Engineering Lead, Orbit Determination

ICEYE; Espoo; Hybrid; EUR 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

ICEYE in Espoo is seeking an Engineering Lead for Orbit Determination to guide a multidisciplinary team delivering orbit determination software and services. You will own delivery, prioritization, and roadmap alignment with product and domain stakeholders.

You will drive continuous improvement of accuracy, latency, and scalability while mentoring engineers and coordinating with on-call/ops. This role offers hybrid work and space to grow within a fast-scaling space-tech company.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading multidisciplinary teams delivering complex software systems.
• Strong understanding of modern software engineering practices including deployment, observability, and release processes.
• Experience with cloud and on-prem environments using Docker and Kubernetes.
• Ability to communicate across deep technical domains and scalable software systems.
• Interest in understanding high-level fundamentals of orbital dynamics to understand constraints they impose on the software system.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team delivering orbit determination software and services
• Own delivery, prioritization, and roadmap alignment in collaboration with product and domain stakeholders
• Drive continuous improvement of orbit determination capabilities including accuracy, latency, and scalability
• Support team growth through mentoring, hiring, and effective workload distribution aligned with individual strengths

Skills

Leadership experience

Cloud & on-prem environments

Docker & Kubernetes

Effective cross-domain communication

Interest in orbital dynamics basics

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Role highlights:

• Engineering Lead - Orbit Determination
• Location: Espoo
• Department: Spacecraft Analysis, Orbit and Attitude Control / Engineering
• Reports to: Engineering Manager, AOCS
• Employment type: Permanent
• Workplace model: Hybrid
• Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO, where required)

Why this role matters:

As an Engineering Lead - Orbit Determination, you'll lead a small (4-10 people) multidisciplinary team responsible for delivering accurate and reliable orbit determination capabilities that underpin ICEYE's satellite operations. Your work ensures timely and precise satellite position data, enabling mission-critical systems such as image acquisition, planning, ground station communications, and on-orbit collision avoidance.

Who We Are

ICEYE delivers space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to governments and allied nations. This includes sovereign and turnkey ISR missions leveraging ICEYE's world-leading synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite technology, as well as access to data from the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation. These capabilities enable partners to detect and respond to critical changes anywhere on Earth with unprecedented speed and accuracy - day or night and in any weather, supported by ultra high-resolution imagery and high-frequency revisits.

As a trusted partner for defense, intelligence, security, and maritime domain awareness, ICEYE's near real-time data creates a tactical advantage for mission-critical operations. Designed for dual use, the platform also serves civil protection and commercial users for natural-catastrophe intelligence, insurance, maritime monitoring (including oil-spill detection), and finance, contributing to global security and community resilience.

ICEYE is headquartered in Finland and operates globally across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. We have more than 900 employees, united by a shared vision: improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation.

Your day-to-day responsibilities

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team delivering orbit determination software and services
• Own delivery, prioritization, and roadmap alignment in collaboration with product and domain stakeholders
• Drive continuous improvement of orbit determination capabilities including accuracy, latency, and scalability
• Support team growth through mentoring, hiring, and effective workload distribution aligned with individual strengths

What we’re looking for

Must haves:

• Proven experience leading multidisciplinary teams delivering complex software systems
• Strong understanding of modern software engineering practices including deployment, observability, and release processes
• Experience with cloud and on-prem environments using technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Ability to communicate effectively across deep technical domains and scalable software systems
• Interest in understanding high-level fundamentals of orbital dynamics to understand constraints they impose on the software system

Nice to haves:

• Experience working on systems with strong theoretical components such as flight dynamics, state estimation, or data science
• Understanding of orbital dynamics
• Track record of hiring and developing engineers across different career stages

Working at ICEYE

At ICEYE, you'll join a diverse and highly engaged team united by the ambition to make the impossible possible. As a global scale-up, we combine speed and ambition with the opportunity to take real ownership from day one. Your growth, wellbeing, and success are a priority, with continuous professional development, training opportunities, and a culture where collaboration is how we win.

How We Work (Our Values)

• Make the impossible possible: We set ambitious goals and stay calm under pressure. We bring grit, optimism, and ownership when things get hard, and we keep moving until we find a way.
• Be curious: Go deep, ask questions, listen carefully, and think critically. Understand the "why" behind decisions.
• See the big picture: Stay close to what’s happening across the company so you can make better decisions. Consider how your work affects others.
• Drive effective teamwork: Create psychological safety, invite different perspectives, and build inclusive teams. There are no bad questions.
• Act as one team: We win together. We match tasks to the right owner and stay agile as priorities shift.
• Have fun: What we do matters—and it should be enjoyable. Celebrate progress, take pride in results, and share the wins.

Benefits

Our benefits are designed to support your health and wellbeing, at work and beyond. We keep improving them based on employee feedback, and offerings vary by location. Talent Acquisition will confirm what applies for this role and location during the process.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We want ICEYE to be a place where people can be themselves and do great work. Different backgrounds and perspectives make us stronger, which is why we work to create an environment where people feel included, respected, and able to speak up. Whatever your background, we want you to bring your authentic self to the table.

We're committed to fair, inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Everyone is welcome to apply. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, tell us—we’ll do our best to help.