Thruster Assembly Senior Engineer [Nyx Earth]

Here at The Exploration Company, we are developing, producing, and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle that can eventually be refuelled in orbit and that can carry cargo - and potentially humans in the longer run.

The heart of a spacecraft lies in its propulsion system, and that's why we, at The Exploration Company, are dedicated to developing our own cutting-edge Propulsion Systems ensuring the highest level of efficiency and reliability in our space endeavours.

We want you as a talented Thruster Assembly Senior Engineer to help us in our mission by leading the procurement of the thrusters during development and flight production.

You will be responsible for the technical and programmatic compliance (on-time, on-cost and on-quality) of the thruster assembly (thrust chamber + thruster valves) we will procure.

You will report to the Propulsion Units Procurement Principal Engineer.

Key responsibilities:

• Define and maintain the best technical baseline for the thruster assembly, in strong collaboration with the system, GNC, avionics and vehicle design teams: requirements specification (including verification method), product architecture (valve, thrust chamber, sensors...), interfaces (fluidic, mechanical, thermal, electrical and data) and performances (hot firing).

• Actively support the engineering teams (system, GNC, VDT, avionics, propulsion) during the capsule design and development, with an important focus on the design of the thruster encapsulation, the GNC interfaces (e.g. firing performances, FDIR, physical model, thrusters history) and the avionics interfaces (e.g. coupling test).

• Follow-up the thruster suppliers' activities during derisking activities before supplier selection :

  • Act as the point of contact between TEC and the thruster suppliers, establishing strong and efficient relationships with the suppliers, while ensuring TEC technical and programmatic needs are met.

  • Actively participate in the definition of the development and testing logic and subsequent design and testing activities, acquiring design authority.

  • Review and validate suppliers' deliverables (documentation, mathematical models and hardware), participate and validate suppliers' reviews (design reviews, TRR, TRB...).

• Actively participate in the selection of the best thruster supplier for Nyx Earth.

• Follow-up the thruster suppliers' activities, ensuring the on-time, on-cost and on-quality of the thruster qualification and production :

  • Act as the point of contact between TEC and the thruster suppliers for all technical and programmatic topics.

  • Actively participate in the definition of the qualification logic and test plan, and subsequent qualification testing phase.

  • Actively participate in the manufacturing and testing of the thruster assembly (EM and flight units)

  • Review and validate suppliers' deliverables (documentation, mathematical models and hardware), participate and validate suppliers reviews (TRR, TRB...).

• Support the AIT team during preparation for integration, integration and testing of the thruster assembly on the propulsion qualification model and on the flight propulsion system, including review and validation of assembly and test procedures, review and validation of test results, timely resolution of any non-conformances

• Support preparation of flight operations and procedures, participate to rehearsal and flight operations, review and analyse flight data and treat any abnormal thruster assembly behavior.

What we would love to see from you:

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering (Advanced degree preferred).

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in procurement and worldwide supplier management for spacecraft liquid propulsion units, with a strong understanding of liquid bipropellant thruster, including design, manufacturing and testing.

• Strong leadership and management skills, capable of leading geographically distributed suppliers and ensuring the timely delivery of high-quality products.

• Excellent collaboration skills for working effectively across departments to achieve seamless system integration.

• Fluency in English.

Why you should join us!

What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is:  

• We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind 

• We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them  

• We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?  

We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly. 
 
The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.