Engineer - Mission Operations

AIRBUS U.S. Space & Defense•Merritt Island, FL

About The Position

Airbus U.S. is seeking an enthusiastic and creative Mission Operations Engineer to design, analyze, test, and operate satellite and space mission systems. The role supports the full mission lifecycle, from operational concept development and system definition through integration, verification, validation, launch, commissioning, and on-orbit operations. The engineer will contribute to ground software architecture and test capabilities used to operate and validate Airbus U.S. spacecraft, and will take subject-matter ownership while delivering autonomous solutions to complex problems under the leadership of the Functional Avionics Engineering Director. The primary responsibility is delivering mission operations and mission systems products, spacecraft operations documentation, and customer deliverables. Work spans requirements definition and allocation, verification and validation, design, testing, delivery, and customer support. Mission operations product development accounts for approximately 70% of the role, including operational concepts, procedures, documentation, automation, ground software requirements, testing, and readiness activities. Mission systems development accounts for approximately 30%, supporting architecture, requirements, behavior design, trade studies, and architecture data products for Airbus U.S. satellite systems, including the heritage Arrow platform. The position is based in Merritt Island, Florida; fully remote candidates located within the United States will also be considered. Periodic travel to Airbus U.S. facilities or partner companies is required, generally less than 20%, with occasional international travel to collaborate with European Airbus counterparts. U.S. citizenship is required, and the candidate must be able to obtain and maintain a government security clearance.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in STEM (Science, Technical, Engineering, Math) or a related scientific area.
At least 5 years of experience with a bachelor's degree, or 2 years with a master's degree.
U.S. citizenship.
Ability to obtain and maintain a government security clearance.
Experience with aerospace hardware and/or software systems through design, development, integration, test, deployment, or operations.
Experience supporting spacecraft, satellite, mission operations, ground systems, or similarly complex systems.
Knowledge of space mission architectures, including launch, flight operations, mission CONOPS, and user interfaces.
Knowledge of system test and validation approaches, including test specification development, test procedure writing, and test report writing.
Experience with systems architecture, requirements definition and decomposition, and requirements verification and validation, such as Requirements Verification and Traceability Matrices.
Knowledge of space mission operations, including spacecraft modes, constraints, commanding, telemetry, nominal operations, and contingency operations.
Understanding of ground software architecture, spacecraft-to-ground interfaces, telemetry and command processing, databases, APIs, and automation.
Experience with system integration and test, including simulators, SIL/HIL environments, or end-to-end mission testing.
Experience with scripting or software development for operations, test, or automation.
Ability to communicate clearly and work effectively across multidisciplinary technical teams.
Strong initiative, a team-minded approach, problem-solving skills, and ability to deliver results in a complex, fast-moving environment.
Demonstrated ability to deliver results.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in STEM (Science, Technical, Engineering, Math) or a related scientific area.
Proven track record working with aerospace hardware and software systems from conceptual design and tradeoffs through detailed design, development, manufacture, integration, test, deployment, and operations.
Experience leading or coordinating multidisciplinary technical teams.
Active DoD security clearance at Secret level or above.

Responsibilities

Develop and grow system test tools, processes, and methods for Airbus U.S.
Define system operation modes, mode transitions, on-orbit constraints, and related mission operations requirements.
Own and author operations documentation, including Concept of Operations (CONOPS), In-Orbit Test (IOT) plans, and other operational documents.
Define, develop, test, and verify nominal, off-nominal, and contingency mission operations procedures, including recovery actions.
Develop and automate mission operations capabilities to improve reliability, repeatability, and operational efficiency.
Coordinate mission operations training with Responsible Engineers, Subject Matter Experts, and other stakeholders.
Support mission integration, system verification and validation, operational readiness, commissioning, and on-orbit operations.
Support definition of ground software requirements, architecture, interfaces, data flows, telemetry, commanding, monitoring, and automation capabilities.
Translate spacecraft and mission operations needs into ground software requirements and operational capabilities.
Develop and mature ground-system and end-to-end testing capabilities for spacecraft interfaces, telemetry, commanding, procedures, and automation.
Support software and system integration and verification using simulators, test environments, and spacecraft hardware as applicable.
Develop tools, processes, and automation that improve mission operations testing and operational readiness.
Perform systems engineering activities to maintain and evolve Airbus U.S. spacecraft and mission operations capabilities.
Support development planning, technical reviews, test readiness, and operational readiness activities.
Support development and execution of technical roadmaps for mission operations and supporting ground capabilities.
Support Mission Systems Architecture development for Airbus U.S. satellite systems, including the heritage Arrow platform.
Support requirements development, including initial definition, decomposition, and flowdown.
Support Mission System behavior design and trade studies, from high-level concept trades to inputs for detailed design.
Generate Mission System Architecture data products, including CONOPS, algorithm descriptions, fault management design, and interface documents.
Drive multiple design activities across programs or missions.
Participate in cross-functional team planning, coordination, and task execution, reporting to Program Managers.