Herndon, VA

Salary
—
Posted
Aug 6, 2026
Location
Herndon, VA
Last confirmed open
Sep 24, 2026

What this job asks for AI summary

This role leads the architecture and development of a Mission Operations System (MOS) for a growing LEO satellite constellation, covering everything from automation design to team building and build-vs-buy decisions. The successful candidate will own mission planning, contact scheduling, and flight-dynamics strategy, with a near-term goal of making the system operationally ready for the first 20 satellites by end of 2027. It suits an experienced ground systems engineer comfortable driving complex programs end-to-end in a startup environment.

Senior level · 5+ years · Bachelor's required · Full-time

Must have (6)
ground systemsTT&C, Telecom Networks or Ground Station Servicesdistributed systemsIP networkingRF systemsremote monitoring
Nice to have (5)
VPNfirewallsnetwork monitoringcellular router integrationPNT, Time Transfer or Integrity Monitoring

“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.

We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.

Why we read it this way (7)

The title 'Lead' implies team leadership and architecture ownership, but the role is hands-on engineering (building the MOS, making build-vs-buy calls, delivering software) rather than a pure people-management position, so it is classified as an individual-contributor/technical-lead occupation rather than a Computer and Information Systems Manager (11-3021). 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is used because the role spans mission operations software architecture, ground systems engineering, and flight dynamics — a hybrid that does not map cleanly to a single standard SOC; 15-1252 Software Developers is the closest runner-up.

The degree requirement is a B.S. in a relevant engineering field; an M.S. is explicitly preferred but not required.

Experience range is stated as '5-10+ years'; 5 years is used as the minimum.

Several required skills (ground systems, TT&C, distributed systems, IP networking, RF, remote monitoring) are drawn from the Requirements section. The posting frames them as a combined system stack ('power → IP networking → timing → RF → remote monitoring') rather than discrete named tools, so they are captured at the capability level — no specific commercial product or platform is named in the requirements.

Desired/preferred skills (VPN, firewalls, network monitoring, cellular router integration, PNT/time transfer, LEO constellation operations) are listed under the 'Desired' heading and are marked accordingly.

No compensation figures are provided in the posting.

Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): mission operations, LEO constellation operations.

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