Digital Payload System Engineer | Onsite Opportunity | Fastwater Staffing

📍 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
📄 Employment Type: Contract-to-Permanent (Preferred) / Contract
🏢 Work Arrangement: 100% On-site
🚀 Start Date: Immediate
💰 Compensation: TBD -- based on skills and experience

Important Screening Requirements

• Must be legally authorized to work in Canada.
• Must be eligible to obtain the required security clearance.
• This position requires 100% on-site work in Montreal, Quebec.
• Contract-to-permanent candidates are strongly preferred, although pure contract candidates will also be considered.
• English proficiency is required. French is considered an asset.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Digital Payload System Engineer to support the design, integration, and verification of advanced digital regenerative payload systems for LEO and MEO satellite missions. In this role, you will contribute to system architecture, requirements development, integration, and testing while working closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver next-generation satellite communications solutions. The ideal candidate has a strong background in digital payload systems, satellite communications, and aerospace systems engineering.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop digital regenerative payload systems for LEO and MEO satellite missions.
• Define and manage system requirements, interface control documents (ICDs), and technical specifications.
• Support systems integration, verification, testing, troubleshooting, and issue resolution.
• Develop technical documentation, including requirements, test procedures, risk assessments, and engineering reports.
• Collaborate with customers, suppliers, and multidisciplinary engineering teams throughout the project lifecycle.
• Participate in system design reviews, trade studies, and engineering analyses.
• Support payload performance evaluation and system optimization.
• Utilize Confluence and JIRA to support engineering documentation and project execution.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience designing digital regenerative payload systems for LEO and/or MEO satellite missions.
• Comprehensive knowledge of:
  • Digital communications
  • Software Defined Radio (SDR)
  • Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
  • DVB-RCS and DVB-S2X protocols
  • Digital modulation schemes
  • Class of Service (CoS)
  • Networking and MPLS
  • 2G, 5G, and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN)
• Strong understanding of aerospace systems engineering principles.
• Hands-on experience supporting system integration, testing, troubleshooting, and issue resolution.
• Strong technical writing skills, including requirements, ICDs, test procedures, and risk documentation.
• Experience using Confluence and JIRA.
• Ability to work independently and solve complex engineering problems through analytical and creative thinking.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• French language proficiency.
• Experience supporting end-to-end digital payload development for commercial or government satellite programs.
• Strong background in satellite communications, systems integration, and payload verification.