Space Jobs Current Opportunities

Senior Manager, Space Systems Acquisition

Thu, 01 May 2008 11:57:27 -0500

Position Summary

The Senior Manager, Space Systems Acquisition represents Intelsat in overseeing procurement of new satellites at Orbital Sciences Corporation. Responsible for all technical and schedule aspects of procurement from contract signature to start of in-orbit service.

Area of expertise: satellite bus/electrical systems. Candidates should have experience in bus electrical subsystems (power electronics, solar arrays, batteries). Should have general knowledge of all other bus subsystems.

Responsibilities include evaluation of satellite proposals and negotiation during the pre-contract phase.

You will also have various responsbilities during the Spacecraft Design and Unit Production phase; the Spacecraft Subsystem and System Test Phases as well as other responsibilities that will cross all phases during the program. General responsibilities include:

Evaluate satellite production schedules provided by contractor.
Observe and report on program staffing, ensuring that the program receives adequate support by contractor.
Participate in NCR (Non-comformance Report) reviews and FRB's (Failure Review Boards).
Attend weekly program reviews with spacecraft manufacturer.
Participate in Configuration Control Board and Change Review Board meetings.
Confirm proper tracking of action items generated at review meetings. Review action item responses to ensure satisfactory closure.
Review Compliance Verification Matrices throughout the program, verifying completeness and compliance. Ensure that all out-of-spec conditions are documented.
Maintain/update contract exhibits and incorporate any changes as required.
Provide status presentations and support to Intelsat management each week.

This job requires schedule flexibilitity - periods of being on-call or working extended hours (24/7 shift work at times during periods of spacecraft test. May involve domestic and foreign travel to hardware vendors and launch site locations.

Flight Engineer

Fri, 09 May 2008 14:02:37 -0500

The Flight Specialist is a hybrid position that reports to the Spacecraft Engineering Group manager for a combination of duties of the on crew Satellite Controller (SATCON) and the ACS and Systems TDRS Analyst (TA). The primary role of the Flight Specialist includes taking the necessary actions to maintain the health and safety of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Therefore, the Flight Specialist must be able to apply knowledge to an operational environment and determine when routine or emergency procedures are required, by directing SATCONs to perform necessary steps to “Safe” the spacecraft. An example is the candidate’s ability to recognize and direct response to various TDRS anomalies, including attitude divergence and power subsystem anomalies as they relate to geostationary satellites. In this role, the Flight Specialist is required to maintain the skills to perform on-console spacecraft monitoring and commanding (under supervision). Additionally, the Flight Specialist must be able to generate command plans for spacecraft actions, such as maneuvers, momentum unloads, battery reconditioning, and eclipse management. For all spacecraft subsystems, the Flight Specialist will: 1) provide real-time spacecraft engineering support, 2) perform daily satellite health checks, 3) perform real-time subsystems analysis, 4) perform data trending, 5) support spacecraft operations contingency plan development and implementation, 6) execute spacecraft anomaly detection and correction, 7) perform operations crew training, and 8) develop and maintain spacecraft operations procedures. The individual must be comfortable interfacing with computer systems and be able to use a variety of tools and platforms for evaluating and analyzing spacecraft telemetry. The Flight Specialist is a 24 x 7 position, with individuals subject to shift work on a regular basis. Other duties as assigned. Key Success Factors (expectations during the first 6-18 months): - Train and meet all requirements necessary to attain initial certification as a SATCON. - Train and assume assigned engineer responsibilities for a TDR satellite. - Make informed decisions based on knowledge and training. - Provide short and long term trending analysis of spacecraft attitude and systems telemetry. - Support operations crews on 24 x 7 basis as well as Spacecraft Engineering Group assignments.

Satellite Communications Systems Controller

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:37:54 -0500

Satellite Communications Systems Controller

As a member of the White Sands Complex (WSC) Space Network Operations Group, the Satellite Communications Services Controller (CSC) is the technical focal point for the operation of the Space-to-Ground Link Terminal (SGLT) between the WSC ground station and the operational NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS)

Responsibilities include:

Configuration, operation, and monitoring of the SGLT equipment needed to communicate with the Mission Spacecraft
Configuration, operation, and monitoring of the SGLT TTC resources needed to control and communicate with the TDRS
Monitor TDRS telemetry and transmit commands to the TDRS as required
Quick resolution to system anomalies
Generate and/or maintain pertinent documentationÂ
Provide on the job training
This position involves rotating shift work and successful certification.

Spacecraft Operations Engineer – Meteosat Third Generation Programme

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:21:24 -0500

Experienced in operations preparation, with a strong systems engineering background and providing support to the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Preparatory Programme and all subsequent phases until handover of the MTG system for routine operations. This will include support of the MTG System Engineering, Ground Segment Engineering and Space Segment Engineering teams in the definition of the operational characteristics of the MTG system.

Responsibilities / Duties

Typically the tasks will include:

· Maintenance of the MTG System Operations Concept Document in line with the refinement of the MTG system definition

· Review of MTG engineering documentation from a system operations perspective, to ensure that it is consistent with the MTG System Operations Concept Document

· Highlight any inconsistency between the reviewed documentation and the MTG System Operations Concept Document

· Support of the MTG System Engineering, Ground Segment Engineering and Space Segment Engineering teams in the definition of the operational characteristics of the MTG system. This includes the assessment of the operational impact of various system design options, the sizing of mission control processing elements and the trading of redundancy implementation options

· Provision of operational advice, in form of trade-offs / memos / technical notes, based on operations preparation and routine operations experience in order to take due account of the ‘lessons learnt’ in this area

· Support for the definition of failure, detection, isolation and recovery principles to be applied in the MTG space segment by providing technical notes detailing various aspects of the subject

· Support of the MTG System Requirements Review by provision of selected parts of the documentation subject to review

Oracle Database Administrator and Storage Networking Engineer

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:19:12 -0500

Experienced in UNIX and MS Windows as well as Storage Area Networks (SAN) and backup & archive technologies. To work in the maintenance and engineering team supporting Meteosat Routine Operations.

Responsibilities / Duties

The Consultant shall work in the Operations Department as a member of the Maintenance and Engineering team. The Consultant shall provide support to the development and maintenance of Storage Networking Infrastructure (SNI) as well as Oracle database support to operational facilities. The duties range from the support to the operations, to the analysis, design, development, testing and maintenance of application software and hardware storage related platforms. This includes the setting-up and implementation of maintenance policies and procedures, the support to the procurement, and the co-ordination with external providers of maintenance services.

The Consultant shall perform the following tasks:

· monitoring of the storage performance, investigation into H/W and S/W problems and performance of the relevant corrective actions

· ensuring that in case of H/W or S/W failures the operational configuration can be restored, including the definition, maintenance, performance of backup procedures;

· liaison with the external providers of H/W and S/W maintenance for the request and follow up of maintenance interventions

· installation and configuration of application software, tuning of operating systems parameters to optimize performance

· administration of Oracle databases, tuning of database configuration parameters to optimize database performance, monitoring and growth

· support to Oracle databases design (schema generation, analysis)

· analysis, planning and performance of H/W and S/W upgrades or reconfigurations, taking care of compatibility issues between subsystems

· support to S/W development and maintenance in relation to the utilization of system resources

· implementation and maintenance of scripts and/or procedures where applicable for the automated and/or controlled execution of the above activities, generation or update of technical documentation

Ground Processing Software Engineer

Tue, 06 May 2008 13:50:54 -0500

The candidate will have a pivotal role in Draper's efforts in the development of scripted and semi-automated ground processing systems software solutions for first-of-a-kind nationally important space missions in the Flight Systems Architecture group. The candidate should have excellent knowledge and experience working with human-rated, modern flight processing systems and experience developing embedded software infrastructures and applications for those systems. Activities may include the entire system and software life cycle from requirements definition, architecture design specification, through integration & test as well as detailed research in specific areas. The individual will be leading one or more small teams and is expected to work independently with minimum supervision.

The individual will support program development (WBS, SOW, schedule, budget) project planning, tracking and oversight. He/she will be expected to maintain state-of-the-art technical expertise in flight processing software engineering. This position will include collaborating with other technical and program areas within and outside the Laboratory.

Relocation assistance is available. Huntsville offers a great culture, great environment, great schools and it's a wonderful place to live!! It has world class golf, lakes, mountains and the Tennessee River not to mention a lower cost of living.

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Tue, 06 May 2008 09:44:11 -0500

Senior position in Space Electronics and Instruments BU to design, manufacture and test primarily mechanisms, and opto-mechanical hardware for space science projects.

Electronics Packaging Hardware design will also be an important secondary task.

Ensure that the mechanical design of company products are compliant with customer requirements and COM DEV practices stated by design processes, OPP’s and CWI’s.

Take complete ownership of related work packages. Ensure work packages outputs/milestones are clearly defined and mapped into the schedule. Responsible for meeting the Work packages schedules and costs.

Perform structural, thermal and other related analysis and prepare documents to support the design. Support Mechanical engineering in developing concepts for proposals.

Prepare and document risk assessment during specifications review and for change of scope requested by customers. The risk assessment shall include technical as well as cost and schedule impacts.

Review design drawings, specifications, support internal and external meetings, supervise environmental testing.

Earth Observation Data Engineer

Tue, 06 May 2008 03:36:37 -0500

Ideal for a scientist who has knowledge of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instruments and data processing.

We are looking for a scientist who would be able to join our existing team responsible for Definition and Implementation of Sensor Performance, Products and Algorithms (SPPA) Activities for an ESA Earth Observation mission.

Responsibilities / Duties

The scientist will carry out Data Processing Quality Control activities :

· Near real time quality checks

· Processing of data for products

· Identification of product anomalies

· Longer-term performance and quality monitoring

· Monitoring of product calibration

Galileo System Engineers

Tue, 06 May 2008 03:33:36 -0500

To work within an international environment to expand VEGA’s presence in the programme, through the Galileo IOV phase, with a possibility of extension through to Galileo FOC.

We are looking to grow our existing team by working closely with the customer and hence are looking for experienced engineers for a variety of posts. These positions will be available in the next few months so are keen to hear from all interested parties.

Responsibilities / Duties

We are looking for systems engineers with Galileo, EGNOS or navigation experience in the following key areas:

· Integrity and timing user algorithms - to provide user performance support and system verification.

· System architecture knowledge – to provide CFI / procurement support and management for hardware and software deliveries.

· Interface integration & testing to verify system and manage the ICDs & verification tools

· Simulations – to define & run scenarios using GSSF and assess the results for system level and End-to-End tests.

· Search and Rescue definition and verification including the simulation of the system and algorithms

There are a number of roles, each of which has their own unique title and reference number. Please refer to this number when applying

User performance engineer -J1114

Procurement support and management- J1144

Integration Interface engineer- J1145

Simulations engineer -J1146

Search and Rescue systems engineer- J1147

Senior IT Systems Engineer

Thu, 01 May 2008 11:53:53 -0500

Position Summary

The Senior IT Systems Engineer primarily will be responsible for the data center Infrastructure end to end and also will be responsible to perform technical evaluations, integrate COTS & custom applications, define solutions, develop processes, perform system engineering functions (trending, metrics, documentation, computing infrastructure), to support Intelsat Business-Facing Operations and all Enterprise Services for Intelsat Operations. Implement upon high availability and disaster recovery framework, architecture, and concepts. Provide Windows, Linux and HPUX systems administration support. Provide 24x7 on-call support on a rotating basis.

Critical Responsibilities

Play a key role in supporting the data center infrastructure end to end for all applications. This involves playing a key role in the day to day data center operations, ensuring deploys to the production environment are handled promptly as per established guidelines, data backups and restores are adhered to, 24x7 operational systems are optimally performing and disaster recovery norms are fully established.
Provide Windows, Linux and HPUX systems administration support.
Provide 24x7 on-call support on a rotating basis.
Design and perform trending analysis, and metrics definitions for improved operations.
Evaluate highly complex systems, performance, and issues in order to provide recommendations for improvements. Produce appropriate specifications and support documentation.
Define, implement, and audit IT infrastructure standards and guidelines for Intelsat computing environments.

Important Responsibilities

Play a support role in the infrastructure design of in-house and 3rd party development of Intelsat operational systems.
Specify and/or select appropriate hardware, COTS products and toolsets, in conjunction with system architects and departmental system engineers.
Monitor technical contracts with vendors and software providers, to ensure contractual requirements are met.
Interface with operational staffs, support staffs, integration & test staffs, development staffs, project staffs, other operational area system engineers, and system architects

Command Controller

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:00:24 -0500

The Command Controller is a member of the Flight Operations Team that is responsible for on-console satellite operations and off-console technical support. The Command Controllers, in conjunction with Operations Controllers, will be responsible for issuing commands and monitoring telemetry during realtime operational contacts with the Chandra space telescope. The Command Controllers will also participate in spacecraft telemetry analysis and state-of-health assessment as well as assist the Operations Controller in all ground system and spacecraft contingency analysis and response. Additional duties will include generating and reviewing procedures, participating in training, and assisting spacecraft engineers as required.

Engineering Activity Project Engineer for Computer Systems

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:03:25 -0500

The purpose of this contract is to provide services for the Evolution of the ESA Operational Computer and Communications Infrastructure, hereafter referred to as the ICT infrastructure.

This ICT infrastructure is used in preparation, control and exploitation of the spacecraft under the responsibility of the Director of Operations and Infrastructure (D/OPS) of the European Space Agency (ESA).

This contract is placed by the ESA Informatics and Facility Management Department within D/OPS, hereafter called EIFM. The services to be provided under this contract are:

• Project management for technical planning, engineering and implementation of the ICT infrastructure evolution, including procurement specifications where essential in the deployment cycle.

• Third line support to the maintenance and operations service provider (covering for example: management of incident, problem, configuration, change, release, capacity, availability, service continuity).

• Delta services, e.g. on-call or on-site for critical events, additional service provision.

ESOC is the European Space Operations Centre of the European Space Agency ESA. It is based in Darmstadt, Germany. It is the prime control centre for the operation of ESA satellite missions.

The centre is under the responsibility of the Directorate of Operations and Infrastructure (D/OPS). The directorate is responsible for setting up and operating the ground facilities for launching spacecraft, for satellite and payload acquisition and control, and for dissemination of payload data.

This includes the evolution of the operational computer and communications infrastructure.

The operational ICT infrastructure supports:

• ESA missions in preparation and in flight including:

o Operational systems

o Development systems for missions in preparation

o Support systems (e.g. test and validation systems) for mission in flight.

• Third party missions in preparation and in flight (with the same breakdown as above).

• D/OPS units using the operational computer or communications infrastructure for:

o development of mission infrastructure on technical systems.

o D/OPS management systems, e.g. quality, financial and document management systems.

The services shall cover the evolution of the operational computer and communications facilities. It is envisaged that the engineering service is called on for small to medium engineering or procurement activities. It is not envisaged to execute major ICT engineering projects within the contract.

Engineering Activities (EA) will comprise some or all of the following phases: requirements analysis, planning, design, specification, evaluation, testing, procurement, integration, acceptance, and transfer to operations.

The Agency will usually launch an EA request. The EA request will define the engineering tasks that are to be performed by the Service Provider, the expected deliverables, constraints and dependencies, and the target completion time. The Service provider is expected to respond with a Project Management Plan (PMP) and, following Agency approval, manage this through to completion.

The major activities planned for the operational ICT infrastructure in the next 1-5 years are described below. These plans are subject to change as a result of the strategic and technical evolution of the entire mission operations infrastructure.

An Engineering Activity will be raised by the Agency in each case, either stand-alone, or as part of a project in which engineering support is required from EIFM.

CCC EVOLUTION

Apart from routine sustaining evolution of the installed facilities, the major area of technical evolution for the CCC is the preparation of part of the CCC to serve as back-up ESTRACK Control Centre (ECC) and vice versa This will involve the allocation of working positions in both areas and the deployment of the necessary tools (minimum set) to allow the CCC/ECC to carry out their functions in an emergency situation.

COMPUTER SYSTEMS EVOLUTION

Apart from routine sustaining evolution of the installed base, there is a considerable focus on the reduction on the number of workstations in the field, with a corresponding reduction in the number of supported platforms/versions (hardware and software).

It is anticipated that the Agency will launch Engineering Activities in the following areas:

• Consolidation of servers and consoles in the CCC

• Consolidation of ICT infrastructure support systems in general, e.g. by virtualisation

• Completion of migration of mission data systems and flight dynamics systems to configurations split between the two data centres, Deneb and Halley

• ITIL service delivery tool deployment continued: Change and Release Management

• Platform hardware and storage standardisation for Linux mission data systems

• Lights Out Management (LOM) for SPARC and Intel servers installed in the Halley and Deneb data centres to enable a remote operations and control of the servers and other network equipment by remote control regardless of whether the machine is powered on.

• Modernisation of real-time and off-line/historical reporting of systems performance data

• Alarms Management modernisation

• Integration, management and monitoring baseline for hosting of virtualised systems

• System rights management for Solaris and Linux systems shared between EIFM and applications

• Data centre resource management and capacity forecasting

• Storage Area Networks and Services for the technical ICT infrastructure

ICT SECURITY EVOLUTION

During the course of 2008, ESA Security Directives will be released that prescribe the measures and controls to be applied to all ICT systems in the Agency. It is expected that the Directives will impact the systems, communications, site facilities and service personnel subject under this contract. The Service Provider may need to meet specific requirements in the future as a result. It is anticipated that the Agency will launch Engineering Activities in the following major areas of ICT Security:

• Deployment of identity management to the mission data systems infrastructure

• Identity management for inter-Agencies SLE support

• Definition and application of security policy implementation in the entire mission operations ICT infrastructure

• Implementation of security monitoring, control and audit capabilities

• Requests for service provision for “classified�? ICT infrastructure, requiring “national personnel security clearance�? of the staff involved.

EVOLUTION FOR SERVICE SUPPORT AND DELIVERY

Within the context of the ICT evolution described above, ESA intends to explore several areas that could determine the evolution of the systems management tools in the medium to long term.

• Remote operations enhancements. The operational facilities are already split across two or more physical locations within the ESOC campus. Eventually, operations across geographically separated sites and external (e.g. Internet-based) secured access to management information will also be assessed.

• Automated operations. The tools being deployed will be increasingly configured to respond to events and alarms in an automated manner. Where this is not feasible, information will be filtered and presented to the operators in a form that allows rapid analysis and response to an event.

• Auto discovery to support configuration management in the CMDB.

• Automated reporting. The generation of reports on utilisation, performance, capacity and availability of the systems should be automated as far as possible. The tools being deployed for systems management use the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). These will be complimented by tools that can generate regular and ad hoc reports from the SNMP data.

• Maintenance and continuous alignment of the computer and communications system cost models and associated accounting.

• Enhanced services activity accounting and reporting. This will be based on defined units of charge and accounted by customer/user base.

Tasks:

The EA Project Engineer shall perform the following tasks:

· Manage and take part in the Engineering Activities (EA) which will comprise the following phases of one or more of the projects listed above:

o requirements

o analysis,

o planning,

o design,

o specification,

o evaluation,

o testing,

o procurement,

o integration,

o acceptance, and

o transfer to operations.

This will include software development work and direct interface to the customer

· Participate in 3rd Line Support Activities as needed.