Senior Communication Systems Engineer - Spacecraft

CesiumAstro•Westminster, CO

About The Position

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team. We are designing, building, and launching 8 new satellites in the next four years. They are BIG and super capable RF payload rideshare SmallSats. Our launches are already secured. Our in-house test facilities are built. If you want to own critical communications for these LEO communications satellites and then have the chance to iterate and improve your design at a rapidly growing tech company, this is your chance. We’re looking for builders, problem-solvers, and system thinkers.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a related field
A minimum of 5 years of experience with emphasis on satellite communications, RF system engineering, or related fields
Experience in design, verification, and operation of satellite communication links
Strong understanding of link budget analysis, modulation schemes, and ground station interfaces
Hands-on experience configuring and testing ground station equipment and space-qualified radios and antennas
Practical understanding of how space links fail, why, and how to fix them before they break
Ability to define and implement communication system CONOPS for nominal and emergency operations
Experience with satellite communication link licensing and regulatory compliance (ITU/FCC)

Nice To Haves

You understand how to design, analyze, and operate spaceborne communication links.
You can balance power, bandwidth, protocols and noise to ensure reliable space-to-ground connectivity.
You can answer “what’s the link budget” with thorough analysis, EbN0, EsN0, or effective data rate given a variety of conditions.
Extensive and practical experience with crypto—From COMSEC plan development, key management to system trouble shooting you have applied, on the ground experience.
You know how comms fit into the broader mission, from flight software integration to ground operations
You are comfortable identifying problems and using your expertise to find solutions.
You can prototype, test, and iterate quickly, focusing on what’s needed to get a mission off the ground.

Responsibilities

Model, analyze and maintain the satellite’s link budget, modulation and coding, ensuring reliable communications from space to ground for all RF links.
Architect hardware-based crypto solutions for flight hardware, manage pass-throughs and end points for users and operations.
Strong understanding of ground station and network operations with the ability to troubleshoot issues with commercial providers and on-site terminals.
Define how the radios are used in different mission phases, including contingency operations and emergency recovery.
Contribute to the RF link test campaign and work with flight software and ground teams to validate end-to-end communication link performance, from antenna to command center.
Optimize low-SWaP communications, mitigate interference, and ensure robust, fail-safe links.