The Challenge

As Head of PNT, you will be responsible for providing expert Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) expertise to, and on behalf of, SAC from the team that you manage. You will be both a line manager for the team and a significant PNT expert in your own right. You will ensure that the PNT team is …

• The right shape and size to deliver on SAC’s commitments and goals

• Actively supporting and advising our programmes (“missions”) via the organisational matrix

• Maintaining a though-leadership position at the forefront of the technology domain.

You will proactively collaborate across technology domains and across professional disciplines / departments – promoting the integration of good business strategy and deliverability with fit-for-purpose technology.

Our focus for PNT is on creating economic growth for the UK, supported by space services. We aim to achieve that through avenues such as:

• Greater use of PNT by industry and society at large

• More resilient approaches to PNT, including sensor fusion approaches

• Novel ways of achieving PNT through advanced use of signals

As a not-for-profit organisation, with a core grant from InnovateUK, SAC acts to help the UK and the UK space sector achieve its aims in space. You will work with clients and partners in the commercial sector, academic community and government / civil service.

The successful application may be required to obtain SC-level security clearance, and to contribute to ‘dual-use’ related activities as the needs of the business require.

Role responsibilities

• Represent SAC, as a PNT “thought leader”, to the space sector and to communities beyond the space sector.

• Line Manage and develop a team of subject matter experts

• Actively support Business Development activities to find and bid for new projects / funding

• Actively support the programme lines (“Missions”) through provision of staff to meet their needs, and provision of subject matter advice

• Plan and execute Thought-Leadership activities relevant to the Team’s specialism, to influence both SAC’s own strategic choices and those of the sector

• You will be responsible for the technical quality of your team’s contribution to bidding and delivery

  Experience required

• Substantial experience in Position, Navigation and Timing, with a sound understanding of methods for space-derived PNT and how they complement other forms of PNT.

• Sound understanding of RF-based communication technologies, as relevant to space-based PNT

• Understanding of use ‘in the real world’ – hazards, threats, operating concepts, etc

• Line Management of subject matter experts

• Good communication – for public engagement and for technical audiences, both written and spoken.

The successful candidate is likely to have experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Sensor fusion

• Antenna and RF engineering

• Vulnerabilities and mitigation methods for interference (including in relation to jamming and spoofing)

• PNT applications to different user contexts (E.g. air, sea, land)

• User devices for PNT

Ways of Working

We are a learning organisation where our ways of working are underpinned by coaching and feedback, fostering adult to adult conversations. Innovation is at the heart of everything that we do, therefore being highly adaptive and agile with a GROWTH mindset will ensure your success at the Catapult. We expect our people to be Pioneering, Agile, Collaborative and Entrepreneurial, working at PACE.

 How we work….

We strive to create a high trust, high performance and inclusive environment that enables team members to bring their whole selves to work – this helps to create the foundations of an innovation culture. Our shared values are critical to this:

• We care - for our people, our partners, and our planet

• We connect - and engage with people and ideas

• We learn - and grow, as people and as an industry

Underpinning this is our belief in great teams, our combined efforts will always deliver outcomes beyond that of anyone providing we are honest through debate, experiment and reflect, and create shared resolutions in support of our purpose. Live these values, work to our principles, take ownership to deliver, and we are certain you will thrive with us.

This job description set outs the skills and experience we think are needed to be able to perform in this job. However, if you believe you can deliver in this role then we want to hear from you.

Important notice for applicants: We use tools to detect plagiarism and the use of AI or chatbots for applicant answers. If plagiarism, AI use (such as ChatGPT) or similar software are found to have been used in your application you will not be considered for this or future roles within the Satellite Applications Catapult.

At Satellite Applications Catapult, we're committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce. We welcome candidates from all corners of the globe, but due to legal and logistical considerations, we want to be transparent about the potential visa-related challenges that could arise. Our ability to offer sponsorship will depend on the level of interest for our roles and salary level.

If you need any additional support during the application process, please do reach out and connect. We also invite you to share feedback via Applied.