Senior Ground Systems Engineer

JOB DESCRIPTION

Are you ready to take your career to new heights? At D-Orbit, we're pioneering the future of space logistics and transportation. Established in 2011, our company is leading the way in helping businesses profitably and sustainably unlock the full potential of the final frontier. As a member of our team, you'll have the opportunity to work alongside a diverse group of highly skilled individuals, all driven by a shared passion for innovation and excellence. Join us in our global mission to push the boundaries of what's possible and take your ambition to new heights. Apply now and join us in shaping the future of space.

As a Senior Ground Systems Engineer, you will lead the design, development, verification, validation and maintenance of entire ground segment solutions for some of D-Orbit's most innovative missions.

Within this role, you will be considered an expert in D-Orbit's ground systems and how these can be used to attain program objectives and mission requirements. Hence, with your expertise, you will cooperate with a variety of specialty engineering teams (including Ground Software, Flight Software, Infrastructure & Cybersecurity, Flight Dynamics and Operations Engineering, Telecommunications and Space Systems) to shape ground segment solutions and guide development teams towards the successful completion of the programs you are assigned to. Due to the nature of this role, you will operate with autonomy, in coordination with the program manager and the program lead engineer, to meet the program goals and represent D-Orbit in front of customers, suppliers and partners.

Consequently, as part of your role, you will coordinate activities to generate the required deliverables and defend D-Orbit's ground segment solution in front of relevant academic, institutional or commercial stakeholders of the program. While your primary focus will be in the development of ground systems, you may be required to support the creation and maintenance of Ground Systems Engineering processes within D-Orbit to streamline our internal technical activities.

Task and Responsibilities:

• Be the technical responsible for ground systems and related subsystems;
• Lead the architectural definition of ground segment solutions for multiple applications, including Earth Observation, Space Transportation or In Orbit Servicing;
• Derivation and maintenance of requirements for ground systems and related subsystems;
• Support the generation, elicitation or derivation of stakeholder, mission and/or program requirements;
• Ground systems and subsystems budgeting and analyses, including coverage analyses, providers and technologies trade-off analyses, RAMS analyses, etc.;
• Generation of engineering plans (such as Design and Development, or Verification and Validation plans);
• Define the execution of Verification and Validation plans through the generation of test plans, programs and procedures;
• Support the ground systems and subsystems development teams, particularly the software ones, acting as a Product Owner;
• Coordinate the integration of ground systems into overall mission architectures, particularly managing all interfaces between Space and Ground Segments;
• Lead the preparation and execution of verification and validation test campaigns, including Spacecraft Validation Tests (SVTs) and System Operational Validation (SOV) campaigns.
• Lead the generation verification and validation reports, such as review of design, analysis, inspection or test reports;
• Support the generation and maintenance of ground systems training material for D-Orbit's Mission Control Centre;
• Support the planning and execution of training campaigns for D-Orbit's Mission Control Centre personnel;
• Provide technical support to D-Orbit's Mission Control Centre in executing operations when required as Technical Solution Expert;
• Interface with ground systems development teams, including Mission Control Software, Mission Planning System, Ground Spacecraft Simulator, Ground Stations Providers, Space Tracking Service Providers and Flight Operations.
• Oversee the preparation and validation of Flight Operations;
• Oversee the development of the Mission Control Systems;
• Interface with AIV team and support related activities;
• Interface with Flight Operations development and execution teams and support related activities;
• Interface with Space Segment and Mission level teams to ensure compatibility throughout mission solutions and compliance to mission level needs;
• Interface with external stakeholders (e.g. customers, suppliers, partners, institutions, regulators) representing D-Orbit's technical team within the frame of the assigned programs;

Essential Requirements:

• Demonstrable experience in ground systems engineering, particularly in requirements engineering for software systems;
• Demonstrable experience in the design and development of ground systems;
• Demonstrable experience in the integration, verification, validation and rollout of ground systems into production environments;
• Track record of multiple successful deliveries of milestone data-packs on quality and in time within the context of big institutional programs;
• Demonstrable experience in successfully driving technical activities involving the coordination of multiple external stakeholders;
• Demonstrable experience working with Agile and/or Lean development teams;
• Solid knowledge of typical ground segment solution architectures;
• Experience authoring technical documents to the standards of institutional players in the space industry;
• Experience in requirements management tools, e.g. DOORS or Jama;
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite;
• Solid knowledge of relevant space industry standards (e.g. ECSS or CCSDS);
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Proactive attitude and ability to work in teams and individually;
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and effectively;
• Good knowledge in software programming;
• Full professional proficiency in English;

Desirable Requirements:

• Professional exposure to real-time flight operations of space and/or ground systems;
• Good familiarity with space systems engineering principles and systems-level knowledge of all spacecraft subsystems;
• Familiarity with communications link architectures, protocols and budgeting (e.g. OSI model);
• Experience working with Mission Control and Mission Planning Systems;
• Experience working with Ground Station Providers and Space Tracking Service Providers;
• Experience working with Spacecraft Simulators;
• Knowledge of space mission analysis and flight dynamics, and related computational tools (e.g. STK, FreeFlyer, GMAT or Orekit);
• Knowledge of Linux;
• Knowledge of Atlassian suite (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket);
• Experience in the use of MATLAB and Python;
• Good knowledge of software development and configuration management tools, e.g. GIT or Bitbucket;

At D-Orbit, diversity and inclusivity are not just values, they are integral to our mission and the way we operate. We are committed to fostering an environment where all individuals are respected, valued, and celebrated for their unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace is not only the right thing to do, but it also leads to better decision-making, innovation, and overall success.

We actively strive to build a culture where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and where all voices are heard and valued. We are dedicated to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, supported, and empowered to share their ideas, and where everyone is given equal opportunities to grow and excel. We believe that our differences make us stronger, and we will continue to work diligently to create an inclusive culture at D-Orbit that reflects this belief.