{"id":3651218,"url":"https://alion.io/job/mda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer","title":"Satellite Electrical Propulsion Systems Engineer","company":{"id":58297,"name":"MDA Space","domain":"mda.space","url":"https://alion.io/company/mda-space","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"UltiPro","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":28,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":26,"computed_at":"2026-11-03T05:54:40Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Bellevue, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Confluence","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-02T22:27:32Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-11-02","last_verified_at":"2026-11-04T05:15:31Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":1,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":1},"description":"Building the space between proven and possible, MDA Space is a trusted mission partner to the global space industry. A robotics, satellite systems and geointelligence pioneer with a 55-year+ story of world firsts and more than 450 missions, MDA Space is a global leader in communications satellites, Earth and space observation, and space exploration and infrastructure. The global MDA Space team of more than 4,000 space experts has the knowledge and know-how to turn an audacious customer vision into an achievable mission - bringing to bear a one-of-a-kind mix of experience, engineering excellence and wide-eyed wonder that’s been in our DNA since day one. For those who dream big and push boundaries on the ground and in the stars to change the world for the better, we’ll take you there. For more information, visit www.mda.space.\nRole overview:\nMDA is seeking a Satellite Electrical Propulsion System Engineer to define, design, analyse, integrate, and verify electric propulsion (EP) subsystems (thrusters, power-processing units, feed-systems, and control electronics) for current and next-generation remote sensing and communications satellites. The role will bridge spacecraft electrical power architecture, thermal-management, and mission-performance requirements, and may act as the technical authority for EP on multiple programs.\nTasks summary:\nArchitecture Concept & Requirements\nTranslate mission-level ΔV, thrust, lifetime, and reliability goals into EP system requirements (performance, power, mass, contamination, EMI).\nProduce System Requirements, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and Description documents for thruster assemblies, Power-Processing Units (PPU), propellant feed & storage, and control electronics.\nPerform requirement management and maintain bidirectional traceability throughout the project lifecycle.\nDetailed Design\nPerform system-level power, thermal, and mass budget analyses; produce trade-off matrices (thrust vs. power vs. propellant mass, reliability vs. complexity).\nLead detailed mechanical/electrical design of thruster mounting, heater/thermal control, and PPU (converter, regulator, fault-protection).\nDefine propellant handling hardware (tanks, valves, feed-lines, interconnects) and develop contamination control procedures.\nNegotiate ICDs and interface agreements with external thruster vendors and component suppliers.\nModeling & Simulation\nSupport or Develop 1-D/3-D plume models and perform reliability prediction.\nSoftware & Control\nDefine command and telemetry interfaces for EP & health-monitoring telemetry.\nWork with FSW teams to develop thrust profile generation, and fault detection isolation recovery (FDIR) algorithms.\nCross-Functional Coordination, Stakeholder & Program Interaction\nCommunicate technical status, risk assessments and trade-study results to senior management and/or customers or partners.\nNegotiate and manage ICDs with platform subsystems and supplier teams.\nSupport B&P (Phase 0 & pre-phase A).\nIntegration & Verification (IVV)\nDevelop verification plans, test matrices, and validation procedures for unit, subsystem, and spacecraft-level EP tests.\nOversee hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and thrust-stand testing, including thrust-calibration, specific impulse measurement, pulse-modulation, and lifetime cycling.\nTechnical Leadership & Mentorship\nMentor, guide junior engineers and interns.\nAct as technical liaison with customers, partners and external vendors\nAct as Continuous Improvement stakeholder\nContribute to MDA’s knowledge-base, process enhancements, and standards development.\nConfiguration, Documentation & Standards Management\nAuthor and maintain MDA EP standards (thruster qualification, PPU design, contamination limits).\nEnsure all artefacts, analysis, software, deliverables and documentations are version controlled in PLM environment.\nSupport design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, MRR/TRR…etc.).\nSupport Technology Road-Mapping & Innovation.\nLaunch-Site, On-Orbit & Operations Support\nProvide real-time EP support during launch, early-orbit checkout, and routine station-keeping.\nSupport on-orbit checkout procedures, thruster test campaigns, and contingency recovery plans.\nSupport SOOH development and associated operator\nRequired Qualifications:\nSc. in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace, or Physics with 5+ years of electrical propulsion engineering experience on LEO/MEO platforms.\nStrong knowledge of EP thruster families and their performance characteristics.\nExperience with propellant storage & feed-system design (tanks, valves, micro-valves).\nStrong understanding of aerospace system engineering fundamentals, space environment and orbit mechanics.\nHands-on individual who can support systems integration processes and capability to test systems and resolve problems.\nExperience with Confluence and JIRA.\nDemonstrated capability to efficiently work with little to no supervision\nAbility to distill complex problems to fundamentals to solve with analysis, similarity, or creativity.\nDemonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills in English; knowledge of French will be considered an asset (Contact with clients outside Quebec and work on deliverables in English).\nSupport the Spacecraft operations team in critical phases.\nComments/Special Considerations:\nSuccessful candidates must obtain and hold security clearance at the reliability status level, and pass security assessment for the Controlled Goods Program (CGP).\nWe’re a dream team of purpose-driven, collaborative and passionate people, and we are constantly looking for others to join #TeamMDA to ignite new and innovative approaches to problem-solving that push us forward to improve life on and above Earth. If you’re excited to expand our place in space and driven to inspire the next generation, we’ll take you there.\nWe have entered a new era of exploration and development, and MDA welcomes all who yearn to suit up and be part of it. An equal opportunity employer prizing diversity, integrity and collaboration, we are committed to growing MDA’s and Canada’s leadership in this next golden age.\nMDA provides competitive compensation and benefits packages for its employees at all locations. As a team member of MDA, you and your qualified dependents are eligible to participate in a benefit plan that ensures a comprehensive level of protection through competitive health care including; extended healthcare and flexible drug plans, dental and vision benefits, disability income protection, life insurance, group retirement savings plans; and an employee and family assistance program.\nMDA is proud to provide accommodation(s) during the recruitment process. Should you require any accommodations, please indicate this on your application/cover letter and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6798,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[{"language":"French","level":"All levels","optional":false},{"language":"English","level":"All levels","optional":false}]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Retirement plans"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-03T00:12:26Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":63,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.632,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":26,"reasons":["conf:1","stale_co","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-03T05:54:40Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/mda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/mda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-04T05:23:14Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":8374,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-05T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":58297},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=58297"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fmda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fmda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fmda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/mda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fmda-space-satellite-electrical-propulsion-systems-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3651218}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"mda.space","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3651218},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}