Ground Systems Architect

SES Space & Defense•Reston, VA

About The Position

The Ground Systems Architect provides technical and operational leadership across a cross-functional organization responsible for day-to-day program execution. The role helps lead a multidisciplinary engineering team and guides program activities involving design, development, and testing. It focuses on delivering solutions, removing roadblocks, simplifying complex problems, and anticipating customer needs. The position combines project management, process optimization, technical proficiency, and execution skills. The Ground Systems Architect cultivates customer relationships, manages team requirements, and fosters program and team culture. The role advises design leadership on strategy, vision, and operational experience for future warfighting capabilities, and promotes collaboration and user-focused design through mentorship, coaching, and influence. The position leads ground equipment development across the ground-segment mission lifecycle, from proposal and mission modeling through design, integration and test, launch and on-orbit operations, and decommissioning. It leads or contributes to systems engineering work products using traditional and Model-Based Systems Engineering approaches, oversees technical, cost, and schedule execution, supports mission operations and readiness, and serves as a focal point for customers and internal leadership during critical mission activities.

Requirements

Master of Science in Aerospace, Electrical, Software, Computer, or Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
Experience leading IPTs, technical programs, or product teams supporting satellite, aerospace, or defense-related systems.
Strong understanding of satellite ground-segment architectures, mission operations, networking, command and control, or mission-management systems.
Experience managing technical execution across cost, schedule, risk, requirements, and operational delivery objectives.
Familiarity with systems engineering, integration and test, operational readiness, and mission lifecycle execution.
Ability to lead cross-functional, matrixed teams across software, systems engineering, operations, cybersecurity, and infrastructure organizations.
Strong communication, organizational, and stakeholder-management skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting government, defense, intelligence, or national-security space customers.
Familiarity with Agile development environments, configuration management, and program controls.
Active Secret clearance preferred; TS/SCI clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain it is strongly desired.

Responsibilities

Lead gateway- and user-level ground equipment development across the ground-segment mission lifecycle, from proposal and mission modeling through design, integration and test, launch and on-orbit operations, and decommissioning.
Define ground and mission operations requirements and flow mission requirements back to space systems engineering.
Support hardware and software development and ensure system-level coordination with mission requirements.
Be accountable for technical, cost, and schedule execution of ground programs.
Define Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) tasks required to complete the scope of work and achieve program milestones.
Serve as control account manager for assigned accounts.
Provide technical oversight and direction to the ground-segment Integrated Product Team (IPT) for assigned programs.
Manage external stakeholder engagement for the IPT’s scope, collaborating with customers, subcontractors, the overall program IPT, and mission partners.
Lead and contribute to systems engineering work products using traditional and Model-Based Systems Engineering approaches, including CONOPS, system architecture, requirements and interface control documents, mission and system analysis, and trade studies.
Ensure plans are in place to verify ground-segment requirements through assembly, integration, and test, including system-level testing.
Contribute to program design and readiness reviews.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve technical and scheduling issues and align work with program objectives.
Work with multidisciplinary development teams to ensure plans align with operational needs.
Support preparation, review, and approval of cost and resource estimates for proposals and Engineering Change Proposals related to mission operations activities.
Develop and implement operational automation methods to reduce day-to-day operator responsibilities.
Conduct critical ground-segment testing, including radio-frequency compatibility testing, remote ground-facility interface testing, and acceptance testing of critical ground assets and locations.
Support the design and validate the mission sequence of events for bus commissioning, payload checkout and calibration, and mission operations.
Plan and lead formal Mission Rehearsal events to train the mission team and validate mission design.
Support spacecraft and subsystem engineers during launch and early-orbit activities to commission spacecraft for service.
Serve as the focal point for customers and internal leadership during critical mission activities.
Clarify program objectives, ensure roles and responsibilities are understood, and address conflicts in a timely manner with minimal management direction.
Perform other duties as assigned or required.