Principal Systems Engineer

As a Principal Systems Engineer, you will be responsible for the technical outcome of complex space missions.  During mission contracting and requirements development, you may work with the sales engineering org to ensure mission requirements are valid and mission scope is adequately defined. Systems Engineers translate higher level requirements down to lower-level requirements, consulting and collaborating with discipline team-leads and subject matter experts where necessary.    

You will be the overall technical lead responsible for "building the right thing" and "building it right". This will include the management of system requirements, technical budgets, and sub-system interfaces.  Your responsibility extends to ensuring there is sufficient verification and testing of the system, and you will take ownership of the technical performance outcomes for the mission. You will be the mission's technical lead for both Spire-internal and external (customer, contractor, etc) teams, working collaboratively with others to resolve technical discrepancies in requirements, specifications, or system performance.   

You will also act as the technical point of contact for Spire's global customers during mission development phases and through on-orbit validation of the space systems, working with Spire project and program managers to provide effective communication where required.   

Your knowledge and experience working across multiple technical disciplines will help you coordinate Spire's technical efforts to ensure ultimate mission success.   

What You'll Do:

• Take overall technical ownership of Spire Space and/or Ground Systems from technical development through on-orbit verification; ensure that we are "building the right thing" and “building it right”. 
• Lead requirements management for a given mission or program - including development, validation, verification, and change management. 
• Lead technical risk management for a given mission or program - including identification, qualification, mitigation, and resolution. 
• Develop top-level requirements and then flow-down to lower-level requirements, consulting and collaborating with discipline team-leads and subject matter experts where necessary. 
• Serve as the primary Spire technical POC to customers and contractors - communicating and advocating on behalf of internal technical teams where necessary.  
• Serve as the customer's technical representative to Spire-internal teams - communicating and sometimes advocating for customer requirements, expectations, and experiences. 
• Develop working knowledge of Spire's satellite platforms, operations systems, and payloads (both Spire and customer-developed) - including customer APIs and software service interfaces. 
• Proactively communicate to program/project managers where changes in scope, requirements, expected system performance, or development outcomes impact the mission. 
• Develop, deliver, and maintain mission documentation required to support programs or missions, including both internal and external (customer- or contractor-facing) documentation.  
• Support the sales engineering team in the development of technical concepts and budgets, feasibility assessments, requirements, scope, and documentation needed during the sales cycle. 

Key Skills:

• BSc in Engineering, Computer Science, equivalent STEM-related subject, or equivalent work experience.
• Extensive experience working in a technical engineering discipline (Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Controls, RF Communications, etc) or as a systems engineer for complex integrated systems. 
• Comprehensive understanding of space systems, concepts of operations, and remote systems operation.
• Demonstrated technical leadership in an engineering program requiring coordination across multiple teams and/or technical disciplines resulting in successful delivery
• Strong interpersonal skills for building relationships with clients and effectively communicating with other members of cross-functional teams
• Strong comprehension skills to enable timely understanding of complex customer requirements and identification of thorough and sometimes unique solutions
• For candidates in the US, must be able to meet authorization requirements to handle ITAR controlled information.
• For candidates in Canada, must be able to pass security screening to obtain “Reliability Status”. 

Preferred Skills:

• Extensive experience as a space systems engineer working across engineering disciplines (Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Controls, Radio/Comms, etc)
• Experience developing or integrating RF and optical payloads.
• Experience participating in architecture and design of digital systems including ground station networks, data distribution and data processing systems, and spacecraft data handling systems
• Experience coordinating or leading diverse technical teams spanning multiple engineering disciplines and time zones
• Experience in satellite mission design, development, and testing with a clear understanding of major mission design trades and scope drivers (power / payload duty cycle, communications systems / data budgets, ground stations, launch and environmental loads, EMI/EMC, thermal management, etc.) 

Spire operates a hybrid work model, and this position will require you to work a minimum of three days per week in office.

Access to US export-controlled software and/or technology may be required for this role. If needed, Spire will arrange the necessary licenses—this is not something candidates need to have before applying.  #LI-DC1