Space Surveillance Technical Lead

Your tasks

Your mission

We are looking for a Space Surveillance Technical Lead who thrives at the intersection of technology, people leadership, and customer success. In this hybrid technical + management role, you will lead a small engineering team, manage key customer projects, and contribute directly to the development of advanced space systems across flight dynamics, SSA/SST, and mission operations.

You’ll act as both a hands-on engineer and a strategic project leader, guiding software development, steering technical discussions with satellite operators, and ensuring customer satisfaction across commercial and institutional missions.

This is a high-impact role with broad ownership. You’ll contribute to technical delivery, customer success, and strategic initiatives, including proposals and projects for space sustainability, SSA/SST, and mission operations.

Your tasks and responsibilities

Technical Leadership (50%)

• Lead the design, development, and operation of space systems, including:
• Orbit determination and propagation
• Maneuver planning and trajectory optimization
• SSA/SST processing, catalog maintenance, and sensor data integration
• Architect, implement, and review production-grade software using:
• Python, Java, FORTRAN
• Orekit, or similar orbit mechanics libraries
• Conduct verification and validation (V&V) with real mission datasets.

Project & Team Leadership (50%)

• Lead a high-performing engineering team (2–6 people), including mentoring, coordinating workloads, and guiding technical decisions.
• Drive end-to-end project delivery, ensuring technical quality, timelines, and customer success.
• Work directly with satellite operators and institutional partners to:
• Capture and refine mission requirements
• Lead high-level technical discussions
• Translate operational needs into actionable system features
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for key accounts, building long-term customer relationships.
• Coordinate cross-functional efforts for proposals, strategic initiatives, and roadmap development.

Your profile

Must-have:

• M.Sc. or higher in Aerospace/Space Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or another relevant technical field.
• Approx. 5 years of experience in the space engineering domain, including proven experience in coordinating or leading technical projects in the space domain (flight dynamics, SSA/SST, mission operations, or ground segment software).
• Proven ability to drive full lifecycle software development:
• Requirements analysis and refinement
• Architecture definition
• System and algorithm design
• Implementation planning
• Testing, integration, V&V
• Deployment and operational follow-up
• Strong background in technical project management, including:
• Prioritization and backlog management
• Cross-team coordination (engineering, product, operations)
• Tracking deliverables, risks, and milestones
• Efficient communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Hands-on experience with software engineering in Python, Fortran, Java, or similar, and familiarity with modern development practices (CI/CD, testing, DevOps workflows).
• Ability to work directly with customers to:
• Lead technical discussions
• Clarify mission requirements
• Ensure delivery quality and operational readiness
• Experience providing guidance to small engineering teams, including mentoring and task coordination.
• Professional experience in international, distributed teams and valid EU work authorization.

Nice-to-have:

• Knowledge of cloud-native architectures and deployment frameworks (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Familiarity with:
• Orbit determination libraries (Orekit, GMAT, or similar)
• SSA/SST processing pipelines
• Sensor fusion workflows or catalog maintenance
• Experience in proposal writing, project scoping, or supporting business development efforts with technical input.
• Background collaborating with space agencies (ESA, DLR, etc.) or institutional missions.
• Awareness of ground segment operations, automated mission planning, or mission control workflows.

Why us?

• With a lean hierarchy and small working groups, you define your own way of work including flexible work hours.
• Work on groundbreaking space sustainability challenges with a team of top-tier engineers and scientists.
• Enjoy technical freedom. Influence system architecture, research methodologies, and data integration approaches.
• Grow continuously with access to training budgets, industry conferences, and networking opportunities.
• Be part of a strong engineering culture, with regular knowledge-sharing sessions, technical deep dives, and innovation sprints.
• Great team spirit, with company-wide events such as monthly all-hands lunches, and social activities like laser tag, dinners, and team-building outings.