SATCOM Network Engineer

Spektrum supports apex purchasers (NATO, UN, EU, and National Government and Defence) and their Tier 1 supplier ecosystem with a wide range of specialist services. We provide our clients with professional services, specialised aerospace and defence sales, delivery, and operational subject matter expertise. We are looking for personnel to join our team and support key client projects.

Who we are supporting  

The NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for providing secure and effective communications and information technology (IT) services to NATO's member countries and its partners. The agency was established in 2012 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

The NCIA provides a wide range of services, including:

• Cyber Security: The NCIA provides advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect NATO's communication networks and information systems against cyber threats.
• Command and Control Systems: The NCIA develops and maintains the systems used by NATO's military commanders to plan and execute operations.
• Satellite Communications: The NCIA provides satellite communications services to enable secure and reliable communications between NATO forces.
• Electronic Warfare: The NCIA provides electronic warfare services to support NATO's mission to detect, deny, and defeat threats to its communication networks.
• Information Management: The NCIA manages NATO's information technology infrastructure, including its databases, applications, and servers.

Overall, the NCIA plays a critical role in ensuring the security and effectiveness of NATO's communication and information technology capabilities.

The program

Assistance and Advisory Service (AAS)

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is NATO’s principal C3 capability deliverer and CIS service provider. It provides, maintains and defends the NATO enterprise-wide information technology infrastructure to enable Allies to consult together under Article IV, and, when required, stand together in the face of attack under Article V.

To provide these critical services, in the modern evolving dynamic environment the NCI Agency needs to build and maintain high performance-engaged workforce. The NCI Agency workforce strategically consists of three major categorise's: NATO International Civilians (NIC)'s, Military (Mil), and Interim Workforce Consultants (IWC)'s. The IWCs are a critical part of the overall NCI Agency workforce and make up approximately 15 percent of the total workforce.

Role ID - 2026-0121

Role Duties and Responsibilities

SATCOM Network Architecture and Design:

• Provide technical expertise in the design, integration, operation, and optimisation of SATCOM network architectures supporting operational, commercial, and mission- critical communication services.
• Support the design and evolution of SATCOM network topologies, including hub-and-spoke, mesh, point-to-point, and point-to-multipoint architectures.
• Support the integration and management of hybrid SATCOM services, including military and commercial SATCOM capabilities.

Network Connectivity and Infrastructure Engineering

• Provide technical expertise across network connectivity, including IP networking, routing and switching, transmission systems, network security, transport technologies, and associated communications infrastructure required to support operational and customer-facing services.
• Support end-to-end IP service design across satellite and terrestrial network infrastructures.
• Provide expertise in the design and implementation of Layer 2 and Layer 3 services, including VLAN tagging (IEEE 802.1Q), VLAN mapping (Q-in-Q), VLAN translation, trunking, and traffic segmentation.

SATCOM Access and Transmission Engineering

• Support the configuration, operation, optimisation, and troubleshooting of SCPC, MCPC, TDMA, and other satellite access schemes.
• Support the operation and optimisation of transmission systems and associated network components.

SD-WAN and Hybrid Network Engineering

• Provide technical expertise in the design, deployment, integration, operation, monitoring, and optimisation of Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) solutions supporting SATCOM and hybrid communication environments.
• Support SD-WAN architecture, deployment and lifecycle management, integration of SD-WAN with SATCOM, terrestrial and hybrid WAN connectivity, centralised policy-based routing, application-aware traffic steering, dynamic path selection, and link optimisation across multiple transport technologies.

SATCOM Control Segment Integration

• Support the networking, connectivity, and integration of the SATCOM control segment, including the respective hardware and software tools and applications located at distributed NCIA facilities.
• Operations, Troubleshooting, and Optimisation
• Provide technical expertise to support the reliable operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and optimisation of the network infrastructure supporting SATCOM service delivery.
• Perform technical analysis, identify performance issues, support fault resolution, and provide engineering recommendations to improve service reliability and operational effectiveness.
• Support technical coordination with relevant resolver teams and stakeholders as required.
• All activities shall be performed in accordance with NCIA processes and procedures, ensuring compliance, traceability, and auditability.

Essential Skills, Experience and Certifications

• University Degree or Higher Vocational Training in Telecommunications, Electronics, Information Technology, Network Engineering, SATCOM Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in IP networking, including routing, switching, WAN technologies, and troubleshooting of complex network environments.
• Experience supporting SATCOM, WAN, or deployed communication systems in operational or mission-critical environments.
• Proven understanding of network concepts, including TCP/IP, IPv4 addressing and subnetting, TCP and UDP protocols, MTU and MSS considerations, and Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking fundamentals.
• Practical experience with routing and switching technologies, including static routing, OSPF, IS-IS, VLANs, Layer 2 and Layer 3 services, and the ability to analyse routing tables, forwarding decisions, routing convergence issues, and end-to-end traffic paths.
• Basic understanding of BGP fundamentals and route redistribution concepts.
• Practical experience with tunnelling technologies, including GRE, IPSec, GRE over IPSec, and L2TP.
• Ability to deploy, troubleshoot, and validate tunnelled environments, including diagnosis of encapsulation issues, connectivity problems, MTU and MSS-related issues, and end-to-end communication across multiple network domains.
• Proven understanding of SATCOM architectures, including SCPC and MCPC systems, SATCOM transport characteristics, satellite latency and bandwidth constraints, and integration of SATCOM transport into enterprise IP networks.
• Experience with VLAN tagging, mapping, trunking, traffic segmentation, SD-WAN technologies, and hybrid WAN architectures.
• Understanding of the impact of packet loss and jitter on operational services and applications.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve end-to-end connectivity issues, including routing issues, tunnel failures, packet loss, high latency, application connectivity problems, and asymmetric routing.
• Experience supporting operational deployments, exercises, and mission-related activities.
• Experience with Cisco routing and switching platforms.
• Understanding of network monitoring and performance management tools.
• Experience with service management processes, including incident management, problem management, and operational support processes.
• Relevant industry certifications are desirable. CCNA certification or equivalent practical experience is required. CCNP Enterprise certification or equivalent experience is preferred.
• Experience in NATO or multinational military environments is strongly desirable.
• Solid understanding of NATO operational standards, procedures, responsibilities, and communication protocols.
• Experience with SATCOM operations, engineering support, deployed communication systems, or related defence communication environments.
• Strong analytical capability applied to system performance, interoperability, troubleshooting, technical assessments, and fault isolation activities.
• Experience with IT Service Management (ITSM) platforms and service reporting tools in complex enterprise environments.
• Knowledge of SLA, OLA, and underpinning service management concepts.
• Proficiency in service performance reporting, trend analysis, and customer communication.
• Familiarity with network and unified communications technology domains to provide technically credible service support.
• English language proficiency at minimum C1 level.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills, enabling effective collaboration with NCIA teams, technical teams, customers, and senior stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision while contributing effectively as part of a team.
• Ability to coordinate technical investigations across multiple teams and support end- to-end fault isolation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Customer-focused approach in operational and service delivery environments.
• High level of motivation, adaptability, and collaboration.

Working Location

• Mons, Belgium

Working Policy

• On-site

Travel

• Some travel to other NATO sites may be required

Security Clearance

• Valid National or NATO Secret personal security clearance