Communications Systems Staff Engineer

About the role

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we’re on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We’re looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

Responsibilities

• Develop next generation satellite systems for GEO and NGSO satellite constellations and ground systems.
• Contribute to development of systems including end-to-end architecture, analysis, simulation, and verification of both standards-based and customized communication systems.
• Part of group responsible for performance of current and future systems.
• Position centers on end-to-end system design.
• Work within a focused team to propose, develop, simulate, analyze, and test various systems and subsystems used for wireless satellite communications systems.
• Support and react to industry standardization activities such as 3GPP as needed.
• Create and maintain RF or optical link budgets and estimate overall link and system capacity.
• Develop and analyze specification and requirements.
• Work autonomously and collaboratively within a dynamic, fast-paced environment, where quick turnarounds are essential to team success.
• Documentation responsibilities: managing requirements using Jama, fulfilling tasks documented in Jira, preparing and reviewing design documents.
• Participate in peer reviews of software, hardware, and architecture.

Requirements

• Deep expertise in communications systems, coding theory, estimation theory, control theory, signal processing, and modern system architectures.
• Proven ability to design, develop, integrate, and test complex communications systems.
• Experience leading technical efforts across disciplines, including system analysis and engineering trade-off decisions.
• Strong systems-thinking skills with ability to balance performance, reliability, cost, and operational requirements.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills, including presenting technical recommendations and review findings.
• Ability to work independently from broad objectives while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated technical leadership, influencing decisions through analysis, innovation, and sound engineering judgment.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field, or equivalent practical experience; advanced degree preferred.
• Ability to travel up to 10% as needed.

Skills

• Expertise with MATLAB