Structural Engineer

Aerospacelab; Toulouse; On-site; EUR 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Aerospacelab in Toulouse designs and verifies satellites, working with mechanical, thermal engineers and the AIT team. As a Structural Engineer you will design and verify spacecraft structures, carrying projects from concept to qualification.

You will develop FEM models, assess static/dynamic/thermal loads, translate launch environments into requirements, and collaborate with suppliers and customers, contributing to design reviews.

Qualifications

• MSc or PhD in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Civil Engineering.
• Good understanding of static, dynamic, and thermal loads and fundamentals of FEA.
• Experience with FEA solvers like NASTRAN, Samcef, Ansys, or Abaqus.
• Knowledge of materials used in space (aluminum, titanium, CFRP).
• Strong communication, teamwork, and proactive mindset.
• Fluent in English.

Responsibilities

• Perform structural analysis and optimization of spacecraft and platform components to ensure reliable performance under various loads.
• Develop, refine, and validate FEM models for static, dynamic, and thermal analyses with test data correlation.
• Define structural test requirements and support environmental campaigns, analyzing results to improve designs.
• Translate launch and flight environments into structural requirements and environmental validation procedures.
• Collaborate with design, manufacturing, integration, and test teams to ensure manufacturability and robustness.
• Prepare technical documentation and contribute to PDR/CDR and trade studies.
• Interact with suppliers, customers, and launch authorities on structural aspects.

Skills

Communication skills

Team spirit

Proactive mindset

Fluency in English

Education

MSc/PhD in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Civil Engineering

Tools

NASTRAN

Samcef

Ansys

Abaqus

SolidWorks

NX

Job description

About Aerospacelab

Our mission is supported by an ambitious vertically integrated approach: design & manufacture of small satellites combined with development of earth observation services.

Since its creation in 2018, the company has already grown substantially. Our team gathers more than 25 engineering expertise, from hardware design to software development & data science.

In 2025, Aerospacelab counts offices in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Toulouse (France), Lausanne (Switzerland) and US West Coast with more than 300 full-time employees, with the ambition to position itself as the European leader in small satellites.

Role Overview

As a Structural Engineer at Aerospacelab, you will play a critical role in designing and verifying of satellites and related systems across various missions. You are involved in project from early design phase to qualification of the product. From the early design phase to the qualification of the final product, you collaborate closely with a diverse team such as system engineers, mechanical designers, and thermal engineers and AIT (integration and test) department. Altogether, you validate that the equipment is not only ready to fly but also capable of fulfilling its mission reliably.

Key responsabilities

• Perform structural analysis and optimization of spacecraft and platform components, including composite and metallic structures, to ensure reliable performance under various load conditions.
• Develop, refine, and validate finite element models (FEM) for static, dynamic, and thermal analysis, ensuring accuracy through correlation with test data and preparing models for both internal and external use.
• Define structural test requirements, support environmental testing campaigns, and analyze results to validate and improve structural models and designs.
• Translate launch and flight environments into structural requirements, including subsystem-level definitions and the setup of environmental validation procedures.
• Collaborate closely with design, manufacturing, integration, and test teams to validate product designs and ensure structural solutions are efficient and manufacturable.
• Prepare comprehensive technical documentation and reports and actively contribute to design reviews such as Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and Critical Design Review (CDR), as well as concept trade-off studies.
• Interact with suppliers, customers, and launch authorities regarding structural aspects.

Must have

• MSc or PhD degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Civil Engineering.
• Good understanding of static, dynamic, and thermal loads, along with a good of the fundamentals of finite element analysis (FEA).
• Experience in finite element analysis (FEA) solvers (e.g., NASTRAN, Samcef, Ansys, Abaqus, or similar).
• Knowledge in materials used in space applications (e.g., aluminum, titanium, CFRP).
• Good communication skills, team spirit, and a proactive mindset.
• Fluency in English

Nice to have

• Experience using Simcenter 3D, NX Nastran, NX CAD, Siemens Testlab and Teamcenter
• Experience in structural test campaign implementation and follow-up.
• Task automation skills through scripts (Python, VBA)
• Experienced in troubleshooting issues and finding solutions
• Knowledge of 3D CAD modelling / 2D drawing specifications (SolidWorks / NX), experience with sizing of metallic components, and manufacturing technologies and drawings
• Fluency in French is a plus