Satellite & Payload Checkout Engineer
PierSight
Industry: Space Technology
Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India (with travel to integration and launch sites)
Role Type: Full-time Experience: 0-3 years
About The Role
PierSight Space is looking for a Junior Satellite & Payload Checkout Engineer to join the AIT/EGSE team. You'll write the software that stands in for the real world during satellite testing: test modules that control ground checkout hardware and emulate peripherals (sensors, actuators, payload interfaces) so that the Flight Software (FSW) running on the OBC-PLC can be exercised, validated, and debugged before the satellite ever leaves the ground.
This is a hands-on coding role. You'll spend most of your time writing and debugging test scripts and peripheral emulators, not managing programs — reporting to the Lead Satellite Ground Checkout/EGSE Engineer.
Responsibilities
- Write test modules (Python/C/C++) that command, monitor, and validate FSW behavior on the OBC-PLC over standard spacecraft interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, RS-422/485, GPIO).
- Build software emulators for satellite and payload peripherals (sensors, actuators, SAR/EO payload interfaces, power switching) so FSW can be tested without full hardware present.
- Develop and maintain telemetry/telecommand (TM/TC) test scripts against ICDs, including packet encode/decode and command sequencing.
- Support functional test execution at FlatSat, subsystem, and satellite level — running scripts, logging results, and flagging anomalies.
- Debug test failures using logs, protocol analyzers, oscilloscopes, and JTAG/debug interfaces; distinguish FSW bugs from test harness or EGSE issues.
- Write instrument control software (Python, C/C++) to drive lab and RF test equipment (signal generators, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, power meters) over GPIB/USB/Ethernet (SCPI, VISA).
- Build and maintain test dashboards for live visualization and logging of telemetry, test status, and instrument readings during checkout campaigns.
- Carry out RF measurements (payload/antenna characterization, link tests, etc.) using RF test instruments as part of satellite and payload checkout.
- Maintain version control and documentation for test scripts, emulator configs, dashboards, and test procedures. Build checkout/emulation setups end-to-end: generate schematics and BOMs, raise purchase requests for parts, and integrate the hardware and software into a working solution.
- Assist senior engineers with EGSE bring-up, test readiness reviews, and test procedure updates.
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronics, Computer, or Aerospace Engineering (or equivalent).
- Working proficiency in Python and C/C++, including writing software to control lab/test instruments.
- Coursework or project experience with embedded communication protocols (UART, SPI, I2C, CAN).
- Comfort reading schematics, ICDs, and datasheets.
- Internship, academic, or hobbyist project experience with embedded systems, satellites, or robotics.
- Exposure to test automation frameworks (pytest, unittest) or hardware-in-the-loop testing.
- Basic familiarity with lab equipment (multimeter, oscilloscope, logic analyzer, power supply).
- Familiarity with RTOS concepts or bare-metal embedded firmware.
- Prior exposure to SAR/EO payloads or spacecraft subsystems.
- LabVIEW experience.
- Previous experience with automated instrument control (SCPI/VISA-based test setups).
- Curious and methodical — comfortable digging into a failing test until you find the root cause.
- Careful and disciplined with documentation and configuration control.
- Eager to learn from senior AIT/EGSE engineers and take ownership of assigned test modules.
- Willing to own a task and complete that in-time during critical test campaigns.