Satellite Control Operation Engineer

Satellite Control Operation Engineer

Eutelsat Group

London, United Kingdom

Who You Are:

Within the Operation Department, the Satellite Control Operation Engineer provides engineering support for the Satellite Operation Centre. Its objective is to perform all satellite operational activities necessary to ensure the maximum safety of the satellites and the continuity of operational services provided to the customers of EUTELSAT. This is accomplished by working within procedures and rules generated both internally, and by satellite manufacturers.

Ensure the activities are carried out in compliance with the Service Operations security policy.

Joining the Fleet Operations Spacecraft Subsystem Engineer team, you will report to the Senior Manager of Satellite Technical Operation.

What You’ll Do:

The candidate will provide support to the Fleet Operations Team for the operations of in-orbit subsystems, software and/or equipment, as well as for the operations preparation and operational conduct of in-orbit verification. This support may also include support on-board software management, simulator configuration, automation of routine analysis, analytics of large datasets, development of analysis tools. The Spacecraft Subsystem Engineer will also support the OneWeb Space Segment during the satellite manufacturing process, support satellite anomaly investigations, and generate analytical reports and briefings. The candidate should establish effective working interfaces with the satellite operations activities of other operations engineers and analysts, and external teams responsible for mission control, mission planning, flight dynamics and ground stations. Additionally, the candidate should provide support to system and operations and launch preparation activities for Production spacecraft as well as follow on missions.

The candidate should provide support to operations during normal working hours. The candidate will periodically provide shift support during critical satellite operations and should periodically staff the on-call support rotation such that safe and efficient operations are ensured by the Spacecraft Operations Team on a 24/7 basis

Duties will include:

In particular, the engineer will be responsible for the following missions:

• Review space to ground interface specifications and flight operations manuals;
• Support Pre-launch and In-Orbit Satellite System Validation Tests and other Ground Segment Validation Testing;
• Support pre-launch mission readiness activities;
• Preparation and support of the launch, early operation, and on-orbit test of the LEO Spacecraft;
• Provision of operational expertise to in-orbit subsystems;
• Perform trending and performance analysis on the satellite subsystems, including definition of additional automated analysis and checks where necessary as well as development of trending and performance analysis tools in collaboration with operations development teams;
• Prepare, maintain, and validate flight procedures and scripts as well as relevant operations documentation for in-orbit control of the satellites to a standard consistent with the highest safety of the satellites and maximum continuity of services provided to the customers;
• Raise satellite anomalies and participate into investigations of satellite anomalies via Anomaly Review Board process;
• Participation in the spacecraft subsystem engineer 24/7 on-call rotation to support SOC team in the immediate execution of all necessary actions required to ensure the security and safety of the satellites and continuity of services;
• Provide operational support to hosted payload operations and external Satellite control entities as required and liaise with other divisions within EUTELSAT for dissemination of information;
• Various other activities, including operational support for in-orbit testing, liaison with other divisions within EUTELSAT and external providers for dissemination of information and discussion of operational activities.

What it Takes: 

The candidate must have the following skills:

• University degree in space engineering or a related field
• Minimum of 2-3 years’ experience of in-orbit satellite control
• General satellite design and operations knowledge
• Detailed design and operations knowledge of one or more of the satellite platforms operated by EUTELSAT is a plus
• Multi-satellite LEO constellation operations experience
• Knowledge of celestial mechanics
• Knowledge of satellite monitoring and control ground segment software and system design
• Computer programming skills - in particular Python is a plus
• Be self-motivated, able to work autonomously, occasionally under stressful situations, with good planning and time organization skills
• The role requires task strong interaction across multiple Eutelsat Technical teams; the ideal candidate will be a team player with good interpersonal skills
• Be rigorous, innovative, pragmatic and possess a strong attention to detail
• Excellent knowledge of English