Mission Systems Engineer - TrustPoint

Join TrustPoint and Build the World's First Commercial GPS System in Space

GPS is a ubiquitous global utility in modern society and knowing one's location is critical for government, commercial, and personal applications. Still, today's solutions for determining location are inaccurate, slow, unencrypted, and susceptible to jamming and spoofing. These shortcomings make heritage GPS and other government owned systems insufficient for tomorrow's safety-critical and high-precision applications, a problem TrustPoint intends to solve.

TrustPoint is developing a fully commercial next-generation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to provide significant performance, security and reliability improvements for GPS users. This includes better accuracy, quicker Time to First Fix, and anti-spoof and anti-jam capabilities. The improvements will support US Government position and timing service resiliency as well as enable next-generation commercial applications like drone delivery, self-driving cars, urban air mobility, and augmented reality. The over $100B annual GNSS Receiver market is ripe for disruption and TrustPoint intends to lead that revolution with our microsatellite based commercial infrastructure and innovative positioning and timing services.

The Position 

With locations outside Washington DC and in Silicon Valley, TrustPoint is currently seeking a full time Mission Systems Engineer to join our engineering team, lead customer programs, and help design, develop, and test a state-of-the-art GNSS high-accuracy positioning commercial system. Our system consists of a constellation of micro satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and a network of ground stations, which jointly provide secure high fidelity Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) signals. The Mission Systems Engineer is primarily responsible for leading commercial and government customer programs, and applying systems engineering tools and best practices to the design and development of our infrastructure, including the space and ground segment for the purpose of high precision time and position solutions. In addition to technical system and product development, they will lead customer interactions and participate in preparation of deliverables and execution of design reviews, integration and test events, and other program milestones.

The Mission Systems Engineer will be expected to research and advise on the state of GNSS industry best practices, tools, and products, as well as derive, implement, and verify the Space, Ground, and User Segment requirements specific to one or more commercial and government programs.. As an early hire, significant upward mobility is expected for this individual, including Manager, Director and VP level positions. We will hire with a preference towards ambitious professionals looking to establish themselves as experts both within our company as well as the larger aerospace and GNSS industries.

We'll Expect You To…

• Serve as a project and program manager for commercial and government customer contracts, including leading customer engagements, preparing contract deliverables, and executing contract milestones in collaboration with TrustPoint teammates.

• Own program execution from contract award through contract closeout, ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery of contract deliverables and technical milestones.

• Apply systems engineering best practices to the development of an architecture that includes Space, Ground, and User Segments for the purpose of providing high precision time and position services.

• Participate inSystem and Product Development, Mission Operations, and Supply Chain Management activities relevant to one or more customer programs.

• Research, maintain awareness, and advise on the state of GNSS industry's best practices, tools, and products.

• Work with the larger engineering, operations, and business teams in support of new business development opportunities and tasks including proposal work scoping and preparation.

• Support the infrastructure operations team in system commissioning, operations automation, anomaly investigation and mitigation.

You'll Need to Have…

• BS in Systems Engineering or equivalent STEM field (MS preferred)

• 8+ years Systems Engineering and related commercial GNSS work experience

• Knowledge of PNT operations and architectures

• Experience in customer management and government program execution

• Experience in complex space/ground system design, CONOP development, and satellite/payload design supporting PNT products and services

• Highly motivated, self-starting, and able to perform duties autonomously without supervision

• Excellent professional and interpersonal verbal and written communication skills

• Passionate about solving customer problems through new and innovative technology

• Strong organizational skills and professional business practices.

• Ability to travel 10-20%.

We'd Like to See…

• MS or PhD in Systems Engineering, Ideally Focused on Space/GNSS/PNT Topics

• Experience and proven past success working in startup environments

• Active US security clearance or past success in acquiring clearances

Cultural Fit

• Thrive in a start-up environment.

• Effective communication style that instills a culture of optimism and positivity.

• Sense of humor and ability to proactively problem solve.

• Encourages colleagues to think and plan strategically while executing well tactically.

• Works well with all company levels and disciplines (i.e. Legal, HR, etc.)

• Willing to “roll up sleeves” in a new venture, working closely with colleagues.

Compensation and Benefits

The selected candidate will be competitively compensated with salary, stock options, and other standard startup benefits.