System Architect (UK)

Clearspace; City Of London; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ClearSpace is seeking a System Architect to lead mission development from our London office (or Luxembourg) and drive technical success across Space and Ground segments. You will act as the technical authority, balancing engineering excellence with programmatic and business objectives.

The role requires senior leadership, deep spacecraft knowledge, and a track record of delivering complex space development programs with effective stakeholder management.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in the spacecraft industry with 5+ years in technical leadership
• Experience decomposing system requirements, trade studies and sizing budgets
• Working knowledge of spacecraft operations and related ground systems
• Familiarity with the full space program lifecycle from business development to delivery
• Expertise across three or more areas listed (e.g., design, propulsion, thermal, AIT)

Responsibilities

• Lead technical teams to deliver end-to-end mission development (Space, Ground, Launch and in-orbit operations)
• Manage technical schedule and ensure on-time delivery of all program elements
• Define and coordinate overall mission architectures and interfaces
• Maintain technical risk register and budget control
• Coordinate engineering activities with customers, partners and subcontractors

Skills

Spacecraft systems

System architecture

Technical leadership

Stakeholder management

LEOP operations

Education

MSc in Aerospace

Job description

At ClearSpace, we believe in reusability, in affordability driving disruption, and that no progress is real unless it is sustainable.

Our company was founded in 2018 out of the realization that in-orbit servicing and space debris removal are vital services for the future of space exploration and operations. Today ClearSpace has assembled an expert engineering team and is leading the way toward sustainable space operations. From a garage in Switzerland, we now operate across UK and Europe, and are working with world-leading institutions and companies to bring our dream of a sustainable space ecosystem to life.

We are looking for a System Architect to join our team who will work on both our current missions and future projects.

The Role

This is a key leadership position based out of our London office or in our Luxembourg office for one of ClearSpace’s pioneering space mission developments. The successful candidate will act as the technical authority for the mission and will ultimately be responsible for its technical success. We are looking for an experienced, confident leader who has held a senior position before and displays a strong balance of technical acumen, management skills and stakeholder management skills. The successful candidate must have a high level of expertise in all aspects of spacecraft engineering, design, and operations.

Key responsibilities

• Leading technical teams to successfully deliver end-to-end mission development activities including Space, Ground, Launch Segments and in-orbit operations.
• Manage technical schedule on a day-to-day basis ensuring on time delivery of all elements necessary to achieve the program schedule.
• Manage technical baseline, ensuring impact assessment of changes and non-conformances across the system
• Responsibility for technical risk register and cost
• Identifying, analysing, and deriving technical, programmatic, and business requirements, constraints and assumptions impacting ClearSpace's missions.
• Defining and analysing overall mission architectures.
• Coordinating the activities of a wide range of domain experts to successfully deliver full mission developments.
• Defining and coordinating the specific engineering support activities at system level for all aspects of the spacecraft. Monitor and control the interfaces between the sub-systems and Spacecraft-Launch vehicle/Spacecraft-Ground Segment interfaces
• Coordinating the engineering activities for the Ground Segment and operations ensuring design and development compatible with the spacecraft and mission
• Defining and co-ordinating a design development and verification philosophy for the system and implementation of the plan ensuring coherency between areas
• Leading interactions with customers, partners, and subcontractors
• Monitor and control the technical work of subcontractors and ClearSpace's team relating design, development, production and assembly integration and test (AIT) at subsystem and system levels to ensure that the agreed Contractual Requirements are met
• Provide support and expertise to anomaly and failure reviews at all levels (equipment, sub-system/system and in-orbit), and develop solutions/resolutions to the problems
• Coordinate the support to design reviews and evaluate declared compliance versus system level requirements. Closely monitor and control all system level budgets and establish and maintain up to date versions of the budgets and analyses
• Provide support to in-orbit operations including LEOP and IOT
• Support ClearSpace's Spacecraft Program Manager in negotiations of technical aspects of spacecraft and launcher contract
• Support the definition of ClearSpace's strategic direction
• Support proposal writing for future business

Must Have

• 10+ years’ experience in the spacecraft industry with 5+ years in technical leadership positions
• Experience in decomposition of system requirements, trade studies and sizing/error budget development for a Spacecraft system
• Working knowledge of spacecraft operations and related ground systems
• Familiarity with the full space program lifecycle, from business development, proposal generation and contract negotiations, all the way through design, development, assembly, test and successful delivery
• An in-depth knowledge or a level of expertise including practical experiences in three or more of the following areas is required:
  • Spacecraft System level design/analyses
  • Ground Segment design/implementation
  • Avionics/electronics
  • Electrical and Power
  • Attitude and Orbit Control
  • Propulsion
  • Thermal & Mechanical
  • FDIR
  • Spacecraft AIT
  • Spacecraft LEOP + In-orbit operations
  • Manufacturing processes
  • Launcher Interfaces
  • Team Leadership
• Confidence with leading multidisciplinary project teams
• Highly organized, capable of tracking multiple streams of critical activities at once
• Experience working in a technical capacity with LEO, MEO or GEO Spacecraft system definition and design.
• A proven track record of successfully delivering complex space development programs
• Comfortable interacting with customers, both institutional (UKSA, ESA) and commercial

Nice to have

• MSc Degree in Aerospace, Engineering, Mechatronics, Physics or similar
• A team player, willing to get stuck in and collaborate wherever is needed.
• Agile, flexible and able to work across a geographically-distributed teams
• A great communicator

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