(Senior) Engineer, Payload Test, meoSphere

Senior Engineer, Payload Test, meoSphere

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

meoSphere is SES’s next-generation Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation, designed to deliver secure connectivity services to government agencies, enterprises, and commercial customers. It will also provide high-speed broadband internet to eliminate global connectivity dead zones.

To accelerate development timelines, reduce costs, and ensure quality, SES is internalizing a critical segment of the satellite supply chain: the final integration of partner satellite platforms with SES’s software-defined payloads, all within a cutting-edge manufacturing and test facility.

Role description summary

The AIT Engineer is responsible for the assembly, integration, functional verification, and environmental qualification of satellite payloads from breadboard and engineering models through to flight hardware. The role involves close collaboration with systems engineering, design and manufacturing to ensure payloads meet technical performance, quality, and schedule requirements in accordance with verification requirement matrix.

In your first twelve months, you will test, and integrate a complete payload, comprising all the different subsystems of a satellite payload and interfacing with satellite bus computer. Within two years, the hardware will have flown in space, demonstrating cutting-space software designs.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES / KEY RESULT AREAS

• Assembly & Integration

• Perform mechanical and electrical assembly of payload units, subsystems, and harnesses according to drawings, ICDs, and work instructions.
• Integrate payload equipment on panels, structures, and test benches, ensuring correct configuration management and traceability.
• Support integration of payloads onto the spacecraft platform, including interface checks and functional verification.

• Test Planning & Preparation

• Contribute to development of AIT plans, procedures, and test specifications (functional, performance, and environmental).
• Define test setups, configurations, and EGSE/MGSE needs for payload verification.
• Coordinate preparation of test equipment, instrumentation, and facilities (cleanroom, thermal vacuum chambers, EMC chambers, vibration tables, RF ranges, etc.).

• Functional & Performance Testing

• Execute payload functional tests, performance tests, and end-to-end link tests using EGSE, RF test equipment, and data acquisition systems.
• Analyse telemetry, logs, and test data to verify compliance with requirements and to identify anomalies or performance trends.
• Generate test reports, nonconformance reports (NCRs), and support root cause analysis and corrective actions.

• Environmental & Qualification Campaigns

• Plan and execute environmental test campaigns (vibration, shock, thermal vacuum, EMC, RF/antenna tests) for payload units and integrated payloads.
• Ensure proper configuration control and instrumentation during environmental testing.
• Support correlation and update of analytical models with test results.

Qualifications Background and Experience

• Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Physics, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience
• Practical experience in hardware test environments, ideally on payload hardware.
• Solid understanding of:
• RF and/or digital payload architectures (e.g., repeaters, transponders, active antennas, processors, amplifiers).
• Handson experience with lab and test equipment (oscilloscopes, power supplies, RF instruments, data loggers, EGSE).
• Ability to write/read and interpret schematics, ICDs, and test procedures.
• Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and a methodical, process-oriented mindset.
• Good communication skills and ability to work in multidisciplinary, international teams
• Strong ability to work independently and with limited supervision
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken, any other European language is considered as an asset

Other key requirements / comments

• Eligibility for ESA/EU SECRET personnel security clearances is essential. Candidates must be prepared to undergo a security clearance procedure, as this position may require holding such clearance
• Willing to work at least 60% onsite from office
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally

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