[Hiring] Senior Director, LEO Partnerships & Government Product Strategy @Viasat, Inc.

Role Description

Viasat’s Government Services and Solutions team delivers secure, resilient satellite communications to government and defense customers in the U.S. and allied countries. You will lead the technical and commercial integration work that makes Lightspeed operational inside Viasat’s government products — specifically the Managed Private Network (MPN) architecture and the multi-orbit user terminal (UT) roadmap.

The output of this role is decisions Viasat will build on for years. The requirements, deployment sequencing, and vendor recommendations you produce determine where Viasat places its Private Points of Interconnect, which antenna and modem partners it commits to, how government traffic is segmented and routed across the MPN–Lightspeed boundary, and how quickly Viasat can stand up pilots for government customers and capture early revenue.

This is a six-month assignment with knowledge transfer built into the scope, so the work is collaborative by design. You will work across various teams and document what you learn to ensure the capability stays with Viasat after the assignment closes.

On any given week, you might be:

• Defining MPN requirements for Lightspeed Large (4 m) Private Points of Interconnect (PPoI), including technical specifications, bills of material, and procurement plans with realistic lead times.
• Building PPoI implementation plans across domestic and international sites — site survey plans, spectrum and regulatory analysis, integrated master schedules, and integration, test, verification, validation, and commissioning plans.
• Running a trade study on PPoI deployment sequencing, comparing a globally balanced rollout against a region-first rollout.
• Designing end-to-end terrestrial and cloud connectivity between PPoIs and customer service delivery points, including QoS tiering, SLAs, and mission-specific performance requirements.
• Defining mission segmentation, Impact Level (IL) routing policies, and traffic ingress and egress rules across the MPN–Lightspeed boundary.
• Setting antenna requirements across Viasat GEO, Lightspeed LEO, and multi-orbit multi-band (MOMB) user terminals.
• Assessing ESA and phased-array antenna vendors on technical fit and performance, then recommending a shortlist for scalable UT production.
• Defining modem and waveform requirements, including Lightspeed DVB-S2/RCS-2, M3, and Viasat waveforms.
• Mapping GEO–LEO orchestration: use cases, latency, jitter and throughput expectations, latitude and coverage considerations, failover logic, and resiliency behavior.
• Planning UT integration and test, and defining the Type Approval and Service Certification (TASC) path for UT–MPN–Lightspeed convergence.
• Maintaining the program plan — milestones, decision gates, and the risk register — and delivering weekly status updates.
• Writing the playbooks and running the training sessions that transfer this knowledge to Viasat teams before the assignment ends.

Qualifications

• Experience with the Telesat LEO constellation service integration, from ground segment through service delivery.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field, and 12+ years of satellite communications experience — or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience defining requirements for satellite ground segment and network architecture.
• Experience with satellite user terminals, including antenna and modem or waveform requirements.
• Experience delivering satellite programs for government or defense customers.
• U.S. citizenship, with eligibility to obtain a U.S. security clearance.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as program needs require.
• Based in the United States.

Requirements

• Direct Telesat Lightspeed program experience — working knowledge of the Lightspeed architecture, PPoI design, and the TASC certification process.
• An active U.S. security clearance, or a clearance eligible for reinstatement.
• Experience delivering multi-orbit services across GEO, MEO, and LEO.
• Familiarity with ESA and phased-array antenna suppliers and satellite modem vendors.
• Experience applying Impact Level routing and mission segmentation to government and defense traffic.
• Working knowledge of DFARS and NIST SP 800-171 compliance in a program delivery context.
• Program management depth — building and holding an integrated master schedule.
• Strong writing and teaching instincts.
• Comfort working with dependencies outside your control.

Benefits

• Salary range: $209,000.00 - $329,500.00 / annually.
• For specific work locations within San Jose, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, the base pay range is $259,000.00- $389,000.00/ annually.
• Base pay may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
• Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package.
• Comprehensive benefit offerings focused on holistic health and wellness.

EEO Statement

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic.