Satellite Payload Manager

We're Hiring: Satellite Payload Manager

Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Experience Level: Mid-Level to Senior

Work Arrangement: Fully Remote

About Us

We are a globally focused space organization committed to developing, integrating, and operating advanced satellite systems and mission payloads across diverse commercial, scientific, communications, Earth observation, and government applications.

Our teams bring together spacecraft engineering, payload engineering, systems engineering, mission operations, ground systems, data processing, manufacturing, testing, and commercial expertise to deliver reliable payload capabilities throughout the mission lifecycle.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced Satellite Payload Manager to lead the technical strategy, development, integration, testing, qualification, delivery, and operational performance of satellite payloads.

The ideal candidate will coordinate multidisciplinary payload teams and ensure payloads meet mission objectives, technical requirements, performance targets, interface requirements, regulatory obligations, and operational expectations from concept through launch and in-orbit commissioning.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement satellite payload strategies, technical roadmaps, development plans, and lifecycle processes.
• Lead payload development activities from mission definition and preliminary design through qualification, integration, launch, commissioning, and operations.
• Translate mission objectives into clear payload requirements, performance targets, interfaces, and verification criteria.
• Define payload architectures, functional concepts, operating modes, and technical configurations.
• Coordinate payload engineering across RF, optical, electronic, mechanical, thermal, software, data, and systems disciplines as applicable.
• Manage payload requirements, specifications, interface definitions, technical baselines, and verification matrices.
• Coordinate payload interfaces with spacecraft structures, power, thermal control, avionics, communications, attitude control, propulsion, and ground systems.
• Establish and maintain mechanical, electrical, thermal, RF, optical, data, software, and operational payload interfaces.
• Lead payload design reviews including concept reviews, preliminary design reviews, critical design reviews, test readiness reviews, and acceptance reviews.
• Manage payload development schedules, milestones, technical deliverables, resources, risks, and budgets.
• Coordinate payload modeling, simulation, analysis, prototyping, breadboarding, and engineering development activities.
• Oversee payload performance analysis and ensure compliance with mission-level requirements.
• Coordinate payload development for communications, Earth observation, remote sensing, scientific, navigation, hosted, or other mission-specific applications.
• Manage payload RF chains, antennas, transmitters, receivers, filters, amplifiers, digital processing, optical assemblies, detectors, sensors, or other mission-specific technologies where applicable.
• Coordinate payload electronics, digital processing, data handling, timing, control, and onboard software interfaces.
• Establish payload operating modes, command structures, telemetry requirements, data products, and operational concepts.
• Lead payload integration with spacecraft avionics and onboard data-handling systems.
• Coordinate payload-to-ground-system interfaces and end-to-end data flows.
• Develop payload integration and test strategies covering component, subsystem, payload, spacecraft, ground, and end-to-end mission levels.
• Review and approve payload test plans, procedures, specifications, and acceptance criteria.
• Coordinate functional, performance, environmental, qualification, acceptance, and calibration testing.
• Support thermal vacuum, vibration, acoustic, electromagnetic compatibility, radiation, optical, RF, and other mission-specific testing.
• Establish payload performance budgets including link budgets, power budgets, data-rate budgets, thermal budgets, optical budgets, sensitivity, resolution, coverage, or other applicable metrics.
• Monitor payload performance against allocated requirements and identify performance gaps.
• Lead payload calibration, characterization, alignment, tuning, and performance-validation activities.
• Coordinate payload ground-support equipment, test equipment, instrumentation, simulators, and specialized facilities.
• Manage payload anomalies, test discrepancies, nonconformances, and technical issues through investigation and closure.
• Lead root-cause analysis for payload failures, unexpected performance, interface problems, and test anomalies.
• Develop corrective and preventive actions and verify their effectiveness.
• Maintain configuration control of payload hardware, software, firmware, documentation, test configurations, and performance baselines.
• Evaluate engineering changes and assess impacts on payload performance, interfaces, schedule, certification, and mission objectives.
• Coordinate payload integration into the spacecraft and support spacecraft-level integration and testing.
• Support launch campaign activities and ensure payload readiness for transportation, launch-site processing, and final integration.
• Coordinate payload-to-launch-vehicle requirements and assess potential launch-environment impacts.
• Support payload commissioning activities following launch, including activation, functional checks, calibration, and initial performance characterization.
• Work with mission operations teams to develop payload operational procedures, command sequences, monitoring requirements, and contingency responses.
• Monitor in-orbit payload performance and coordinate investigation of performance deviations or anomalies.
• Support payload health monitoring, performance trending, predictive analysis, and operational optimization.
• Coordinate payload data validation, processing, quality assessment, archiving, and delivery requirements.
• Work with commercial, scientific, government, or customer teams to translate mission objectives into payload performance and data requirements.
• Manage payload suppliers, technology partners, specialist contractors, laboratories, and external engineering organizations.
• Review supplier technical proposals, designs, qualification evidence, test results, and performance documentation.
• Monitor supplier technical performance, schedule, quality, cost, risks, and corrective actions.
• Ensure payload development and operations comply with applicable space, spectrum, export-control, safety, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements.
• Support frequency coordination, licensing, spectrum-management, and regulatory activities where relevant to the payload mission.
• Identify emerging payload technologies and assess opportunities for improved performance, miniaturization, efficiency, data quality, or mission capability.
• Evaluate advanced sensors, onboard processing, AI-enabled payload functions, software-defined payloads, digital beamforming, optical communications, hyperspectral technologies, and other emerging capabilities where applicable.
• Develop payload technology and obsolescence-management strategies.
• Establish payload lifecycle plans covering upgrades, sustainment, spares, technical support, and end-of-life considerations.
• Mentor payload engineers, technical specialists, test engineers, and mission-support personnel.
• Provide senior management with regular reports covering payload development, performance, risks, testing, integration, costs, schedule, and mission readiness.

Key Performance Indicators

• Payload development schedule adherence
• Payload requirements completion
• Requirements traceability coverage
• Payload design maturity
• Payload performance against requirements
• Payload mass and power performance
• Payload data-rate performance
• Payload sensitivity and accuracy
• Resolution or detection performance where applicable
• Payload availability
• Payload reliability
• Payload functional test pass rate
• Payload qualification completion
• Payload acceptance-test completion
• Environmental test performance
• Calibration accuracy
• Payload integration readiness
• Interface issue closure rate
• Payload anomaly rate

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate should have strong experience in satellite payload engineering, spacecraft systems, payload development, space electronics, RF systems, optical payloads, Earth observation, communications satellites, scientific instruments, or mission operations, preferably within commercial space, satellite manufacturing, government space programs, defense, or advanced aerospace environments.

The candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong understanding of satellite payload architectures and spacecraft interfaces.
• Experience managing payload development, integration, testing, and operational readiness.
• Strong knowledge of payload requirements, performance budgets, verification, and validation.
• Experience with one or more payload domains such as communications, RF, optical, Earth observation, remote sensing, scientific instrumentation, or navigation.
• Strong understanding of payload mechanical, electrical, thermal, data, RF, optical, and software interfaces.
• Experience with payload-level and spacecraft-level integration and testing.
• Knowledge of environmental qualification and acceptance testing for space hardware.
• Experience with payload calibration, characterization, performance validation, and anomaly resolution.
• Strong understanding of spacecraft power, thermal, avionics, data-handling, and attitude-control interfaces.
• Experience with payload ground-support equipment, test systems, instrumentation, and simulators.
• Familiarity with satellite ground systems, mission operations, telemetry, command, and data-processing environments.
• Experience managing technical suppliers, laboratories, specialist contractors, and technology partners.