MILSATCOM Mission Planner

Amentum•Arlington, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Amentum is seeking a MILSATCOM Mission Planner to support Department of War strategic communications capabilities in the National Capital Region. The role supports planning, integration, and employment of Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite communications for Combatant Commands, Joint Forces, and national-level decision makers. The position is part of a team supporting secure, resilient communications for global military operations and strategic deterrence missions. The planner builds and maintains AEHF communications plans and terminal profiles, allocates resources, manages beam and crosslink plans, and supports service requests, contingency operations, and troubleshooting. The role also assesses terminal performance and link budgets, evaluates waveform and threat effects, translates technical findings into operational requirements and planning guidance, and supports CONOPS and future protected SATCOM architecture development. This is a full-time, on-site position in Northern Virginia, with a Monday-through-Friday standard business-hours schedule and required participation in an on-call rotation. On-call response may occur outside normal business hours. Travel may be required up to approximately 15% to operational or testing locations. The work is primarily in a secure office environment and requires access to secure facilities and systems.

Requirements

At least 10 years of experience in MILSATCOM planning or operations, including at least 5 years directly supporting AEHF and/or MILSTAR systems.
At least 5 years of experience planning, configuring, or troubleshooting terminal access to AEHF or MILSTAR satellites.
Proficiency with the AEHF Mission Planning Subsystem (MPSS/MPE).
Working knowledge of satellite communications principles, including link budget construction, link margin analysis, Eb/N0 and C/N0 relationships, modulation and coding, frequency hopping, and propagation effects at EHF and SHF bands.
Understanding of protected SATCOM features, including anti-jam, anti-scintillation, LPI/LPD, onboard processing, and nulling.
Strong written and oral communication skills, including experience briefing senior military and civilian leaders.
Working knowledge of AEHF ground terminal architectures and operations, including how terminal RF performance, waveform support, and configuration affect link closure and service planning.
Active TS/SCI security clearance and eligibility for access to Special Access Programs.
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or Information Technology. Military experience may substitute for portions of the education requirements where applicable.
Ability to obtain and maintain access to secure facilities and systems.
Ability to sit and work at a computer workstation for extended periods.
Ability to lift equipment weighing up to 25 pounds occasionally.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment supporting operational communications requirements.
Ability to participate in an on-call rotation and respond outside normal business hours when operational requirements call for it.
Successful completion of the required drug screening process and compliance with company drug and alcohol policies.

Nice To Haves

Operational experience with military SATCOM systems and terminals such as SMART-T, FAB-T, FET, G-ASNT, VPS, or SCAMP.
Experience in Army Signal Corps, Air Force Communications, Space Force Space Operations, Joint Communications, or Combatant Command J6 organizations.
Experience with brigade, division, corps, theater army, service component command, joint task force, or Combatant Command communications operations.
Prior military service in space operations or communications career fields, including Army FA40, 25S, or 255N; ASI 1C or 3Y; USSF 13S; USAF 1C6 or 17D; Navy Warrant Officer 782x; USMC 06XX; or Joint Communications/J6 staff roles.
Relevant industry certifications such as CISSP, Security+, PMP, or INCOSE ASEP/CSEP.
Veteran or military operational experience in Army Signal, Air Force or Space Force Communications, Joint Communications, SATCOM operations, NC3, Network Operations, Cyber Operations, or Combatant Command communications planning.

Responsibilities

Build, modify, and maintain AEHF communications plans using the Mission Planning Subsystem (MPSS/MPE), including resource allocation, beam assignments, terminal access, and network configurations.
Develop and maintain operational mission scenarios and communications plans, and distribute them to operational crews for implementation.
Plan and deconflict Extended Data Rate (XDR) services across modulations and modes to meet user priorities and throughput requirements.
Manage spot beam allocations in response to operational priorities and theater demands.
Plan crosslinks and multi-satellite network configurations to provide global connectivity without reliance on ground relays.
Respond to real-time service requests, contingency operations, and anomalies by rapidly replanning resources as conditions change.
Build and maintain terminal profiles and network membership data in MPSS and MPE, ensuring configurations reflect fielded terminal capabilities.
Assess terminal RF characteristics and incorporate them into link budgets and communications plans.
Provide operational personnel with advanced troubleshooting, field- and unit-level removal and replacement, and terminal maintenance support.
Track terminal software and hardware baselines.
Support terminal integration testing, operational readiness checks, and exercise activation, coordinating among terminal program offices, unit operators, and satellite operations planners.
Incorporate terminal fielding schedules, availability, and maintenance status into long-range planning and CONOPS, and identify terminal limitations that constrain operational capability.
Conduct link budget analyses that account for EIRP, G/T, path loss, atmospheric and rain attenuation, pointing losses, and implementation margins.
Assess link margins under nominal, degraded, and contested conditions, and recommend mitigations when services will not close.
Evaluate the effects of modulation and waveform choices on data rate, robustness, anti-jam performance, and LPI/LPD characteristics.
Analyze terminal capabilities and limitations, including FAB-T, SMART-T, NMT, and other AEHF-compatible terminals, to ensure plans match fielded equipment.
Characterize jamming, interference, and environmental threats to links and quantify their impact on service availability.
Translate technical specifications and performance parameters into operational requirements, capability statements, and planning factors.
Draft and update CONOPS, tactics, techniques, procedures, and planning guidance for protected SATCOM employment.
Brief technical findings to non-technical and senior audiences, explaining how system parameters affect operational risk and decision-making.
Support requirements development and gap analyses for current and future protected SATCOM architectures, including transition planning toward Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS).
Follow Amentum safety, quality, operational, and environmental requirements and complete applicable training and responsibilities.