Senior Engineer, Operations Support

Company Overview

Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world.   For over 20 years, Iridium’s unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.

At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed.  Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions.  Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world.  Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves.   We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.

What We’re Looking For:

If you are enthusiastic about working in the space industry, then you will be excited about the Senior Operations Support Engineer opening with Iridium for a Space Development Agency (SDA) project. As a Senior Operations Support Engineer, you’ll be responsible for providing critical technical support to the team performing 24x7 Operations. You will primarily work regular business hours in a 24-hour, multi-satellite operations environment while occasionally working night shifts or weekends. Working in this role, you’ll gain valuable experience performing anomaly and issue resolution, troubleshooting, and identifying root cause and determining corrective actions. You will thrive in this role if you have a desire to be part of a team on the forefront of one of the most advanced satellite constellations in the world and are highly motivated and passionate about engineering and space systems.

This position requires an active/current Top Secret Security Clearance or the ability to obtain a Top Secret Security Clearance (A U.S. Security Clearance that has been active in the past 24 months is considered active).

What You’ll Do:

• Track, trend, and analyze potential problems and anomalous conditions that may affect operations of the ground system
• Provide on-call support, real-time investigation, and troubleshooting for operations anomalies related to the subsystems of Ground Resource Management, Fleet Management, Mission Planning, and Flight Dynamics
• Investigate and resolve issues where situations require an in-depth evaluation of factors that have been discovered or referred by on-shift operations teams
• Support cross-functional efforts and special operations projects with multi-functional teams
• Facilitate on-shift operations team training for recurring scenarios, ops affecting upgrades, and the Operational Crew Training and Certification process
• Identify and autonomously implement ideas, solutions, processes, procedures, and checklists focused on continuous process improvement, more efficient operations, and reduced system outages

What You’ll Need to Succeed:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science or related technical field, OR equivalent training and experience
• 8+ years relevant experience in the space industry, or other operations support environment
• Proficient with standard Microsoft Office/engineering tools (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Proficient in the LINUX operating system as well as standard PC usage and applications
• Familiarity with software development and programming skills
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey products, deliverables, analyses, and/or issues to groups outside of your team or those who are unfamiliar with the topic
• Have confidence and be able to easily build relationships with leadership and colleagues outside of your team
• Possess an analytical mindset, with the ability to understand a situation or problem and think critically to make decisions and come up with out-of-the-box solutions
• Adaptability to work in a high-paced, dynamic operational environment and the readiness to take on any new tasks that are handed to you
• Be proactive in providing feedback and be enthusiastic in sharing your knowledge with others
• Capable of prioritizing your own tasks and potentially the tasks of others while making sure deadlines are met

Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:

• Programming languages such as: Java, Java-Script, Python, Shell scripting
• Working knowledge of networking protocols, routers, switches, etc.
• Familiarity with Atlassian Tool Suite such as JIRA, R4J, and Confluence
• Working knowledge of satellite or ground operations, background in troubleshooting and problem solving, and working under tight time constraints
• Interest and ability in learning new technologies as this role will be working in a dynamic and evolving operational environment which at times requires rapid response from the support and development functions

We’ll also need you to:

• Provide on-call support as needed
• Be a U.S. Citizen

Work Environment:

This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer. 

Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.