Lead Systems Engineer - Space, Government

About us

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we’re on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We’re looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

As a Senior Spacecraft Systems Engineer, you will serve as a technical leader responsible for developing, integrating, verifying, and operating complex spacecraft systems that deliver critical mission capabilities. You will lead and/or oversee spacecraft architecture development, payload-to-bus integration, requirements definition and allocation, interface management, and mission-level systems engineering activities across the full spacecraft lifecycle.

You bring expertise in spacecraft design, mission operations, systems engineering, technical integration, and cross-functional leadership. You are comfortable defining system solutions in ambiguous environments, influencing technical direction across organizations, and translating business and mission objectives into executable engineering strategies.

In this role, you will collaborate across spacecraft subsystems, payloads, flight software, mission operations, ground systems, suppliers, and customers to deliver resilient and high-performing space systems while helping shape the future technical direction of the program.

You will be responsible for leading and directly contributing to spacecraft systems engineering activities. In this role, you will lead or oversee:

• Lead/Support Spacecraft architecture development, mission design activities, and system trade studies to optimize mission performance, affordability, reliability, and operational effectiveness.
• Lead/Support Payload-to-bus integration efforts and drive resolution of system-level technical challenges across spacecraft subsystems.
• Develop, decompose, allocate, and maintain mission, vehicle, subsystem, and interface requirements.
• Own spacecraft interface management activities and maintain interface definitions between spacecraft, payload, ground, launch, and external mission systems.
• Develop and maintain spacecraft architecture models using MBSE methodologies and SysML-based tools.
• Establish and maintain system-level technical budgets including mass, power, thermal, pointing, RF performance, data throughput, reliability, availability, and delta-v.
• Lead cross-functional integration across attitude determination and control systems (ADCS), electrical power system (EPS), propulsion, thermal, communications, payload, structures, software, cybersecurity, and mission operations teams.
• Translate mission objectives and stakeholder needs into actionable architectures, operational concepts, requirements, and verification strategies.
• Support development of mission CONOPS, operational scenarios, fault management approaches, automation strategies, and contingency plans.
• Lead/Support technical investigations, trade studies, and architecture analyses, providing recommendations to program leadership and engineering teams.
• Define and execute verification and validation strategies, compliance assessments, and mission readiness activities.
• Support spacecraft AI&T activities, environmental testing, launch campaigns, commissioning, In-Orbit Testing (IOT), and anomaly resolution.
• Lead/Support mission reviews including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, ORR, and FRR while effectively communicating technical risks, decisions, and recommendations.
• Serve as a primary technical interface with government customers, mission partners, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
• Mentor junior…