Principal Thermal Protection System Engineer

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. We are looking for a Principal Mission Assurance Engineer to lead our Mission Assurance team and own the end-to-end strategy that ensures our spacecraft is safe, reliable, and mission ready. In this role you will be embedded with the design, test, and operations teams, driving the vehicle safety architecture as well as relentlessly driving risk down and availability up. In this role you will be the technical authority for mission assurance across the program and get to lead and mentor a team of ~6 mission assurance engineers. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES * End-to-end ownership of the vehicle safety architecture making sure it meets all safety & reliability requirements (both internal and external from ISS program, ESA and CNES on entry safety). * Owner of overall flight reliability, responsible for assessing pre-flight risks and potential mitigations with vehicle design, analysis, and operations teams. * Perform and review FMECA, FTA, PRA, and RAM analyses to identify risks and failure modes. * Define and validate the spacecraft fault management and FDIR architecture. * Work with avionics, software, and operations teams to implement fault management strategies and ensure safe behavior under off-nominal conditions. * Support on-console operations as the Mission Assurance representative and drive in-flight anomaly resolution. Ensure lessons learned feed directly back into design and FDIR improvements. * Lead and mentor a team of safety, reliability, and fault management engineers. Set priorities, review their work, and grow their technical depth. * Champion a culture of mission assurance. Instill first-principles thinking, disciplined verification, and data-driven decision-making. * Report to program leadership on RAMS status, residual risk, and flight readiness. * Drive corrective actions from anomalies, test failures, and operational events back into design improvements. WHAT WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE FROM YOU The ideal candidate will have: * Master’s degree in an engineering or science discipline. * 8+ years of experience in RAMS, mission assurance, or systems safety on complex hardware systems. * Experience leading teams or projects — setting technical direction and delivering results. * Proficiency with reliability tools (e.g., FMECA, FTA, reliability block diagrams). * Deep understanding of fault tolerance, redundancy management, and failure detection/isolation/recovery. * Technical knowledge of spacecraft systems and operations (e.g., communications, orbital mechanics, avionics, propulsion, thermal control, life support systems). * Strong written and verbal communication of technical information. * Able to effectively manage projects and tasks while meeting aggressive deadlines. * Thrives under pressure and is resilient in the face of technical challenges. * Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills. BONUS QUALIFICATIONS * Experience developing and validating FDIR logic, watchdog strategies, and fault response sequences. * Previous experience in a customer-facing role working through design requirements, test acceptance, and verification (especially with a government customer such as ESA/NASA). * Ability and willingness to put in extra time to mentor other engineers while also being a significant individual contributor. * Passion for advancing the commercial space industry and human spaceflight. 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.   All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, which will be subject to the country, role, and project you applied for. By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree that any offer of employment may be conditional upon successful condition of this check. The Exploration Company partners with Zinc Work Limited located in the UK (Zinc), a third-party provider, to ensure this process as efficient and transparent as possible. If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.

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. Team Leadership & Engineering Management * Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers spanning thermal, structural/mechanical, CFD and CAD/design functions, fostering a culture of technical excellence and accountability. * Define individual scopes of work, set priorities, and manage workload across concurrent design activities to keep the team aligned with program milestones. * Conduct regular design reviews and one-on-ones, providing clear technical direction and supporting career development within the office. Propulsion System Design & Technical Ownership * Making or approving key design decisions on feed or pressure systems, and associated structures. * Drive design-to-requirements traceability, ensuring system satisfy mass, thermal, and safety margins up to qualification. * Coordinate with Systems Engineering and Vehicle Design to manage interfaces between the propulsion system and adjacent vehicle subsystems. Thermal Analysis & Management * Oversee steady-state and transient thermal analyses of propulsion components, ensuring compliance with temperature limits across all mission phases (ground operations, in-orbit, re-entry). * Review and approve thermal models, ensuring analytical rigor and correlation with test data. * Guide the team in identifying test platforms and defining test objectives. Structural & Mechanical Design * Direct the mechanical design of propulsion structures, and brackets, ensuring adequate strength, stiffness, and fatigue life under load cases. * Oversee FEA and hand-analysis efforts to verify structural margins, and lead disposition of any margin concerns or design anomalies. * Working closely with AIT team to define and validate integration sequences. CAD, Documentation & Configuration Control * Define and enforce CAD standards, model maturity gates, and drawing release processes within the design office, ensuring consistency and traceability across the propulsion product tree. * Oversee the maintenance of the engineering master model and associated bill of materials (BOM), coordinating with PDM/PLM administrators to keep configuration control current. * Ensure design documentation — including ICDs, engineering drawings, design notes, and specification trees — is complete, reviewed, and baselined on schedule. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES LOCATION You will perform your duties principally at the Company's premises in Bordeaux and may be required to travel from time to time to our company’s premises in Munich in the course of your duties. WHAT WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE FROM YOU * 5+ years of hands-on experience in propulsion system design for launch vehicles, spacecraft, or space capsules, with direct exposure to liquid propulsion architectures. * Demonstrated ability to work across thermal, structural, and mechanical domains — you don't need to be the deepest expert in every field, but you can lead and critically review work across all three. * A track record of managing small-to-mid-size engineering teams in a fast-paced, hardware-delivery environment, with the ability to develop junior engineers while maintaining technical standards. * Prior experience running or closely supervising thermal (e.g. Thermal Desktop, ANSYS or equivalent) and structural analyses (e.g. NASTRAN or equivalent), and strong familiarity with CAD environments (CATIA, NX, or equivalent). * Experience managing complex system-level trades and interfaces and formal design review processes Skills and Behaviors: * A hands-on approach to problem-solving, combined with a collaborative mindset to work across multidisciplinary teams * Excellent organizational skills and ability to multitask * Capability of working autonomously whilst collaborating productively with remote teams * Positive and flexible attitude in a constantly evolving environment * Grit to get the job done * Ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of audiences * Behaviors consistent with The Exploration Company’s core values of Commitment, Innovation, Trust, Quality, and Teamwork 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.   All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, which will be subject to the country, role, and project you applied for. By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree that any offer of employment may be conditional upon successful condition of this check. The Exploration Company partners with Zinc Work Limited located in the UK (Zinc), a third-party provider, to ensure this process as efficient and transparent as possible. If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.