Sr. Communication Systems Engineer

The Aerospace Corporation is the trusted partner to the nation’s space programs, solving the hardest problems and providing unmatched technical expertise. As the operator of a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), we are broadly engaged across all aspects of space— delivering innovative solutions that span satellite, launch, ground, and cyber systems for defense, civil and commercial customers. When you join our team, you’ll be part of a special collection of problem solvers, thought leaders, and innovators.

Join us and take your place in space.

The Defense Systems Group (DSG) provides analysis-based decision support to senior leaders on space architectures, policy and strategy, technology development, warfighter capability enablers, systems integration, defense industrial base, and threat reduction to help shape existing and future space missions across the national security space (NSS) enterprise. DSG is unique at Aerospace as it not only directly supports major customers, including the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command, Air Force Materiel Command, and senior leadership at the Pentagon, but also provides a broad range of technical support across the national space enterprise, maintaining vertical responsibilities with customers’ portfolios as well as horizontal, matrixed responsibilities across the corporation.

Additionally, DSG provides deep technical expertise to the Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) in the conception, design, acquisition, launch and operations of satellite, launch vehicle, ground control, and range systems.
** Join the Special Programs Division (SPD) Spectrum Systems Subdivision in Aerospace’s Defense Systems Group (DSG).
** Deliver national impacts as a go-to
** Sr. Communication Systems Engineer
** working in the US Space Force’s esteemed Space Combat Power Program Executive Office. You’ll have upstream influence in shaping and defining high-stakes defense contracts critical to national security. Working within a space-focused acquisition program office, you will translate warfighter needs into reality, ensuring the next generation of communication, electromagnetic warfare, and cyber operation systems are mission ready to prevail in a contested space environment.

The selected candidate will be required to work full-time on-site at our facility in El Segundo, CA. Aerospace’s El Segundo facilities are located next to the Los Angeles Air Force Base, which is the home of the USSF Space Systems Command.
** What You’ll Be Doing**
* ** Own the Technical Baseline:
** Use your communications expertise on RF chains, link budgets, modulation schemas, antennas, signal processing, and network architectures to ensure the Space Force remains a smart buyer of cutting-edge commercial and defense contractor capabilities.
* ** National Space Enterprise

Collaboration:

** Effectively partner with the acquisition, operational, test, intelligence, and concept design communities to ensure new systems integrate seamlessly with existing space and ground segments.
* ** Mission Analysis & Requirements:
** Drive operational mission analyses and assessments of alternatives to translate warfighter needs into clear system requirements, statements of work, interface requirements, and performance metrics.
* ** Contractor Oversight & Verification:
** Lead technical evaluations of vendor proposals and monitor execution to ensure contractor architecture and design meet rigorous performance standards.
* ** Risk & Opportunity Management:
** Proactively identify and develop handling plans for technical, cost, and schedule risks to ensure mission success.
* ** Test & Evaluation Leadership:
** Plan and oversee critical test events and review evaluation artifacts to verify that complex system requirements are fully met.
* ** Leverage World-Class Labs:
** Take the initiative to integrate specialists from Aerospace’s Engineering & Technology Group (ETG), using elite laboratory capabilities to solve the nation's most difficult technical challenges.
* ** Technical Authority & Mentorship:
** Communicate system capabilities and constraints through expert-level reports and briefings, while sharing your…