Systems Engineer - Space Industry

Neogen AI Ltd; Musselburgh; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Aurora Avionics in Edinburgh is seeking a Systems Engineer to join the engineering team. You will work across hardware, software and operations to define system architecture and ensure a coherent, mission-ready system for next-generation space launch vehicles and spacecraft platforms.

Responsibilities span from requirements capture through verification, validation and acceptance testing, with emphasis on traceability, ICDs and integration across disciplines.

Qualifications

• Experience in systems engineering within complex engineering environments.
• Knowledge of ECSS standards is advantageous.
• Ability to translate system-level needs into clear subsystem requirements while coordinating across hardware, software and operations teams.
• Strong analytical, structured thinking and problem solving across multidisciplinary contexts.

Responsibilities

• Capture and manage system requirements and traceability.
• Support system architecture and subsystem decomposition.
• Define and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs).
• Translate system requirements into subsystem requirements.
• Work across hardware, software and other engineering disciplines.
• Contribute to verification and validation planning.
• Develop test procedures and produce test reports.
• Support system integration and acceptance testing.
• Contribute to risk, hazard and failure analysis.
• Identify system-level risks, constraints and dependencies.
• Support design reviews throughout the development lifecycle.
• Investigate system-level issues during integration and testing.
• Maintain high-quality technical documentation and configuration control.

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirements capture

Requirements decomposition

Interface management

Hardware/software integration

Verification and validation

Technical documentation

Risk analysis

Problem solving

Job description

Aurora Avionics | Edinburgh, Scotland Full-time | Permanent Neogen AI has been retained exclusively by Aurora Avionics to support the continued growth of its engineering team. Aurora Avionics is building the avionics backbone for a new era of access to space , developing advanced, modular avionics systems for next-generation launch vehicles and spacecraft platforms. Its technology supports reusable spacecraft programmes and is designed to enable faster, more cost-effective and scalable access to space across Europe. From ascent through orbit and re-entry, Aurora's systems are engineered for extreme environments, reliability and real mission performance. As Aurora continues to grow, we're looking for a Systems Engineer to join the team in Edinburgh. You'll sit at the centre of the engineering function, working across hardware, software and real-world mission environments to help define system architecture and ensure everything works together as one reliable, mission-ready system. Neogen AI is managing this search exclusively on behalf of Aurora Avionics.

The Role

This is an opportunity to work across the full systems engineering lifecycle , from requirements and architecture through integration, verification, validation and acceptance testing. You'll work closely with hardware, software and operations teams, developing a broad understanding of Aurora's technology and how individual components and subsystems interact within the wider system. This isn't simply a documentation or requirements-management role. We're looking for someone who enjoys understanding how complex technology works, solving multidisciplinary engineering problems and getting close to the actual product.

What you'll be doing

• Capturing and managing system requirements and traceability
• Supporting system architecture and subsystem decomposition
• Defining and maintaining Interface Control Documents (ICDs)
• Translating system-level requirements into clear subsystem requirements
• Working across hardware, software and other engineering disciplines
• Contributing to verification and validation planning
• Developing test procedures and producing test reports
• Supporting system integration and acceptance testing
• Contributing to risk, hazard and failure mode analysis
• Identifying system-level risks, constraints and dependencies
• Supporting technical trade studies and engineering decision-making
• Supporting design reviews throughout the development lifecycle
• Investigating system-level issues during integration and testing
• Maintaining high-quality technical documentation and configuration control

What we're looking for

You don't necessarily need to already be a Systems Engineer working within the space industry. We're interested in people with experience or exposure to systems engineering within complex engineering environments , together with the technical curiosity and structured thinking required to understand how multidisciplinary systems come together. You may already be working within Systems Engineering, or your background could include hardware, electronics, software, integration, test or another engineering discipline where you've gained exposure to the wider system lifecycle.

Ideally, you'll bring experience or knowledge across several of the following areas:

• Systems engineering within complex products or environments
• Requirements capture and management
• Requirements decomposition and traceability
• System and subsystem architecture
• Interface definition and management
• Hardware/software integration
• Verification and validation
• System integration and test
• Technical documentation
• Configuration and change control
• Risk and failure analysis
• Root-cause analysis and technical problem solving

Desirable Experience

Experience within space, aerospace or another high-reliability engineering environment would be advantageous, but isn't essential. Exposure to the following would be particularly useful:

• ECSS standards
• Aerospace or space systems
• High-reliability engineering environments
• Integration and test environments

What matters to us

We're looking for someone who can combine structured systems thinking with genuine engineering curiosity. You should want to understand how the whole system works rather than looking at one component in isolation. What happens when hardware and software come together? How do you know the system meets its requirements? What happens when something doesn't behave as expected? How do you trace the problem back through the system and find the right solution? If those are the kinds of engineering challenges you enjoy, you'll fit well at Aurora Avionics.

Why Aurora Avionics?

You'll be joining Aurora at an exciting stage of its growth and working at the centre of mission-critical systems being developed for real space applications . The role provides broad exposure across the full system lifecycle and, importantly, the opportunity for accelerated progression into senior systems engineering . You'll work alongside talented engineers across multiple disciplines, solve technically challenging problems and have the opportunity to make a genuine impact on the technology Aurora is building. If you're looking for somewhere you can learn quickly, solve complex problems, influence technical decisions and take genuine ownership , we'd love to hear from you. Neogen AI is managing this search exclusively on behalf of Aurora Avionics.