Head of Engineering

Foundational; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EMI share options

25 days holiday

Enhanced parental leave

Cycle to work

London offices

Social events

Job summary

Foundational in London is seeking a Head of Engineering to lead our growing team across hardware, optics and software. You’ll translate our ground-breaking laser ranging technology into scalable stations and products delivered reliably.

You will hire, mentor and manage engineers, own delivery planning, drive architecture with the CTO, and support space agencies and customers, including ESA reviews.

Qualifications

• Senior engineering leadership delivering complex hardware and software systems.
• Background in space, defence, scientific instruments or similar.
• A track record of growing teams and delivery processes in a fast-moving company.
• Experience in systems engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead, hire and develop engineers across disciplines.
• Own engineering delivery: planning, milestones and resourcing.
• Build design review, requirements, test and configuration processes that stay fast.
• Take station builds from prototype to repeatable production.
• Work with the CTO on architecture and the technical roadmap.
• Support customer and agency programmes, including ESA reviews.

Skills

Senior engineering leadership

Delivery of hardware/software systems

People management

Systems engineering

Job description

Head of Engineering

This is a future role. We're building a shortlist now and will contact you when it opens.

About us

Foundational is building the most precise picture of Earth and orbit, using lasers fired from the ground. We call it ground truth for orbit.

We design and run low-cost, autonomous satellite laser ranging stations. They measure the distance to satellites with extreme precision, day and night. Our data platform turns those measurements into tracking data and orbit products for satellite operators, space agencies and governments. We also build our own flight-proven laser retroreflector arrays, so any satellite can be tracked.

Our station network is expanding across Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. The data supports resilient navigation, Earth observation and the safe, sustainable use of space.

We're a small, fast-moving team of engineers, scientists and operators in London. We're backed by venture investors and supported by ESA, the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the European Innovation Council.

Position Overview

London · Full time · On-site

You’ll lead our engineering team as it grows across hardware, optics and software. You’ll turn our technology into stations and products that are delivered reliably and at scale.

What you’ll do

• Lead, hire and develop engineers across disciplines

• Own engineering delivery: planning, milestones and resourcing

• Build design review, requirements, test and configuration processes that stay fast

• Take station builds from prototype to repeatable production

• Work with the CTO on architecture and the technical roadmap

• Support customer and agency programmes, including ESA reviews

What you’ll bring

• Senior engineering leadership delivering complex hardware and software systems

• A background in space, defence, scientific instruments or similar

• A record of growing teams and delivery processes at a fast-moving company

• Systems engineering experience

Nice to have

• Optical or laser systems

• ECSS or ESA programmes

• Scaling up production

• Eligibility for UK security clearance

What We Offer

• A high-impact role with real ownership at an early-stage, venture-backed spacetech company

• EMI share options (UK employees)

• 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

• Enhanced Parental Leave

• Cycle to work schemes

• Work alongside engineers and scientists across optics, lasers, software and astrodynamics

• Offices in central London, with snacks, tea, coffee and regular socials

We actively champion underrepresented groups and seek to bridge gaps in our workforce. Building the best team is our priority.