Security System Architect

Telesat (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT) is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions worldwide to broadcast, telecommunications, corporate and government customers for over 55 years.  Backed by a legacy of engineering excellence, reliability and industry-leading customer service, Telesat has grown to be one of the largest and most successful global satellite operators.

Telesat Lightspeed, our revolutionary Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, scheduled to begin service in 2027, will revolutionize global broadband connectivity for enterprise and Government users by delivering a combination of high capacity, security, resiliency and affordability with ultra-low latency and fiber-like speeds. Telesat is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and has offices and facilities around the world.
 
The company’s state-of-the-art Satellite fleet consists of 12 GEO satellites, the Canadian payload on ViaSat-1 and one LEO 3 demonstration satellite.  For more information, follow Telesat on X and LinkedIn or visit www.telesat.com

Key Responsibilities

• A system architect with a deep hands-on understanding of development processes and the ability to enhance them to easily identify security risks within the products and remediate or mitigate the risks without compromising functionality and performance. 

• For satellite, ground segment, network, and cloud-based systems, define and maintain: 

• common cybersecurity development architecture,

• assist in translating security requirements into actionable items for the development teams,

• ensure that the development teams have a consistent understanding of the required security paradigms, and can consider them at the needed development stages,

• develop guidelines on best adoption practices and design principles in response to guidance from Product Cybersecurity and Governance, Risk and Compliance teams.  

• Act as a bridge between the development teams and the cybersecurity team. Partner with Segment Domain Architects to integrate security requirements into end-to-end system architectures and technical roadmaps. 

• Lead threat modeling, security risk assessments, and architecture reviews throughout the product lifecycle.  

• Evaluate vulnerabilities, support remediation efforts, and assess the effectiveness of implemented security controls. 

• Implement security verification strategies and review results from penetration testing, code analysis, fuzzing, and other security assessments. 

• Support DevSecOps practices and integration of automated security tooling into development and CI/CD pipelines. 

• Support the Operations teams in development of security monitoring, incident response, and recovery strategies for mission-critical systems. 

• Support technical interactions with customers, partners, and vendors on cybersecurity-related topics. 
  

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. 

• 10+ years of experience in cybersecurity, system architecture with proven product development experience, product security, or embedded systems security. 

• Experience in aerospace, satellite communications, telecommunications, defense, or other mission-critical environments. 

• Experience securing embedded, networked, and cloud-native systems. 

• Certifications are considered an asset. 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong understanding of various software systems architectures, secure communications, and cryptographic technologies. 

• Experience with satellite, terminal and ground system architectures and their associated cybersecurity challenges. 

• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST 800-53, ISO/IEC 27001, and related compliance requirements. 

• Experience with security assessment tools and practices, including SAST, DAST, SCA, vulnerability management, and SIEM platforms. 

• Experience with Kubernetes, VMs, container security, service mesh architectures, PKI, Security devices,  and certificate lifecycle management. 

• Understanding of the cybersecurity threat landscape affecting space and telecommunications systems. 

• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence architectural decisions across multidisciplinary teams. 

This role plays a critical part in ensuring the security, resilience, and mission assurance of our next-generation satellite and ground systems while enabling secure innovation across the Development organization.

What Success Looks Like

• Security is embedded into all major architectural and design decisions from concept through to deployment. 

• Mission-critical satellite and ground systems are designed with resilience against evolving cyber threats. 

• Engineering teams consistently adopt secure-by-design and DevSecOps practices. 

• Security requirements are effectively balanced with operational performance, mission objectives, and delivery timelines. 

• The organization maintains a cost-effective, strong security posture while enabling innovation across next-generation space systems. 

Organizational Impact

This role serves as the cybersecurity architectural authority for satellite payload and ground system development, ensuring that security is treated as a foundational design requirement and strategic differentiator. Acts as a bridge between the Product cybersecurity team and the development teams. The Security System Architect will play a critical role in protecting mission integrity, safeguarding customer trust, and enabling secure growth of the organization's space and communications capabilities.