Head of Engineering

Lumi Space; Greater London; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EMI share options (UK employees)

25 Days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays

Enhanced Parental Leave

Cycle to work schemes

Offices in central London

Job summary

Foundational is seeking a Head of Engineering to lead our growing engineering team in London. You’ll oversee hardware, optics and software, turning our technology into scalable stations and products with reliable delivery.

You will work closely with the CTO on architecture and the technical roadmap, supporting customer and agency programmes including ESA reviews. This is a hands-on leadership role at a venture-backed spacetech company.

Qualifications

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

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

Engineering leadership

Systems engineering

Team growth

Hardware expertise

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 continents. 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, and Innovate UK.

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.