We are looking for a Senior System Engineer specialized in Satellite Communications to lead the design, sizing, and integration of communication links between customer satellites and our ground infrastructure. While Skynopy does not develop the onboard segment itself, we support our clients in ensuring end-to-end communication compatibility and system-level readiness.

This role requires a strong background in space-grade radios, RF equipment, digital communication protocols, and system architecture — ideally acquired through direct experience in designing, testing and integrating satellite communication chains.

You will contribute to high-impact projects by bridging the space and ground domains, supporting hardware selection, protocol evaluation, RF validation, and performance analysis — including hands-on work with Skynopy’s internal RF test tools and pre-integration kits.

Responsibilities

• Participate in communication trade-off studies on next-generation communication architectures

• Define and maintain end-to-end satellite connectivity architectures, ensuring alignment between customer spacecraft and Skynopy’s ground infrastructure

• Conduct link budget analysis, performance sizing, and margin evaluation for TTC and mission data links

• Perform the selection of onboard radios and antennas, ensuring protocol and interface compatibility with Skynopy customer platform

• Support customer teams during mission operation planning, offering technical expertise on modems, signal processing, and RF troubleshooting

• Participate in the test and validation of radio and modem functionalities using internal test-bed platforms and RF validation kits

• Support to the definition of the automation frameworks to streamline the integration and testing of communication equipment

Must Haves

• 5+ years of experience in space communications (Earth Observation or telecom missions)

• Solid knowledge of RF systems engineering: link budgets, connectivity mission sizing, physical layer

• Experience in integration and validation of satellite communication subsystems: radios, modems, antennas

• Proficiency in communication standards: CCSDS, DVB-S2/S2X, TTC links

• Comfortable reading and interpreting RF specifications and communication interface documents

• Programming skills in Python and/or Matlab for modeling, simulation, and test automation

• Strong systems thinking, autonomy, and ability to operate in multidisciplinary environments

Nice to Haves

• Experience with test-bench development for RF or digital signal processing validation

• Familiarity with ground segment RF chains, signal routing, baseband and digitizer integration

• Experience in supporting customer communication interface design and pre-integration

• Working knowledge of networking and architecture concepts: IP routing, VLAN

• Familiarity with the constraints of secure communication environments (defense, dual-use missions)

Step 1: Behavioral Interview (30 minutes)
A short conversation with the Chief of Staff or a team member to get to know you, your background, and how you work with others.

Step 2: Technical Home Challenge (~0.5 day of work + 30-minute debrief)
You’ll receive a take-home challenge to complete on your own (about half a day of work). We’ll schedule a 30-minute session to review your solution and discuss your approach.

Step 3: Live Technical Interview (30–45 minutes)
A live session where we’ll go deeper into the home challenge and ask a few more technical questions to better understand how you think and solve problems.

Step 4: Final Interview with the Founders (45 minutes)
A final conversation focused on cultural fit, leadership potential, and alignment with our mission. We’ll also talk about your interests and what motivates you.