Satcom Mission Analysis Engineer

Responsibilities

• Defining, optimising, and maintaining the precise orbital architecture of the constellation over its lifespan.
• Running continuous topology analysis, ensuring that the physical distribution of satellites mathematically supports the network capacity requirements defined by the System Architecture team.
• Modelling the integration of future constellation phases, calculating how adding new orbital shells will interact with the existing mesh.
• Calculating the exact pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) slew rates required to maintain line-of-sight for optical Inter-Satellite Links (ISLs), especially during cross-plane orbital intersections.
• Analysing astrodynamic perturbations, like atmospheric drag, solar radiation pressure and their direct impact on laser pointing accuracy and optical link stability.
• Calculating and delivering highly accurate slant range and Doppler shift profiles to the RF and Waveform engineering teams for physical layer optimisation.
• Calculating revisit times, elevation angles, and line-of-sight durations to guarantee SLA-backed coverage for User Terminals (UTs).
• Modelling complex operational environments, including terrain masking, maritime use cases, and high-latitude regions, ensuring zero packet drops during critical satellite-to-satellite handovers.
• Working closely with the Network Routing team to simulate how the physical orbital geometry dictates latency and jitter for our clients.
• Designing the physical manoeuvre strategies required to maintain the constellation's precise geometry, sizing strict Delta-V budgets for initial orbit insertion, station-keeping, and end-of-life de-orbiting.
• Developing the operational concepts for automated Collision Avoidance (COLA) and Space Situational Awareness (SSA), ensuring thruster burns are planned so they do not disrupt active routing paths.
• Ensuring all orbital lifecycle and de-orbiting strategies strictly comply with international space debris mitigation guidelines and ITU regulatory milestones.
• Building and maintaining the core astrodynamics simulation environments using tools.
• Developing custom code directly into the software team's routing simulators and our broader Digital Twin.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of orbital mechanics, including constellation design, phasing strategies, and orbital perturbations.
• Capability to model and analyse satellite constellations, including topology evolution and multi-orbit integration.
• Proficiency in mission analysis and simulation tools using Orekit and STK and ability to develop custom models or automation scripts.
• Understanding of inter-satellite link dynamics, including line-of-sight constraints, pointing, acquisition, and tracking considerations.
• Knowledge of how orbital parameters, like slant range, elevation angle, Doppler shift, translate into telecommunications performance metrics such as latency, coverage, and link stability.
• Familiarity with coverage analysis, including revisit times, visibility windows, and service continuity across diverse environments.
• Understanding of manoeuvre planning, including Delta-V budgeting, station-keeping, and end-of-life strategies.
• Knowledge of collision avoidance principles and space situational awareness considerations.
• Awareness of regulatory frameworks related to orbital operations, spectrum allocation, and space debris mitigation.
• Capability to integrate astrodynamics models into broader system simulations or digital twin environments.
• A highly analytical and systems-level approach to problem-solving, connecting physical models with real-world operational and network performance outcomes.

Hard Skills

• Orbital mechanics
• Constellation design
• Phasing strategies
• Orbital perturbations
• Mission analysis
• Simulation tools
• Inter-satellite link dynamics
• Manoeuvre planning
• Collision avoidance
• Space situational awareness

Soft Skills

• Analytical approach
• Systems-level problem-solving