Freelance Operations Research Engineer Jobs in Arizona

Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world.   For over 20 years, Iridium’s unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.

At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed.  Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions.  Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world.  Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves.   We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.

Iridium is seeking a talented and motivated Systems Development Engineer II to join our Automation team. As a Systems Development Engineer II, you will write and review code and maintain framework infrastructure throughout our agile development cycle. In this role, you’ll gain valuable experience designing and developing automation for interdisciplinary projects, and supporting team members with day-to-day activities. You’ll thrive in this role if you enjoy software engineering, design, devops, research, deep-dive troubleshooting, and detail-oriented tasks in both individual and team-based settings.

• Work with industry standard tools and software such as Elasticsearch/Logstash/Kibana, Amazon Web Services, CI/CD pipelines, event-driven messaging, containers and more
• Participate in an Agile software team to collaborate and coordinate with team members on a variety of tasks including:
  • Software architecture design
  • API definition, design, and implementation
  • Virtualization and containerization
  • Automation framework infrastructure deployment
  • Hardware communications
  • Data transformation and visualization
• Effectively brainstorm to support the team in solving problems and developing creative solutions within the automation organization
• Assist with translating User Stories into specific actionable tasks
• Maintain and expand existing software tools, lab environment, and hardware components
• Create documentation that clearly presents complex information
• Learn the details and protocols of the Iridium satellite constellation and ground systems to better assist the internal Iridium teams.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical degree
• 2+ years of experience with software development or automation
• An analytical mindset, with the ability to understand a situation or problem and think critically to make decisions and come up with solutions
• Experience developing software in Python and/or other object-oriented software languages
• Demonstrated understanding of fundamental object-oriented software engineering concepts
• Experience working with Linux and/or Unix via the command line
• Experience with Git and distributed version control
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly present information and ideas to others
• Have confidence and be able to easily build meaningful relationships with your manager and members of your team
• Must be able to prioritize your tasks, be self-aware enough to identify and correct mistakes, and not be afraid to ask for help when needed
• Be active in seeking out ways to improve yourself and gain new knowledge, and be enthusiastic in sharing knowledge with others 

• Experience with:
  • Agile software development process
  • Jira or similar tool
  • Integrated Development Environments (e.g. PyCharm, Visual Studio)
  • Containerization knowledge in docker and/or podman
  • Structured databases such as MySQL
  • Schema-free document engines such as Elasticsearch
  • DevOps and CI/CD tool suites
  • Configuration as Code tools
  • Basic networking skills
• Intermediate knowledge of the Linux and/or Unix operating systems

• This position directly performs under, supports, or is exposed to a U.S. government contract. To comply with the requirements of that U.S. government contract, applicants for this position must be U.S. citizens 

This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer. 

We believe in-person connection drives innovation, strengthens mentorship, and builds culture, while flexibility enables employees to do their best work. Under Iridium’s Hybrid Work Policy, employees are expected to work at least three days per week (approximately 60%) in an Iridium office to support collaboration, relationship-building, and professional growth.

Additional Information

This job description outlines the general nature and level of work for this role and is not a comprehensive list of duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Employees may be assigned additional responsibilities as needed.

Base Pay Range: $85,000 - $105,000 USD

Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors and this range represents an estimate of compensation at the time of posting. Base salary is only one part of our compensation package for this role. You may also be eligible for company stock and annual bonus. Employee benefits also include medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage; 401(k) retirement plan options; paid time off and paid holidays; paid parental leave; and other discounts and perks.  

Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.