Payload Operations Engineer
Astranis
Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts.
Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.Astranis has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.
Payload Operations Engineer
As a Payload Operations Engineer at Astranis, you will play a key role in planning, executing, and optimizing the in-orbit operations of our communications payloads. You’ll combine mission engineering expertise with RF systems understanding to ensure payload performance, reliability, and responsiveness throughout mission life. This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of space operations, RF systems, and software-driven telemetry and control.
Role
- Lead daily and long-term payload operations, including performance monitoring, anomaly resolution, and optimization of on-orbit communications systems.
- Support mission design and execution, including link budget validation, mission configuration, and payload commissioning.
- Develop and maintain software tools and dashboards for payload telemetry, trending, and health monitoring.
- Define and implement telemetry and telecommand (TT&C) strategies to ensure safe and reliable operations.
- Coordinate cross-functionally between mission operations, ground software, and RF hardware teams to ensure seamless command and control.
- Perform data analysis of our payload and TTC performance across the fleet to ensure consistent performance and health of our satellites.
- Participate in mission rehearsals and payload readiness reviews, contributing to mission planning and operations documentation.
- Assist in defining and developing automation strategies for on-orbit payload control and fault detection.
Requirements
- B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or related technical field.
- 0–7 years of experience in satellite operations, mission engineering, or RF systems engineering.
- Proficiency in Python and comfort developing telemetry visualization or automation tools.
- Experience with telemetry databases, command systems, or mission control software.
- Ability to diagnose and resolve complex system-level issues across hardware and software boundaries.
- Solid understanding of RF systems, modulation/demodulation, and link budgets.
- On call support for payload and TTC systems, up to one week per month
- Willing and able to obtain a security clearance
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a collaborative mindset.
Bonus
- Experience in geostationary satellite payload operations.
- Familiarity with ground system architectures and RF test instrumentation.
- Experience with software development tools such as Git.
- Knowledge of embedded systems or spacecraft flight software interfaces.
- Experience with automation frameworks or machine learning applied to telemetry analysis.
