Job Specifications
Description
Shield Space is seeking a Space Domain Awareness Specialist to provide short-term astrodynamics and SDA expertise to our engineering team. This 3 month contractor role is ideal for someone with deep experience analysing orbital behaviour, interpreting SSA data, and understanding how satellites manoeuvre, interact, and deviate from expected patterns. Your insights will be used directly by our software and systems engineers to validate models, strengthen analytical assumptions, and ensure that the outputs we build reflect real-world orbital dynamics.
You will work closely with our technical leads, providing domain-expert interpretation of SDA and orbital data sources, advising on behaviour signatures, and helping the team build a robust analytical foundation for our next development cycle. This is a focused, high-impact engagement, where your expertise will meaningfully influence how our products mature in the coming months.
Responsibilities
Analyse orbital trajectories, manoeuvre patterns, and behaviour signatures, advising on their implications for modelling and data fusion
Interpret multi-source SDA and ISR datasets, including orbital elements, EO observations, and commercial SSA feeds
Support the validation of analytical models, assumptions, and behavioural indicators
Produce concise technical assessments for internal engineering and leadership teams
Provide day-to-day technical guidance to software developers to ensure analytical outputs remain aligned with domain reality
Help shape internal understanding of SDA data constraints, uncertainty, and interpretation limits
Essential Skills
Minimum bachelor’s degree in astrophysics, astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, or a closely related field
Demonstrable experience in SDA, orbital mechanics, satellite-behaviour analysis, or ISR exploitation
Hands-on experience with orbital-analysis tools such as STK, GMAT or Python-based modelling systems
Strong ability to interpret incomplete or ambiguous orbital data and form defensible conclusions
Clear communicator able to translate complex behaviours to non-specialists
Eligible for BPSS clearance
Desirable Skills
Experience in civil, commercial, or Defence space-operations environments
Python experience for analytical workflow automation
Familiarity with behavioural modelling, anomaly detection, or RPO-related dynamics
Benefits
Day rate up to £500/day
Flexible remote-first working
Work directly with a high-skill engineering team during a key development phase
Influence how SDA concepts are operationalised in next-generation autonomy architectures
Opportunity for follow-on consulting or longer-term work depending on programme needs
About Shield Space
Shield Space is a UK-founded orbital autonomy start-up developing sovereign, AI-enabled systems for secure and resilient space operations. Having recently secured significant investment we are looking to onboard the founding technical team to turn our vision into reality. Drawing on heritage from UK Space Command and beyond, we will build vision-based guidance and decision systems that enable small satellites to act independently in orbit even under actively communications-denied conditions. Our mission is to establish the UK as a leader in autonomous orbital defence and in-orbit servicing capability.
How to Apply
To apply, please send your CV to gritchie@shieldspace.co.uk along with a short 1–2 paragraph ‘Why Me’ statement outlining your background in SDA or orbital-behaviour analysis
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Application deadline: 23:59, Friday 12th December 2025.
About the Company
We’re here to redefine space security by harnessing the lessons of modern drone warfare. Instead of enormous monolithic satellites, we envision agile, networked clusters of smaller spacecraft capable of manoeuvring, inspecting, and, if necessary, disrupting threats on a tactical timeline. Through focused R&D, targeted prototyping, and collaboration with trusted partners, we plan to deliver orbital defence solutions that are both flexible and cost-effective. Our ultimate aim is to empower decision-makers with real-time, auton...
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