Spacecraft Structures Engineer

PAVE Space SA; Villeneuve (VD); Remote; CHF 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

PAVE Space SA in Switzerland seeks an engineer to own a substructure, taking design through qualification testing for LYOBA. You will shape primary and secondary metallic structures and see parts move from drawing to flight hardware.

You will perform FEA (static, dynamic, buckling, modal), ensure manufacturability, and manage supplier interfaces. Fluent English is required; French is a plus. This on-site role is based in Villeneuve and offers a hands-on, high-visibility impact.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years designing and analysing primary and secondary metallic structures.
• Real FEA experience: static, dynamic, modal, buckling.
• Proficient with NX and Teamcenter; CAD/PLM workflow.
• Experience taking a structure from design through qualification testing.
• Fluent English; French a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design and sizing of assigned primary or secondary metallic structure assemblies.
• Structural analysis to support those design decisions: static, dynamic, buckling.
• Supplier interface: specifications and follow-up through delivery.
• Verification planning: defining how your structure gets proven, from test spec through acceptance.
• Interface ownership: managing the boundaries between your structure and adjacent subsystems.

Skills

FEA

Static analysis

Dynamic analysis

Modal analysis

Manufacturing mindset

English

Tools

NX

Teamcenter

Job description

PAVE Space is building LYOBA, a heavy kick stage moving up to 4-tonne payloads from LEO to high-energy orbits in under 24 hours.

The structures team is in the thick of converging on the vehicle's primary structure design. We need another engineer to take ownership of a substructure: design it, analyse it, get it built, and prove it works.

You will own

Design and sizing of assigned primary or secondary metallic structure assemblies

Structural analysis to support those design decisions: static, dynamic, buckling

Supplier interface: specifications and follow-up through delivery

Verification planning: defining how your structure gets proven, from test spec through acceptance

Interface ownership: managing the boundaries between your structure and adjacent subsystems

What we are looking for

3–5 years designing and analysing primary and secondary metallic structures

Real FEA experience: static, dynamic, modal, buckling

NX and Teamcenter (or equivalent CAD/PLM workflow you can transition from quickly)

You've had your designs manufactured: you understand what a shop floor does to a drawing and you've adapted for it

You've taken at least one structure from design through qualification testing

Fluent English (our working language)

Nice to have: experience with pressure vessels or close working relationship with propulsion subsystems, French, or hands-on manufacturing experience yourself.

You will fit if

You want to own a substructure, not just run someone else's analysis model.

You're comfortable making design decisions when interfaces aren't fully frozen and timelines are short.

You care how your structure gets built and tested, not just how it performs in a simulation.

You'd rather join a small team where your work is visible than a large one where it disappears into a document tree.

Fully on-site in Villeneuve (VD). The vehicle is still being designed: you'll actively contribute to shaping it, not detailing someone else's locked architecture. Some interfaces won't be frozen when you start, and you'll need to move forward anyway.

What makes that worth it: your substructure flies. You'll see the parts you sized and specified go from a supplier's floor to a qualified piece of flight hardware, working alongside a small structures team where nothing you do gets buried. This is the most ambitious space programme in Switzerland, and you'll have direct evidence of your contribution on the vehicle.