NTN Security Research and Development Engineer

Sateliot is a Barcelona-based satellite company with one goal: connect everything, everywhere. Founded in 2018, we've built the first satellite constellation that lets standard commercial devices communicate directly from space. Our technology bridges the gaps that terrestrial networks will never reach, bringing affordable and secure connectivity to industries, governments, and communities across the planet.

Learn more: https://sateliot.space/

About the team & this role

Sateliot is seeking a talented NTN Security Research & Development Engineer to help design and build the next generation of secure communications for IoT, devices, and satellite networks. This role lies at the convergence of cybersecurity, cryptography, and 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), supporting the development of secure satellite, device and communication systems.

You will contribute to the development of Sateliot's cybersecurity capabilities for secure satellite systems and cryptographic frameworks, helping to protect end-to-end communications, roaming interfaces, and satellite-to-ground links. You will be involved across the full development lifecycle, from concept definition and simulation to prototype integration and laboratory validation within the Sateliot constellation and testbed environment.

This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who enjoys turning advanced security concepts into working prototypes and validated solutions.

A key part of your mission will involve the entire lifecycle of research and innovation projects, from the ideation and writing of competitive proposals, to technical leadership and execution of EU and nationally funded R&D initiatives, including ESA, SNS-JU, Horizon Europe, and National.

What you'll do

• Research, evaluate, and prototype lightweight and cryptographic mechanisms for 5G NTN Mobile Network.

• Design and implement security components and for resource-constrained devices and higher-performance platforms

• Contribute to the integration of cryptographic solutions into Sateliot’s 5G NTN system and satellite platform for secure end-to-end communications and roaming security

• Support development of secure application-layer communications over Sateliot 5G/6G NTN, environment

• Implement, test, and validate secure communications across devices, application servers, and satellite infrastructure.

• Participate in prototype integration, system testing, and use-case validation in lab and representative environments.

• Work closely with R&D team to translate requirements into technical implementations.

• Produce technical documentation including architecture descriptions, algorithm specifications, performance reports, and research deliverables.

• Collaborate closely with internal teams including RAN, core network, payload, system engineering, and terminals, ensuring alignment with Sateliot’s NTN roadmap.

• Conduct research on emerging IoT, handheld devices and 5G/6G NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) technologies.

• Support the preparation of competitive research proposals and grant applications, particularly for EU and national funding programs (ESA, SNS-JU, Horizon Europe).

• Contribute to technical documentation, including project deliverables, reports, and scientific publications.

• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners across multidisciplinary domains.

What you bring

• Ph.D./Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Engineering, Telecommunications, Computer Science, or related fields.

• Hands-on experience in security engineering or applied cryptography

• Strong programming skills in C/C++ and good practical experience with Python or scripting for testing and automation.

• Experience with Linux based development environment

• Knowledge of secure communication protocols, key management, digital signature, authentication, encryption, and integrity protection.

• Familiarity with TLS, DTLS, UDP/TCP-based secure transport, and application-layer protection mechanisms

• Experience integrating security into IoT devices, gateways, or edge systems.

• Ability to debug, test, and validate systems in lab environments with hardware and software

• Experience with laboratory environments, RF tools, simulations, or wireless-system testing.

• Demonstrated ability to work in fast-paced R&D environments, independently and as part of a team.

• Good communication skills in English, both written and verbal.

Bonus if you have

• Understanding post-quantum cryptography, lightweight cryptography, cryptographic primitives, symmetric-key algorithms (AES), asymmetric-