Satcom Mission Analysis Engineer in Didcot

Aim high, go beyond! At Open Cosmos we are solving the world’s biggest challenges from space, providing businesses, governments and researchers access to more readily available information than ever before - ready for the challenge? Then read on…

The Satcom team is responsible for the design, delivery and performance of Open Cosmos’ satellite communications services, spanning the space segment, ground infrastructure and global connectivity.

We're now looking for a Satcom Mission Analysis Engineer to define, optimise, and maintain the orbital architecture that keeps our satellite constellation performing at its best — modelling the astrodynamics, inter-satellite link behaviour, and manoeuvre strategies that translate orbital mechanics into reliable, high-performance connectivity across the network's entire lifecycle.

What will you be doing? You will be:

• 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.
• Analyzing 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 optimization.
• 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 maneuver 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.

What You’ll bring:

• 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.

This role will be based in any of our locations. To apply, you must have the legal right to work in your chosen location. When applying, please submit your CV in English.

Why Open Cosmos?

• Work at the cutting edge of space technology with customers around the globe.
• A mission-driven company making space accessible to help solve real-world challenges.
• A diverse, ambitious, and supportive team.
• Equal opportunity employer.

At Open Cosmos, we are dedicated to fostering a workplace built on respect, dignity, and belonging. As an equal opportunity employer, we actively challenge bias to ensure every candidate and employee feels truly welcome. We celebrate diversity in all its forms and are committed to maintaining an inclusive environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.