Systems Architect

• 99 City Rd, London, UK Full-time
• Level: Employee - Standard

Company Description

Inmarsat has been at the forefront of global mobile satellite communications for over forty years, and is the market leading provider of voice and high-speed data communications for users on land, at sea and in the air through its constellation of 14 geostationary satellites.  Inmarsat is a privately owned company with a profitable track record and significant growth aspirations. This is represented by more than 55 nationalities in the workforce, reflecting the global and dynamic nature of the business. With an investment of over $3 billion in its latest network infrastructure, Inmarsat is at the forefront of global mobile communications innovation.

Chief Technology Office 

Inmarsat’s Chief Technology Office (CTO) business unit sits at the core of our business and focuses on innovative technology development and engineering. The CTO maintains a centre of excellence for technology and broader infrastructure-related innovation, translating market needs into core expansion programmes to enable market development. We ensure that Inmarsat’s products and services are constantly pushing the boundaries of satellite communications.  The CTO team is responsible for delivering Inmarsat development programmes, including satellites and launchers, ground infrastructure (ground stations, networks, user terminals and access technology), regulatory, market access and product and service development. 

Job Description

We invite applications from those who feel they have the relevant skills and are interested in this career path. We would also be willing to discuss a more senior role for individuals with greater experience than specified.

Primary role purpose:

This role will strengthen the simulation and modelling competence of the Systems Engineering group within CTO. The goal is to maintain our ability to assess and forecast the performance, behaviour, and capacity of our current and future Ka-, L-, and S-band satellite systems. The successful candidate will participate in a team that is responsible for developing and maintain a number of different models for link budget analysis, for simulation of the communications links between UT, payload, and ground with impairments and orbital effects, for traffic analysis, and for network layer simulations. The output will support the design process for new systems and enhancements to existing systems. It will generate the traffic and capacity forecasts needed for operational and commercial purposes and will also drive recommendations for new satellite procurement and optimisation of the current fleet.

Key Responsibilities:

• Gain knowledge and develop expertise in the development of satellite systems models with the long-term goal of becoming a subject matter expert and a key point of contact
• Use innovative thinking with team members to develop models for future systems and to maintain and update existing models for current systems like BGAN and GX. The models will cover the radio, link, and network layers and may require consideration of satellite dynamics and orbital mechanics. There will be a particular emphasis on resource utilisation and optimisation, as well as system performance in the presence of interference and other impairments
• Adopt and maintain best practice approaches for software documentation, requirements tracking, development and testing
• Closely liaise with the architecture, payload, RAN and terminal teams in CTO to ensure that the models are in line with the system design and implementation
• Assist CTO in providing crucial traffic and capacity growth forecasts to CPM and BUs in support of the LRBP process
• Run simulations and perform technical analysis (in conjunction with other Inmarsat teams), interpret, and disseminate the results
• Perform performance and utilisation analysis on production data to aid model development, identify performance critical functions/features and optimise production configuration

Qualifications

Essential Knowledge and Skills:

• BSc/BEng (or higher degree) in a relevant technical degree (Satellite Communications, Telecommunications, Physics, Computer Science), or equivalent
• Experience in software development and using modelling simulation tools, preferably Matlab and/or Python. Some familiarity with STK and/or NS-3 would also be desirable
• Experience in algorithmic design, testing, and optimisation
• Experience in extraction and analysis of “real” data (SQL, AWS etc.)
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills, with emphasis on attention to detail
• Positive and energetic, self-motivated attitude
• Excellent spoken and written communication
• Demonstrate a recognition of knowledge gaps and a willingness to close these through online training (and in person as soon as possible)

Desirable Knowledge and Skills:

• Experience in Satellite or Mobile Communication systems
• A demonstrable, basic knowledge of air interface protocol layers; physical layer and link budget analysis skills
• Software development and design methodologies
• Experience with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to visualize large geo and time dependent data sets; experience with all kinds of data visualization software and or libraries
• Collaborative coding (Git and GitHub) communicating in a pro-active manner about the various updates
• Multi-cultural awareness; experience of working in, and with, a wide variety of cultures in a global environment

Additional Information

You must be eligible to work in this location advertised.

Inmarsat Values: 

Our values define Inmarsat’s culture and represent what we believe in. Inmarsat employees aspire to certain behaviours which support our corporate values, they create a stronger working environment and lie at the heart of our continued success as an organisation.

• Accountability – taking ownership, getting results and keeping our promises
• Respect – collaborating, embracing diversity and valuing differences
• Excellence – creating bold solutions for our customers and putting quality at the heart of everything we do