Senior Systems Engineer – Spaceplane

About the Role

Join Dawn Aerospace in innovating a remotely operated reusable spaceplane that uniquely integrates the demanding characteristics of rocket propulsion with the operational discipline of aircraft. We seek a seasoned Systems Engineer who thrives on ownership, solving intricate technical challenges, and guiding engineering decisions across multidisciplinary teams. This role requires a hands-on leader, ready to shape both the vehicle and the engineering processes behind it.

Key Responsibilities

• Assume full end-to-end responsibility for one or multiple vehicle systems or functions.
• Define how systems behave, specify requirements, design architecture, interfaces, and verification plans.
• Drive technical decisions collaborating closely with propulsion, structures, avionics, guidance, navigation and control (GNC), software, operations, and certification teams.
• Develop and maintain verification strategies and assist in their implementation throughout the development lifecycle to deliver integrated vehicle capabilities.
• Offer technical leadership and mentor engineers within your functional domains.
• Lead Functional Hazard Assessments for your areas, developing system-level safety requirements and ensuring effective mitigation of hazards.
• Participate in or conduct Fault Tree Analysis, Common Cause Analysis, and other safety-related assessments.
• Contribute to safety case development and certification documentation as necessary.
• Ensure system reliability statements from safety analyses are substantiated with credible engineering evidence.
• Translate reliability goals and safety targets into practical verification, qualification, and testing activities involving analysis, inspection, and operational data.
• Design qualification and environmental testing programs that replicate real operational conditions including vibration, shock, thermal, and pressure environments.
• Lead qualification and reliability demonstrations, converting certification and safety goals into actionable engineering plans.
• Collaborate with design engineers to embed reliability in system designs from the start and validate through solid evidence.
• Establish robust qualification, reliability demonstration, and engineering assurance approaches across the spaceplane program.
• Provide technical justification supporting high-confidence reliability claims for critical vehicle functions.

Desired Experience & Skills

• Proven experience in systems engineering within aerospace or similarly safety-critical and complex systems.
• Responsibility for system function ownership including defining requirements, architecture, interfaces, and verification.
• Hands-on expertise in qualification and reliability demonstration related to structural, mechanical, electrical, or avionics systems.
• Familiarity with Functional Hazard Assessment, Fault Tree Analysis, Common Cause Analysis, or reliability engineering principles.
• Expertise in environmental qualification testing with capability to develop relevant test requirements and profiles.
• Experience with flight testing, vehicle integration, and system verification and validation.
• Background in aircraft, spacecraft, launch vehicles, advanced unmanned aircraft, or other integrated safety-critical systems.

Success Factors

• Ability to quickly assess the strengths and capabilities of diverse teams and elevate technical quality by leading through example.
• Strong ownership mindset with a drive to see tasks through to completion.
• Capacity to comprehend complex systems and make practical engineering choices.
• Preference for crafting pragmatic engineering solutions over rigidly adhering to process.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to influence technical direction through sound judgement.
• Enjoyment in mentoring colleagues and enhancing team engineering output.

Why Work With Us?

This role offers the chance to help create an unprecedented aerospace vehicle that merges aviation and spaceflight domains. You will hold significant responsibility for vital vehicle systems, collaborate with expert engineers, and tackle technical challenges that are unique in the industry. Your contributions will directly impact how safety, reliability, and readiness are demonstrated as the vehicle moves from development to operational status.

Diversity and Inclusion

Dawn Aerospace values diverse teams as a source of superior solutions. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment where individuals of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences feel valued and supported to excel.

About Dawn Aerospace

Dawn Aerospace is a pioneering space transportation company committed to enabling the next generation of space access solutions that are sustainable and scalable. Our current focus encompasses three main sectors:

• In-space propulsion: We supply leading turnkey green propulsion systems using safe, accessible propellants, with over 170 units deployed on more than 40 operational satellites and 200 units currently in production.
• In-space servicing: We facilitate satellite refuelling services to extend operational life, supporting a sustainable, clean, and safe orbital environment.
• Spaceplanes: We are developing the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever to take off from a runway, combining rocket performance with airplane reusability to enable frequent, low-cost sub-orbital access to space.

Our global teams operate across the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and the USA.

Additional Information

If you believe you meet the core requirements but don’t fulfill every criterion perfectly, we encourage you to apply. Recruitment agencies are advised not to submit resumes as we do not accept unsolicited applications.