Global Ground Station Site Manager - Mission Operations

About Lynk

Lynk is the inventor of satellite direct to standard phone technology aka sat2phone, and has the world’s only commercial license from the FCC to operate a commercial sat2phone system. Today, Lynk allows mobile network operators' subscribers to send and receive text messages to and from space via standard unmodified, mobile devices. Lynk’s service has been tested and proven on all seven continents, has regulatory approvals in more than 30 countries and is currently being deployed commercially based on more than 40 MNO commercial service contracts covering approximately 50 countries.

Our technology will enable all 8 billion people on the planet to stay connected with the existing standard phone in their pocket. Everywhere. No matter what.

By joining Lynk, you will have the opportunity to directly touch the lives of billions. Your mission will be to bring mobile broadband to billions, pull hundreds of millions out of poverty, and save countless lives.

Job Summary

Lead the planning, deployment, and lifecycle management of Lynk’s global space-to-ground sites. This role owns deployment execution from site selection support and vendor/teleport partnerships through procurement coordination, installation oversight, acceptance testing, operational handover, and lifecycle performance management. The Global Ground Station Site Manager will also help structure Ground Station-as-a-Service partnerships with major operators to extend capacity, resiliency, and geographic reach.

This role will work closely with Ground Station Systems Engineering, Ground Systems Software, Ground Site Operations, Mission Operations, Telecom, vendors, and external site partners. The Site Manager owns deployment execution, vendor/site coordination, GSaaS/teleport partner management, schedule, budget, readiness tracking, and operational handover. Technical architecture, software integration, and physical installation are performed in partnership with the responsible engineering and operations roles.

Experience with program management of space-to-ground infrastructure is desired; curiosity, ownership, and motivation are required. This is a role for someone who can bring structure, visibility, and execution discipline to a fast-moving ground station deployment environment.

Core Responsibilities

• Drive ground station site selection activities with cross-functional teams, balancing link needs, latency, resilience, cost, backhaul, regulatory constraints, operational supportability, and deployment schedule.
• Coordinate permitting, licensing, spectrum, civil works, and EHS activities with legal, compliance, engineering, vendors, and site partners.
• Negotiate and manage teleport, vendor, and GSaaS contracts and SLAs aligned to availability, latency, support windows, spares, escalation paths, and response times.
• Own deployment plans, including budget, schedule, logistics, procurement coordination, shipping, build planning, integration readiness, antenna installation coordination, and site acceptance.
• Establish standardized operating procedures, acceptance criteria, readiness gates, operational handover packages, runbooks, spare/maintenance plans, and support models.
• Establish a vendor performance framework, deployment risk register, and reporting cadence covering milestones, blockers, mitigations, readiness status, and operational performance.
• Coordinate cross-functional evaluation of next-generation hardware, GSaaS capabilities, teleport options, and alternative site designs to improve cost, resiliency, throughput, and operational supportability.
• Partner with Ground Station Systems Engineering and Ground Systems Software to define required site telemetry, alarms, control points, interface requirements, and operational visibility needed for high-quality Mission Operations support.
• Support transition of new or upgraded ground station capabilities into Mission Operations, ensuring MOC personnel understand site capabilities, limitations, escalation paths, and first-level response procedures.

During the first 12 Months

• Deliver new ground station sites or GSaaS capabilities into service with documented acceptance, clear ownership, and operational handover.
• Execute or support GSaaS and teleport partner agreements with measurable SLA expectations, escalation paths, and performance reporting.
• Establish a standardized deployment kit/BOM and repeatable “site in a box” process that reduces deployment variability and improves schedule predictability.
• Develop a vendor performance scorecard and regular review process to track service quality, address issues, and ensure vendors consistently deliver contracted availability.
• Publish or contribute to an integrated Ground Station CONOPS and playbook for transitioning services to new sites and adding new capacity to the network.
• Train or coordinate training for Mission Operations Center personnel on first-level response to ground station issues, escalation paths, and site-specific operational constraints.

Qualifications

• 10+ years delivering complex telecom, satellite ground segment, teleport, SATCOM, network infrastructure, or similar operational infrastructure programs.
• Experience managing multi-site deployment programs involving vendors, engineering teams, operations teams, schedules, budgets, logistics, and operational readiness.
• Strong vendor, contract, SLA, and partner management experience, with a track record of driving accountability across external and internal teams.
• Working knowledge of satellite ground systems, teleports, RF systems, networking, power/HVAC, site infrastructure, and operational support models.
• Familiarity with licensing, permitting, spectrum coordination, civil works, and the regulatory environment for satellite communications.
• Comfortable with budgets, schedules, procurement coordination, logistics, executive reporting, and periodic global travel.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical, operational, vendor, and schedule risks into clear decision-ready updates.
• Demonstrated ability to bring structure to ambiguous environments and drive execution across teams that do not directly report to the role.

Preferred Qualifications

• PMP or similar project/program management certification.
• Prior hands-on teleport, ground station, antenna, satellite gateway, or SATCOM infrastructure deployment experience.
• Experience with GSaaS providers, teleport operators, satellite operators, telecom operators, or managed network service providers.
• Experience establishing site acceptance criteria, readiness reviews, operational handover processes, vendor scorecards, or SLA performance management.
• Familiarity with ITSM, change management, incident management, problem review boards, or operational readiness governance.

ITAR Requirements

To comply with U.S. Government export control regulations (ITAR), applicants must be one of the following: (i) a U.S. citizen or national, (ii) a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) a refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) an asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158. Individuals who do not meet these criteria must be eligible to obtain the necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. For more information, please refer to the ITAR guidelines.

Learn about ITAR here. https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/ddtc_public?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987

Job Location

Chantilly, VA