Hybrid Electric Propulsion Engineer — RF Thruster Design

EasyInfoBlog.com LLC; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private health insurance

Relocation support

Job summary

New Orbit Space is seeking an Electric Propulsion Engineer to own the design, testing and verification of RF gridded ion thrusters for flight configurations. You will design, build, and test propulsion hardware, then turn results into iterative improvements with cross-disciplinary teams.

You will work in a vacuum facility environment, plan test campaigns, and ensure traceable tests supporting end-to-end system qualification and flight readiness.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of RF gridded ion thrusters, including RF plasma generation, ion optics and neutralisation.
• Hands-on electric propulsion testing, ideally with RF generators, high-voltage power supplies and thrust balances.
• Experience with vacuum systems (pumps, gauges, valves), power supplies, fluid management (high-pressure gas tanks, mass flow controllers) and data acquisition.
• Solid grounding in plasma physics, modelling, diagnostics and ionisation processes.
• Willingness to design, build and test your own hardware, and to work extended hours on-site.

Responsibilities

• Own the design of our RF gridded ion thruster and its performance calculations, from concept to flight configuration.
• Iterate rapidly to support NEO-1 and our customer thruster deliveries.
• Work with mechanical, electrical and control engineers on each new iteration of the ion propulsion system.
• Design and build the test rigs and equipment for propulsion testing.
• Assemble and operate test hardware, electronics and vacuum facilities.
• Run electric propulsion tests on your own designs and analyse the results.
• Plan and run the test campaigns for your own designs.
• Turn test results into design changes, then re-test.
• Document every test configuration and result so it gives traceable evidence for system verification and qualification.

Skills

RF ion thrusters

Electric propulsion testing

Vacuum systems

Plasma physics

On-site work

Tools

RF generators

High-voltage power supplies

Thrust balances

Vacuum pumps

Vacuum gauges

Mass flow controllers

Data acquisition

Job description

New Orbit Space is seeking an Electric Propulsion Engineer to own the design, testing and verification of RF gridded ion thrusters for flight configurations. You will design, build, and test propulsion hardware, then turn results into iterative improvements with cross-disciplinary teams.

You will work in a vacuum facility environment, plan test campaigns, and ensure traceable tests supporting end-to-end system qualification and flight readiness.