About Aerospacelab

Our mission is supported by an ambitious vertically integrated approach: design & manufacture of small satellites combined with development of earth observation services.

Since its creation in 2018, the company has already grown substantially. Our team gathers more than 25 engineering expertise, from hardware design to software development & data science.

In 2026, Aerospacelab counts offices in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Toulouse (France), Lausanne (Switzerland) and US West Coast with more than 350 full-time employees, with the ambition to position itself as the European leader in small satellites.

Role overview

As a satellite systems engineer at Aerospacelab, you will lead the technical development of satellite and platforms, from early concepts to in-orbit deployment. You will work closely with the project manager to answer the best to customer needs. As such, you will seek technical solutions that are simultaneously faster, better, cheaper, by leveraging Aerospacelab own industrial strengths:

• Strong vertical integration of satellite units
• Mass-manufacturing capabilities

Following company current needs, the role will be oriented towards one of the following mission types:

• In-Orbit Demonstrator development, with most of the customers ordering their very first satellite and a majority of Earth-Observation missions
• Constellations-scale development, with established operators and a majority of Telecommunication missions
• In-orbit follow-up of already flying missions to fuel the feedback loop towards platform and unit design with in-flight data

Please indicate in your application which one you are aiming for.

Duties

• Define the overall architecture and satellite design that meets the mission objectives. This includes conducting system requirements and budgets exercises, selecting appropriate subsystems and conducting any necessary trade-offs, and finally ensuring integration across the system.
• Manage pro-actively and pragmatically any potential technical risks
• Act as the chief engineer for the satellite, which implies coordinating the overall satellite development effort between the various subsystems and domains, keeping a keen eye on overall system consistency and smooth information sharing
• Work closely with the teams responsible for unit internal developments to increase company’s overall industrial efficiency
• Support test procedures, and participate in the integration, test campaign, launch and in-orbit commissioning
• Support project programmatic aspects, including customer interface, configuration management, development plans

Must have

• At least 8 years professional experience in satellite engineering, either directly as a systems engineer, or any discipline requiring an understanding of the full system (AOCS, Mechanical/Structural, Thermal, Power & Avionics)
• Excellent communication (oral and written) and organizational skills
• Problem solving mindset, with an ability to take technical decisions despite missing information and/or some level of risk
• Willingness to challenge the European space industry statu quo

Nice to have

• Experience with telecom payloads
• Hands-on satellite assembly, integration and test campaign