Mission Operations Planning Engineer

AST SpaceMobile•Lanham, MD

About The Position

AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio and designed for both commercial and government applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today’s five billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected. Position Overview We are seeking a Mission Operations Planning Enginee responsible for developing, automating, and maintaining mission operations processes, tools, and procedures to support successful operations planning for the AST SpaceMobile satellite constellation. This role blends mission operations engineering with software-driven automation and plays a critical part in shaping the daily operations and long-term evolution of the Satellite Operations Center (SOC). The ideal candidate combines technical engineering expertise with strong scripting and tooling capabilities, enabling scalable and reliable constellation operations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a STEM discipline.
A minimum of 2–5+ years of experience in mission operations, software development, automation engineering, or similar technical roles.
Hands-on experience scripting operational procedures or automation workflows (Python preferred).
Familiarity with satellite command-and-control operations and mission operations workflows.
Experience with AWS or other cloud-hosted environments.
Experience using Git or other version-control tools.
Familiarity with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence).
Ability to work in Windows-based development and operations environments.
Willingness to travel approximately four times per year for one week at a time.

Nice To Haves

Experience with multi-satellite LEO constellations.
Experience developing or operating automated mission operations systems.
Familiarity with distributed systems, networking protocols, and API integrations.
Experience creating telemetry displays, monitoring dashboards, or operator UIs.
Basic experience with databases or data persistence systems for operations tooling.
Systems engineering exposure (requirements, architecture, integration & test).
Experience supporting mission rehearsals, simulations, or critical on-orbit operations.
Strong interpersonal and cross-team collaboration abilities.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
A strong operational mindset with a bias toward automation, reliability, and continuous improvement.
Meticulous attention to detail to ensure accuracy of procedures, documentation, and operational products.
Ability to work independently and solve complex technical problems.
Comfortable working under tight deadlines in fast‑paced, high-stress operational environments.
Ability to work effectively with remote and distributed teams.
Self-starter who takes initiative and ownership.

Responsibilities

Develop daily activity plans for all spacecraft across the fleet.
Populate and validate procedures required to execute activity plans.
Manage and prioritize real-time activity requests.
Load balance activities across spacecraft and operations crews.
Coordinate with payload and subsystem engineering teams to ensure compatibility with simultaneous activities.
Schedule and coordinate satellite contacts with commercial TT&C providers.
Develop, test, and validate satellite operations procedures, command sequences, and operational scripts.
Script and automate satellite command-and-control workflows using Python or similar languages.
Develop telemetry validation logic and expected-response checks for automated and manual operations.
Continuously refine procedures based on on-orbit performance and lessons learned.
Design, develop, and maintain mission operations tools and automation scripts.
Build lightweight applications to support on-orbit operations, system monitoring, and data analysis.
Develop or extend user interfaces, dashboards, and visualization tools to improve operator situational awareness.
Integrate workflows with internal and external APIs.
Support system-level integration tests and end-to-end testing between the SOC and factory satellites.
Participate in mission readiness activities, including simulations, rehearsals, and dry runs.
Support mission operations during LEOP and other critical events, including periodic rotating shifts.
Work closely with systems engineers, flight software, ground software, and external partners to develop operational products.
Support requirements development, architecture reviews, design reviews, and milestone readiness activities.
Provide technical mentoring and guidance to other mission operations team members.