Advanced Payload Engineer

Job description

Advanced Payload Engineer

Airbus Defence and Space Portsmouth

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2017, it generated revenues of € 67 billion and employed a workforce of around 130,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as Europe's number one space enterprise and the world's second largest space business. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

Our people work with passion and determination to make the world a more connected, safer and smarter place. Taking pride in our work, we draw on each other's expertise and experience to achieve excellence. Our diversity and teamwork culture propel us to accomplish the extraordinary - on the ground, in the sky and in space.

Description of the job

A vacancy for an Advanced Payload Engineer has arisen within the Airbus Defence & Space in Portsmouth. The successful applicant will join the Telecom Systems group.

The Telecom Payload System Engineering team is responsible for providing engineering support to telecom payload projects; to payload R&D activities and to the development of advanced payload products. The responsibilities of the Advanced Payload Engineer include the design of advanced payload architecture for telecom satellites; the contribution to the definition of future payload products and the hands-on involvement in state-of-the art projects within the global leader of the telecom satellite market.

The successful candidate will be subject to UK National Security Clearance in order to undertake related work in accordance with business needs.

Desired profile

Tasks & accountabilities

Your main tasks and responsibilities will include:

Support the telecom proposals team

·  Provide payload system engineering expertise support to bids
·  Analyse customer's requirements and take responsibility for the design of a solution meeting these requirements
·  When / where needed; assist in the capture and formalisation of the mission's specification
·  Identify the main payload design to cost trade-offs, risks and opportunities
·  Propose innovative approach and scope initial subsystems and equipment requirements to deliver the mission
·  Support the workload estimate process for all RF system engineering work packages
·  Generate payload frequency plans, block diagrams, analyses (e.g. EIRP, G/T etc.) and associated hardware lists. Carry-out initial performance analysis.
·  Generate the payload mission redline or statement of compliance and, where necessary, supporting customer negotiations

Support on-going projects: From customisation phase to PDR

·  Act as payload design manager during the initial phase of the project (customisation phase)
·  Take part to the equipment specification definition; with a particular focus on new / non-standard equipment and advanced sub-systems
·  Take part to the performance analysis of the payload
·  Take part to the preparation of the Preliminary Design Review data pack
·  Support PDR and interact with the customer as required

Support on-going projects: from PDR to AIT

·  Take responsibility for an advanced subsystem or dedicated complex analysis (calibration; digital payload performance analysis; etc.) and support the given work package through to the critical design review (CDR)
·  As required, take part to the test requirements specification for the given advanced subsystem and manage its industrialisation
·  Support the assembly, integration and test phase; reporting results to the customer and supporting investigation of non-compliance
·  Support of the advanced subsystem at spacecraft level during environmental test might also be needed; involvement in IOT might occasionally be required

Support Telecom R&D and Airbus Innovation

·  Support the R&D plan established by the Telecom business division: take responsibility for work packages and report to the R&D project manager
·  Prepare study reports and support technical meetings
·  Contribute to the identification of new topics of interest; both for R&D and for innovation (Airbus ‘BlueBox' process)
·  Demonstrate product and market knowledge by taking part to relevant workshops and initiatives focused on the definition of Airbus future products; contribute to the definition and implementation of development roadmap

Payload product and payload design expertise – support at transverse level

·  Build a thorough understanding of advanced payload technologies (e.g. matrix power amplification, on-board digital processing, active antennas; etc.)
·  Provide expertise on project, either by taking responsibility for dedicated work packages or by joining the team for the resolution of non-standard issues or investigations
·  Act as mentor for more junior team members
·  Operate at a transverse level in the business, working with the RF System team; but also with the equipment specialists; with the satellite systems group; the antenna group; with the procurement; with the proposal team; with AIT and with project and engineering management community

Required skills

We are looking for candidates with the following skills and experience:

·  A degree in a relevant subject: Telecommunications; Electrical, Electronic engineering, mathematics or physics
·  Knowledge of Satellite Communications systems; understanding of the current and future market from a commercial and customer perspective
·  Previous experience in advanced payload design and knowledge of systems level requirements for advanced payload
·  Extended experience in Microwave / high frequency RF engineering and / or digital signal processing
·  Extended experience with modelling software used in the context of RF Systems design / RF systems performance analysis – such as Matlab /Simulink; ADS; HFSS; etc. and/or any other relevant tool would be a plus

Skills and attributes

·  Ability to work within a complex multiple stakeholders' environment
·  Demonstrable verbal and written communication skills; at ease with colleagues within the engineering community; project management team but also customers and suppliers
·  Strong analytical skills
·  Capable of working autonomously against tight deadlines (typical example: proposals support)
·  Capable of integrating quickly to a diverse and international team (the Telecom Business Division is split across 3 sites: Toulouse; Portsmouth and Stevenage)
·  This role may involve business travel (sometimes at short notice) and as such you must be able to travel accordingly