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Contract Communications Systems Architect

Contract Communications Systems Architect (Deep Space)
$140 – $160/hour
4-month contract — highly likely to extend
Part-time: approx. 20–25 hours per week
Remote (US-based)

A stealth-mode space startup is hiring a Communications Systems Architect on contract to own the comms subsystem design for a Mars-capable satellite bus. The mission: a commercial interplanetary communications constellation, targeting launch in 2029.

This isn’t a support seat. The architecture is yours to define. The founders are flight-hardware operators who have shipped mission-critical space systems from concept through flight ops — they want an engineer who can take the comms subsystem from Conceptual Design Review through Preliminary Design Review and produce documentation that stands up to scrutiny.

What you’ll be doing

  • Defining the communications subsystem architecture for a Mars-compatible satellite bus, driving design decisions through CoDR and PDR
  • Developing preliminary comms performance analyses and deep-space link budgets
  • Building a Mars mission link analysis covering both relay and direct-to-Earth concepts, with enough depth to anchor CoDR and PDR decisions
  • Leading candidate architecture trade studies and command & telemetry architecture definition
  • Owning interface definition across complex system boundaries
  • Producing all CoDR and PDR data deliverables to programme schedule milestones

What you’ll deliver

  • Phase 1 — Comms CoDR package
  • Phase 2 — Comms PDR package

What you’ll need

  • Proven experience architecting a communications system for a lunar or Mars mission — this is the core requirement
  • Strong RF and satellite comms subsystem design background, including deep-space link budget analysis
  • Experience leading architecture trade studies and interface definition
  • Comfortable with formal design review processes (CoDR, PDR) and the documentation discipline that comes with them
  • Self-directed and delivery-focused — able to operate in a lean, early-stage environment
  • US-based

Nice to have

  • Relay vs direct-to-Earth architecture trade experience
  • Command and telemetry architecture design for interplanetary mission profiles
  • Prior contract or interim work — you land and add value fast

Interested
Click apply with an updated copy of your CV. I’ll come back to you within 48 hours. If you don’t hear back within 48 hours, please assume you haven’t been successful on this occasion.