Principal Ground Infrastructure Deployment Lead

Elveo•Chantilly, VA

About The Position

Lead the technical execution and operational qualification of Elveo’s global ground station deployment program, translating the engineering-owned standard design into repeatable deployments across a global network of ground stations over the next two to three years. Own the cross-site implementation plan, teleport-provider technical coordination, deployment readiness, FAT/SAT/OSAT framework, vendor delivery accountability, and operational handover. Partner with Ground Station Systems Engineering, Ground Systems Software, Ground Site Operations, Mission Operations, Telecom, vendors, and external site partners to deliver multiple sites in parallel. Provide deployment-driven design input, resolve site-specific constraints, and ensure engineering packages are complete, coordinated, and approved before execution. This is a senior individual contributor and cross-functional lead role requiring technical authority, deployment ownership, ambiguity resolution, partner accountability, and timely escalation of decisions. The role aims to reduce deployment variability while preserving site-specific technical rigor. The Deployment Lead reviews designs for deployability and recommends improvements and site adaptations, while technical changes and deviations require approval from the engineering owner. The role owns deployment execution, vendor technical accountability, survey and civil works coordination, acceptance frameworks, readiness gates, risk reduction, and handover completeness. Routine physical installation, MOC/NOC procedure authorship, Level 1/Level 2 support model ownership, and long-term management of ground station engineers are outside its core responsibilities. The role coordinates and oversees field installation teams and contractors, including travel for critical reviews, commissioning, and acceptance. During the first 12 months, the lead is expected to establish and execute an integrated rollout plan, deliver planned sites through qualification and operational handover, build a repeatable deployment playbook, implement reporting for risks and decisions, and apply lessons from initial installations to improve subsequent deployment waves.

Requirements

At least 10 years of experience in satellite ground segment, teleport, SATCOM, or comparable distributed operational infrastructure, including substantial responsibility for technical deployment leadership, systems integration, and acceptance.
Demonstrated success delivering multiple infrastructure sites in parallel while coordinating engineering, site partners, contractors, procurement, logistics, commissioning, and operational readiness.
Strong technical vendor and partner leadership experience, with a track record of resolving cross-disciplinary issues and driving accountability across internal and external teams.
Technical depth in antenna/RF systems, networking, power, grounding, site infrastructure, and remote operations sufficient to challenge survey scopes, recognize incomplete designs, and engage engineering specialists.
Familiarity with licensing, permitting, spectrum coordination, civil works, and the regulatory environment for satellite communications.
Experience managing integrated deployment schedules, budget tracking, procurement and international logistics dependencies, and contractor/vendor commitments.
Willingness to travel internationally for critical site reviews, installation oversight, commissioning, and acceptance activities.
Strong communication skills and ability to turn technical, operational, vendor, and schedule risks into clear, decision-ready updates.
Ability to establish deployment processes in an immature environment, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and drive accountability across teams without direct reporting authority.
For ITAR compliance, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158; otherwise they must be eligible to obtain the necessary U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Nice To Haves

Prior technical leadership of teleport, ground station, antenna, satellite gateway, or SATCOM infrastructure deployments.
Experience with GSaaS providers, teleport operators, satellite operators, telecom operators, or managed network service providers.
Experience developing FAT/SAT/OSAT frameworks and leading systems qualification, test evidence reviews, discrepancy resolution, and operational handover.
Experience scaling repeatable infrastructure rollouts across countries or regions, including local contractors, customs, regulatory dependencies, and support.

Responsibilities

Lead site evaluation and teleport engagement with engineering and operations teams, considering coverage, antenna placement, masking, RF interference, backhaul, infrastructure, cost, expansion capacity, and schedule.
Define and coordinate site surveys with engineering and qualified providers; track findings through design decisions, corrective actions, and deployment readiness.
Lead teleport-provider technical coordination and hold vendors accountable for deliverables, quality, readiness, support commitments, and escalation paths.
Provide technical input to procurement and legal regarding scopes of work, contracts, and service-level agreements.
Own the integrated deployment plan across sites, including milestones, dependencies, procurement, logistics, contractor mobilization, installation coordination, commissioning, budget tracking, cost-risk visibility, and recovery planning.
Coordinate permitting, licensing, spectrum approvals, civil works, power, grounding and lightning protection, environmental provisions, backhaul, and site access with specialists and site partners; verify readiness before installation.
Establish repeatable deployment processes, readiness gates, risk registers, and reporting to make site progress, blockers, costs, decisions, and corrective actions visible.
Ensure site-specific engineering packages are complete, approved, and executable before construction and installation; review for constructability, maintainability, logistics, and local constraints, and resolve discrepancies with the engineering owner while controlling changes to approved baselines.
Own the FAT/SAT/OSAT framework, test planning, acceptance evidence, discrepancy tracking, and required sign-offs; ensure deficiencies are resolved or formally dispositioned before handover.
Coordinate installation, integration, commissioning, and acceptance across field teams, engineering, software, vendors, and site partners; verify prerequisites, approved configurations, resource availability, and completion evidence before advancing gates.
Lead readiness reviews and hold progression at a gate when required evidence is incomplete.
Own the operational handover package and readiness review, including as-built records, configurations, acceptance evidence, spares, maintenance arrangements, support contacts, and training coordination; obtain engineering sign-off and receiving-operations acceptance before recommending entry into service.
Establish and execute an integrated rollout plan for initial sites and subsequent deployment waves, with owners, budgets, dependencies, readiness gates, and escalation paths.
Build a repeatable deployment playbook using the engineering-owned standard design and BOM, survey scopes, contractor work packages, procurement and logistics plans, and site readiness checklists.
Implement reporting to identify critical-path risks, resource conflicts, cost exposure, and decisions needed to sustain parallel deployments.
Apply lessons from initial installations to later waves to reduce rework and improve schedule and cost predictability.
Coordinate and oversee field installation teams and contractors, traveling for critical site reviews, installation oversight, commissioning, and acceptance.