Head of AOCS

ReOrbit; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 9,000,000 - 15,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch vouchers

Health insurance

Relocation support

Team events

Occupational health care

Job summary

ReOrbit seeks a Head of AOCS to lead attitude and orbit control across spacecraft. You will drive end-to-end AOCS development, verification and in-orbit operations, coordinating with Payload, Communications, Flight Software and Operations teams.

The role shapes the technical direction of a core subsystem and demands top-tier leadership of a distributed team. With 10+ years in satellite engineering and a track record delivering flight hardware on schedule, you will mentor staff, own system-level

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in satellite design or related engineering roles.
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams with a track record of delivering flight hardware on schedule.
• Proven end to end responsibility for AOCS on at least two spacecraft programmes that have reached orbit.
• Strong understanding of real world AOCS performance and in orbit experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead end to end development of AOCS across all missions from concept through in orbit operations.
• Define and maintain pointing, stabilisation and orbit control architectures.
• Own system level AOCS design decisions across avionics, propulsion, power, structures and thermal domains.
• Lead selection and integration of AOCS sensors and actuators.
• Drive cross functional collaboration with Payload, Communications, Flight Software and Operations teams.
• Build, mentor and lead a distributed AOCS team and standardise workflows.
• Ensure rigorous verification and validation of AOCS designs at subsystem and system levels.
• Support recruitment and retention of top AOCS talent as the organisation grows.

Skills

Satellite design

Engineering leadership

AOCS flight hardware

Control laws design

Spacecraft dynamics

Sensors integration

System level testing

In orbit operations

Flight software

GEO experience

Tools

Star trackers

IMUs

Sun sensors

Magnetometers

Reaction wheels

Job description

ReOrbit is looking for an experienced and driven Head of AOCS to lead the development and execution of Attitude and Orbit Control Systems across our spacecraft portfolio.

This is a critical leadership role at the heart of our satellite development programmes, with responsibility spanning the full life cycle - from early mission definition through to launch, commissioning, and in-orbit operations. You will play a key role in ensuring our spacecraft meet the demanding pointing, stability and orbit control requirements needed to deliver next generation space data relay capabilities.

It’s an exciting opportunity to join a fast growing company and shape both the technical direction and the team responsible for one of the most critical subsystems on our spacecraft.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end to end development of AOCS across all missions, from concept and design through to in-orbit operations
• Define and maintain robust pointing, stabilisation, and orbit control architectures aligned with payload and communications performance requirements
• Own system-level AOCS design decisions, balancing performance, robustness, and operational complexity across avionics, propulsion, power, structures, and thermal domains
• Lead the selection, sizing, and integration of AOCS sensors and actuators (e.g. star trackers, IMUs, sun sensors, magnetometers, reaction wheels)
• Drive cross-functional collaboration with Payload, Communications, Flight Software, and Operations teams, particularly around mode transitions and safe-mode strategies
• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing, geographically distributed AOCS team, establishing standardised workflows and engineering processes
• Ensure rigorous verification and validation of AOCS designs at both subsystem and system level
• Support recruitment, development and retention of top AOCS talent as the organisation scales.

Skills And Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in satellite design or related engineering roles
• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams with a track record of delivering flight hardware on schedule
• Proven end to end responsibility for AOCS on at least two medium to large spacecraft programmes that have successfully reached orbit and achieved long mission lifetimes (GEO experience strongly preferred)
• Strong understanding of real world AOCS performance, including lessons learned from in orbit anomalies or near misses
• Hands on experience designing, tuning, and validating AOCS control laws on flight hardware
• Deep expertise in spacecraft dynamics, estimation, and control applied to operational systems
• Demonstrated experience integrating AOCS sensors and actuators, and resolving real world challenges such as misalignment, noise, saturation and timing delays
• Track record of debugging and recovering AOCS issues during system level testing or in flight operations
• Experience supporting high accuracy pointing payloads (e.g. optical, RF, intersatellite links)
• Proven experience delivering AOCS flight software implementations

What does ReOrbit do?

ReOrbit builds the foundation for the next generation of space applications by transforming satellites into truly intelligent, interconnected platforms, defined by software. Our satellite design philosophy revolves around the idea that satellites must network, communicate with each other and thus improve mission efficiency. How can this be achieved? Thanks to a flexible software-first architecture, where all these aspects are dealt with upfront in the mission concept, as integrated functionalities.

ReOrbit’s top-notch team of software engineers and system architects develop in-house software, procure hardware from the best-in-class suppliers, and seamlessly integrate the components to create flexible and secure satellites. Today, we are a rapidly growing company building a very strong multidisciplinary team to support our activities. We are headquartered in Helsinki, Finland with subsidiaries in Bangaluru, India, Bristol, UK and Bariloche, Argentina.

Working at ReOrbit

At ReOrbit, we are focused on building a strong team as we believe nothing can be accomplished without innovative, humble and curious minds working together on a common goal. We’re all about fostering an inclusive, dynamic environment where equality and diversity are our strength.

We offer

• Challenging but rewarding environment – you will thrive if you are always reflecting on how to make things better. Your ideas will be heard.
• Ambitious and supportive network of people, who are motivated to change the space industry, bringing expertise from both classic and new space .
• Benefits such as lunch vouchers, events, parties, occupational health care and additional health insurance - but most importantly a possibility to be a part of a unique and diverse team, connected by similar mindset and sense of humor.
• We like to spend time together! You can choose activities whichever is to your liking – runOrbit, climbOrbit; become ping pong or board games champion.
• We support relocation and integration into Finnish society.

Join us in our journey of building software enabled satellites for secure communications

and, thus, creating the most compelling in space data flow company of the new space era.

The Company may require a security clearance for certain positions. Any such security clearance will be conducted in accordance with applicable law and the Company's relevant policies