Lead Mission Systems Engineer (M/F) - Infinite Orbits Defence

Infinite Orbits; Toulouse; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Infinite Orbits Defence is building a new defense satellite program. You will translate customer needs into mission concepts and payload solutions, leading a small team with RF/optical payload focus, while coordinating with Infinite Orbits SAS for platform/AIT engineering.

You report to the Program Manager and liaise with customers, platform teams and payload suppliers, guiding requirements from proposal through to in-orbit acceptance.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent in aerospace/space systems/ electronics/ optics.
• 5+ years in space mission or satellite systems engineering with RF/optical payloads.
• Experience in mission analysis and concept definition (RPO/inspection/space surveillance).
• Experience contributing payload/mission content to technical proposals in space/defense.
• Leadership: comfortable leading a small team and managing customer-supplier relations.
• French/European defense customers experience is a plus.
• Solid knowledge of satellite subsystems and ECSS standards.
• Fluent in French and English.
• French nationality is required for restricted-access projects.
• Frequent travel to customers/suppliers in France and Europe.

Responsibilities

• Translate defense needs into CONOPS, mission requirements and performance analyses; own requirements baseline.
• Drive RF and optical payload architecture, lead equipment and supplier selection.
• Define payload/platform ICDs with platform supplier; own mission budgets.
• Draft mission and payload sections of RFI/RFPs and funding applications.
• Prepare SRR, PDR and CDR; own verification and end-to-end testing with AIT team.

Skills

Leadership

RF payload

Optical payload

Mission analysis

Fluent English

Fluent French

Education

Master’s degree in aerospace/space systems/electronics/optics or related field

Job description

About the Company

Infinite Orbits Defence is the defense subsidiary of Infinite Orbits SAS, a NewSpace company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Toulouse, with more than 200 employees and offices in Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and Singapore, among others.

The Infinite Orbits group develops in-orbit services built on its own autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) technology, covering space situational awareness, surveillance, inspection and protection of space assets, through to life extension.

Infinite Orbits Defence delivers mission-ready satellites to defense customers, in France in particular. It procures the group’s generic satellite platform from Infinite Orbits SAS and equips it with the payloads its customers need, for example payloads based on a range of sensors. Infinite Orbits SAS provides the platform, its subsystems and AIT engineering; Infinite Orbits Defence owns the mission, the payloads and the customer relationship.

We are building the founding team of Infinite Orbits Defence. If you are entrepreneurial, comfortable with uncertainty, want full ownership of what you build and want to make a real impact on space defense, join us.

About the Role

You will join a new project as Infinite Orbits Defence ramps up: a defense satellite program. You will carry it from proposal through design reviews, payload integration, launch and in-orbit acceptance, and help build Infinite Orbits Defence's mission and payload engineering as the company grows.

You translate defense customer needs into a mission concept and a payload solution compatible with the Infinite Orbits generic platform, and you make sure the integrated satellite delivers that mission.

You lead the mission team: the RF System Engineer and the Camera and Optical System Engineer work with you on payload definition, while platform, subsystem and AIT engineering is provided by Infinite Orbits SAS.

You report to the Program Manager and are the main technical point of contact for customers, the group’s platform team and payload suppliers.

Job Description

• Mission requirements:Translate defense customer needs into a concept of operations (CONOPS), mission requirements and mission performance analyses, then own the requirements baseline and flow it down to the payload, platform, ground segment and operations.

• Payload architecture:Drive the architecture, performance and trade‑off decisions for the RF and optical payloads, and lead equipment and supplier selection.

• Platform interface:Define the payload/platform ICDs with Infinite Orbits SAS (mechanical, thermal, power, data, pointing, EMC) and own the mission budgets (mass, power, data volume, link, pointing, propellant).

• Proposals and funding:Write the mission and payload sections of RFI/RFP responses and of national and European funding applications, and provide the Program Manager with the technical basis for cost and schedule (make‑or‑buy, supplier lead times, integration and test effort).

• Reviews and verification:Prepare the SRR, PDR and CDR, then own mission-level verification, payload acceptance and end‑to‑end testing with the Infinite Orbits SAS AIT team, through to in‑orbit performance validation.

Requirements

• Master’s-level engineering degree in aerospace, space systems, electronics, optics or a related field, or equivalent.

• 5+ years of experience in space mission or satellite systems engineering, including hands‑on work with RF and/or optical payload systems.

• Experience in mission analysis and concept definition, ideally on RPO, inspection or space surveillance missions.

• Experience contributing mission or payload content to technical proposals in the space or defense sector.

• Leadership: comfortable leading a small team and managing a customer‑supplier relationship with a group entity.

• Experience with French or European defense customers (e.g. DGA, French Space Command) is a plus.

• Solid knowledge of satellite subsystems and ECSS standards, enough to specify and challenge the platform supplier.

• Fluent French and English.

• French nationalityis required due to restricted‑access projects.Holding a French defense security clearance is a plus but not required.

• Frequent travel to customers and suppliers in France and across Europe.

What we offer

• A founding technical role with direct ownership of the mission and payloads of a defense satellite program.

• Leadership of a small mission and payload team, backed by the platform, subsystem and AIT expertise of the Infinite Orbits group.

• Direct influence over how Infinite Orbits Defence builds its mission and payload engineering capabilities for French and European defense customers.

Hiring process

1. Initial screening interview with HR

2. Interview with an engineering team lead from Infinite Orbits

3. Interview with the CEO of Infinite Orbits Defence