education and certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or other technical discipline: BSEE / ME preferred.
• Preferred: Master’s degree in engineering or other technical field

Compensation

The target compensation range of this position is $145K-175K

Benefits Package Highlights:

• Four weeks of PTO annually
• $0 individual medical insurance with generous coverages
• Flexible working environment
• Fitness expense reimbursement program
• Tuition reimbursement program
• International travel opportunities