JOB OFFERS

Position Title: GROUND SEGMENT ENGINEER

ALTEC is involved in several Science and Technological Programs in the aerospace domain where ground segment is a relevant part to perform mission operations of orbiting infrastructure, planetary exploration systems and orbiting systems with reentry capability. ALTEC has the know-how and provides the competences to design, implement and operate either the whole ground segment or part of it consisting of ground stations, communication network, mission control centers, mission control systems and P/L control systems.
The Mission Control System and Simulation group host the computer engineers, software engineers and aerospace engineers who oversee the ground segment from definition to end of operations; it develops and integrates the mission control systems and P/L control systems, implements ground communication networks, interfaces ground stations and prepare mission control centers to execute mission operations. Moreover, it is involved in the definition, implementation and test of operational simulator needed to support ground segment validation, operations team training and mission operations preparation.

Duties

You will be part of the team that is in charge of all engineering aspects of the definition, implementation, integration, test and maintenance of software data systems related to the Mission Control Center nominal activities under the ALTEC responsibility.

You will work in close collaboration with the software engineer and infrastructure and network engineer and mission operation teams during project phases.

You will be expected to endeavor for innovation and excellence in ground segment engineering within the aerospace domain with focus on mission control system functions.

Among the main duties, you will be involved in:

  • Perform deployment, integration and testing activity of mission control system software, also managing infrastructure aspects.
  • Prepare system related documentation (Specifications, Design, Technical Notes, User Manuals, Test Procedures and Reports).
  • Perform analysis and familiarization on complex software framework solutions
  • Use of debugging tools, perform troubleshooting and profiling an application running in a distributed environment
  • Support to the preparation and execution of System Validation Tests and System Operational Validation Tests.
  • Participate to periodic technical meetings

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & TECHNICAL SKILLS

  • A MSc or equivalent degree in either software, computer or communications engineering with high score.
  • Experience with Linux-based operating system and scripting languages.
  • Knowledge of Application and System Design principles
  • Basic experience with at least one programming language (e.g. JAVA, C++, Python).
  • Knowledge of the main network protocols and services (e.g. IP, TCP, UDP, DNS, SNMP, NTP, DHCP, VPNs).
  • Experience with network inspection tools and troubleshooting (e.g. netcat/telnet, tcpdump, firewalld)
  • Knowledge with Linux OS services configuration (e.g. systemctl )
  • Knowledge of virtualization mechanisms and basic knowledge of container technology (e.g. Docker or Podman).
  • Knowledge of continuous integration concepts and tools such as Gitlab CI or equivalent (e.g. Jenkins).
  • Knowledge of software version control system tool such as GIT or equivalent.
  • Knowledge of socket-based/message queue mechanism to manage data flow and data streaming based on message data exchange (e.g. Kafka, ActiveMQ, Zmq).
  • Basic knowledge or experience of some observability software solutions (e.g. Grafana, Loki).
  • Knowledge of Ansible as DevOps automation system.
  • Experience in the configuration and management of time series databases (TSDBs) and in general DBMS systems.

SOFT SKILLS

  • Problem Solving
  • Operational efficiency
  • Fostering Cooperation
  • Relationship Management
  • Continuous Improvement

ADDITIONAL ASSETS

They are not mandatory but candidates knowing them will be better evaluated:

  • Knowledge of model-based techniques for system design (UML and SYSML standard).
  • Knowledge of MAVEN software project management tool or experience with equivalent solutions.
  • Knowledge of Python programming language.
  • Knowledge of software quality and artifact management tools such as SonarQube and Nexus.
  • Knowledge of some data analysis and data visualization software solutions (e.g. Jupyter Notebook, DataStudio).
  • Knowledge of Kubernetes container orchestration system
    Basic knowledge of CCSDS and ECSS protocols typically used in ESA and NASA space programs, in particular CCSDS Transfer Frame and Space Packet definitions and ECSS Packet Utilization Standard (PUS) protocol.