Electric Propulsion Engineer Verified today

About Aerospacelab

Aerospacelab designs and manufactures small satellites combined with earth observation services. Since 2018, the team has grown to over 25 engineering disciplines spanning hardware design, software development, and data science. The company operates offices in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Toulouse (France), Lausanne (Switzerland), and the US West Coast.

Your mission

You will define, integrate, verify, and support the electric propulsion (EP) subsystem across multiple satellite projects, from early mission design through in-orbit operations.

• Derive EP subsystem requirements from mission needs including orbit raising, station keeping, collision avoidance, and deorbiting. Build and maintain delta-v, propellant, power, and thrust-time budgets in coordination with mission analysis, AOCS, and power teams.
• Define and manage the electrical, fluidic, mechanical, thermal, and data interfaces between the EP subsystem and the platform. Work closely with the power electronics team on PPU/bus interfaces, inrush and transient behaviour, grounding, and EMC.
• Select, follow up, and technically manage EP suppliers. Write and review specifications, Statements of Work, and Interface Control Documents. Track supplier progress, qualification status, and deliverables. Participate in supplier reviews and audits.
• Contribute to project milestone reviews and produce EP documentation including design justification, analyses, verification plans, test procedures, and reports.
• Support assembly, integration, and test activities including propellant loading, pressurized system safety, and contamination control.
• Assess system-level effects of EP operation such as plume impingement, sputtering, contamination, and thermal loads.
• Support launch campaigns, in-orbit commissioning, and operations. Analyse telemetry to monitor thruster performance and health. Feed lessons learned back into future designs.

Required qualifications

• MSc degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• 3+ years of experience in spacecraft propulsion, preferably electric propulsion, in design, integration, testing, or operations.
• Solid understanding of electric propulsion principles including plasma physics basics, thruster operation, performance parameters (thrust, Isp, efficiency, lifetime), and typical failure modes.
• Understanding of the full EP subsystem chain: thruster, PPU, propellant storage and feed system, and associated control and telemetry.
• Experience managing technical interfaces with suppliers or partners including specifications, Interface Control Documents, and progress follow-up.
• Structured, rigorous, and organized way of working. Able to manage multiple projects in parallel in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience reading and writing detailed technical documentation. Proficiency in MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills. Able to work across multidisciplinary teams and interface with customers and suppliers.
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

Nice to have

• Experience contributing to space project milestones and qualification or acceptance campaigns for propulsion hardware.
• Experience with EP modelling and analysis tools such as plasma models, plume models, lifetime and erosion analysis.