Jobs at The Exploration Company

Lead end-to-end development and delivery of defence and dual-use orbiters and in-orbit service capabilities. Translate customer needs into mission and programme requirements, manage scope, schedule, budget, resources, quality and technical performance, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams through design, qualification, launch, commissioning and operations. Act as the primary customer contact, manage suppliers and manufacturing activities, and support proposals for institutional and defence customers.

Leads operational purchasing and direct-material procurement across international locations. Manages supplier relationships, delivery performance, procure-to-pay controls, ERP purchasing data, and recovery actions for supply risks. Develops commodity and standard-parts strategies, allocates purchasing capacity, anticipates demand, and improves purchasing processes. Leads distributed procurement teams across Germany, Italy, France, and the planned US scope while ensuring compliance with EN9100 requirements and aerospace delivery priorities.

Develop and validate propulsion system models, analysis tools, and post-processing workflows for spacecraft development and testing. Collaborate with pressure and feed system engineers to design representative test setups, create test plans, analyze real-time and post-test data, correlate fluidic models, and resolve anomalies during test campaigns. Produce test reports and actionable performance insights while supporting propulsion subsystem design maturation and verification.

Lead assembly, integration, and test activities for two cryogenic propulsion systems. Provide technical and people leadership across AIT teams, approve procedures and test documentation, resolve anomalies, coordinate resources, manage risks, and ensure safety, quality, schedule, and performance objectives. The role includes planning and executing complex propulsion test campaigns, overseeing system integration and acceptance, supporting investigations and corrective actions, and mentoring technical teams.

Conducts engine and component-level propulsion tests, including planning, risk assessment, test execution, data analysis, and reporting. Develops test sequences, procedures, schedules, and safety mitigations while coordinating with development, test-bench, AIT, and external teams. Supports propulsion hardware performance analysis and future test campaigns, with work involving propulsion chemistry, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, cryogenic systems, simulation tools, CAD, and technical documentation.

Lead the company’s indirect procurement and CAPEX strategy across equipment, facilities, tools, and services. Responsibilities include supplier identification and development, contract negotiation, performance management, sourcing strategy, procurement operations, budget coordination, compliance, total-cost analysis, and purchase standardization. The role prioritizes investments supporting Nyx Earth delivery, collaborates across technical and corporate functions, and leads the indirect procurement team.

Manage assembly, integration, and test activities for the Nyx space vehicle, including vibration, shock, thermal, TVAC, EMC, parachute, mechanism, and structural testing. Responsibilities include defining requirements, preparing procedures, executing tests, procuring and installing instrumentation, resolving anomalies, documenting results, coordinating internal and external facilities, supporting equipment procurement, and collaborating with AIT technicians and MGSE teams.

Support assembly, integration, qualification, and functional testing of propulsion equipment for qualification and flight models. Responsibilities include planning integration procedures, procuring tooling and ground support equipment, conducting mechanical and electrical tests, collaborating with design teams, documenting results, and driving continuous improvement. The role requires liquid propulsion knowledge, hands-on mechanical assembly, basic electrical test capability, Python scripting, organization, and strong teamwork.

Support flight software certification for the Nyx orbital vehicle through V&V and IV&V, requirements management and tracing, test planning, documentation for certification and NASA safety reviews, standards interpretation, interfacing with system engineering and product assurance, and contributing to software design and integrated mission testing using C++ and Python.

Designs and structurally validates spacecraft propulsion hardware, especially thrust chamber assemblies and injectors. Responsibilities include CAD development, hand calculations, FEA, material and manufacturing-process selection, interface and configuration control, trade studies, structural documentation, and test support. The role also supports manufacturing, inspection, root-cause investigations, model correlation, and design updates based on test results.

Lead and develop a six-person CNC machining workshop supporting aerospace and space hardware programs. Manage daily priorities, capacity, machine allocation, production follow-up, safety, quality, maintenance, and delivery performance. Serve as the interface between design, manufacturing engineering, CNC programming, machinists, quality, metrology, production, and supply chain. Drive Design for Manufacturing, machining strategy, tooling, workholding, process improvement, team development, equipment investments, and production traceability.

Develop EMC/EMI design recommendations, test policies, and compliance plans for spacecraft systems. Review designs, conduct pre-compliance and compliance testing, analyze test data, resolve non-conformities, and ensure adherence to aerospace and defense standards. Collaborate with systems and hardware engineers, document results, provide technical guidance, and support EMC/EMI mitigation throughout the product lifecycle.

Designs, analyzes, procures, and commissions mechanical ground support equipment for aerospace capsule assembly and testing. Responsibilities include CAD design and drafting, mechanical calculations, finite element analysis, supplier coordination, manufacturing follow-up, assembly support, commissioning, documentation, and mechanical test support. The role requires knowledge of machine and structural design, manufacturing processes, design for manufacturing, GD&T, margin calculations, and hands-on mechanical assembly.

Design, analyze, procure, and commission mechanical ground support equipment for lunar lander assembly and testing. The role includes CAD and manufacturing drawings, structural calculations, FEA, supplier coordination, manufacturing oversight, assembly support, commissioning, documentation, and mechanical test planning. Candidates need mechanical or aerospace engineering expertise, machine and structural design experience, manufacturing knowledge, GD&T, hands-on assembly skills, and strong technical communication.

Build and deploy deep-learning computer vision systems for autonomous spacecraft proximity operations. Responsibilities include 6-DoF pose estimation, synthetic-to-real training, model optimization and quantization, embedded and neuromorphic deployment, uncertainty and explainability, hardware-in-the-loop validation, self-supervised adaptation, and efficient cloud/HPC training. The role also supports camera selection, requirements definition, testing, and safety-critical space applications.

Develop and test flight software for the Nyx spacecraft, including subsystem requirements, software modules, unit tests, integrated tests, and spacecraft simulator components. Collaborate with avionics, propulsion, and GNC teams while applying embedded programming, debugging, CI/CD, real-time systems, communication protocols, and safety-critical software practices.

Own the embedded software platform stack for aerospace systems, including bootloader, BSP, RTOS, MCU drivers, communications, FPGA interfaces, toolchains, and CI infrastructure. Bring up ARM Cortex-M platforms, develop safety-critical firmware, debug hardware and software issues, validate requirements, maintain documentation, and coordinate with electronics, systems, testing, and EGSE teams.

Develops propulsion fluid systems for the Storm engine, translating engine requirements into system architectures, designs, development roadmaps, and verification strategies. Leads trade studies, component selection, risk assessments, pneumatic equipment design, and test planning. Analyzes test data to validate models and improve system designs. Requires propulsion fluid-system experience, knowledge of fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, cryogenic fluids, and fluid components, plus Python and CAD experience.

Develop and optimize functional architectures for the Storm rocket engine. Responsibilities include architecture trade studies, propulsion-system modeling with EcosimPro and Python, requirements allocation, FMEA, operating-condition definition, test-data analysis, and model validation. The role requires expertise in cryogenic propulsion, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, aerospace standards, and systems engineering, with collaboration across engineering teams and potential hardware prototyping.

Lead end-to-end integration and certification of Nyx spacecraft missions to the International Space Station. Coordinate with NASA, ESA, and internal engineering teams; manage certification plans, requirements, safety reviews, verification and validation activities, lifecycle reviews, risk mitigation, and certification closure. Ensure spacecraft design and operations comply with ISS interface, safety, operational, and verification requirements while meeting project schedules, budgets, and quality standards.