Mission Operations Development Engineer Lanham, Maryland, United States

Mission Operations Development Engineer

at AST SpaceMobile

Lanham, Maryland, United States

AST SpaceMobile and our global partners are building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network to be accessible by standard smartphones. Called SpaceMobile, this ultra-powerful network is being designed to provide connectivity at 4G/5G speeds everywhere on the planet - on land, at sea and in flight.

Summary:

The Mission Operations Development Engineer is responsible for developing the processes, tools and procedures required for successful operation of the AST SpaceMobile satellite constellation. This includes development of the Satellite Operations Center (SOC) facility and all mission operations products. This position is critical to provide Operations insight into the design and development of AST SpaceMobile, with a focus on automation.

Duties include:

Perform trade studies on Satellite Operations Center (SOC) operations software tools

Develop operations processes that evolve throughout the lifetime of the AST SpaceMobile constellation

Support development of automated operations tools

Configure, operate, and troubleshoot SOC operations tools.

Work with systems engineers and vendors to develop operational products required for launch & early orbit phase (LEOP), on-orbit checkout, commissioning, and operation of satellites.

Develop and test mission operations procedures, sequences of events, telemetry displays, and other mission operations products

Develop, test, and validate SOC procedures and processes

Support system-level integration tests and end-to-end tests between the SOC and factory satellite

Support mission readiness activities including operations tests, mission simulations, and rehearsals

Support the mission operations team during LEOP and critical on-orbit activities, including possible periodic rotating shifts

Modify existing operations procedures and processes to incorporate lessons learned from on-orbit performance.

Support system development activities such as design reviews, readiness reviews, requirements management, architecture development, integration & test, and formal program milestones

Provide mentoring and guidance to the mission operations team

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) field

2-5+ years' experience is preferred

Comfortable working in a Windows environment

Multi-satellite LEO constellation experience

Demonstrated ability to drive requirements for concepts of operation

Familiarity with version control software, preferably Git

Familiarity with the Atlassian tool suite (Jira, Confluence)

Experience programming with at least one modern language such as Java, Python, Matlab, C#,

Comfortable working on applications deployed in AWS

Experience developing mission products including procedures and command scripts using script languages such as Python and Ruby

Familiarity with satellite command and control operations software and products

Familiarity with engineering analysis tools

System engineering experience or significant classwork in system engineering or system design

Support of readiness activities including end-to-end tests and mission rehearsals

Demonstrated ability to work independently when necessary

High level of problem-solving capabilities

Ability to work in an environment with rapidly evolving system requirements

Self-starter willing to take ownership and initiative

Excellent oral and written communications skills

Ability to work in a remote, distributed team with diversified individuals with varying backgrounds to achieve mission success

Ability to work to tight deadlines in high stress environments.

AST SpaceMobile is an Equal Opportunity, at will Employer; employment is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.