Are you actually applying to these space jobs?

Good morning,

Quick question: are you actually applying to jobs or just reading about them? 👀

Because this week's list is genuinely good. We've got ESA roles, a pulsar navigation PhD that made me wish I was a researcher, a hiring event in Paris tomorrow and a startup launching things to the stratosphere.

Also: Isar is aiming to launch this Monday (!!!), defense is taking over everything and we have a new podcast episode live 😎

But first: the jobs. Let’s go

🚀 Spotlight: New on findaspacejob.com

Here are some of the best space jobs available today:

• Launch Operator @ Involve Space (Italy)

  👉 Work on launching stuff to the stratosphere!!! How cool is that?

• System AIV Engineer @ ESA (Netherlands)

  👉 Every week we have to have a favourite role… this week this is it.

• Radio Frequency Engineer @ Involve Space (Italy)

  👉 Want to work on telecommunication payloads that operate on the edge of space? A “real engineering” role at a growing startup

• Optical Systems Engineer @ SatVu (UK)

  👉 Be in charge of the payload development and build for their HotSat-4 and help build the “World’s Thermometer” as they say 😎

• Mechanical Engineering Internship @ Revolv Space (Italy)

  👉 Probably one of the best companies to do a mechanical engineering internship… I might be biased

• Flight Software Engineer (3 Positions) @ ESA (Netherlands)

  👉 What’s better than one flight software opportunity? haha, of course: three of them! Go an apply quickly!

• Mechanical engineer internship @ Aldoria (France)

  👉 A great opportunity to design, build, qualify (and potentially operate!) SSA telescopes!

• Astrophysics PhD @ University of Strathclyde (UK)

  👉 For the researchers out there: and this is probably one of the most interesting PhDs I’ve ever seen: develop a pulsar-based navigation system. (If you do please let me know and come to the podcast!)

• Systems Engineers // In-person Event in Paris @ MDA Space (France (the event) but Canada (the job))

  ‼️ MDA Space is hosting a recruitment event in Paris tomorrow!

If you do not see a role you like here, go check the job board for the full list. And tell me: what role are you looking for?

🎙️ Have you ever used satsearch?

We have a new podcast episode!

This week I sat down with Kartik Kumar, one of the co-founders of satsearch. His story is genuinely one of the best ones I've heard: a PhD in astrodynamics, a frustrating week trying to track down LIDAR data for a debris removal study… and a weekend hackathon that “accidentally” turned into a 10 year company 😅

It all began with a very crappy website which people started using immediately. Then came four years of zero revenue, plenty of rejections, and a market that just wasn't ready yet.

We then also got into the messier stuff: how they almost quit, why COVID accidentally became their biggest growth driver and his vision for cutting satellite development time from years to weeks.

If you're building something in this industry (or thinking about it), this one's worth your time!

» Listen to the episode here «

» Or watch it here 👇 «

The bottom line: Kartik's story is a masterclass in persistence (among other things). If you know a problem is real, sometimes you just have to stay in the game long enough for the rest of the market to catch up. Although that’s definitely not easy!

🗞️ News: defense is the next big thing (unfortunately)

Sirius Space Services buys AMM-42

The launch startup Sirius Space Services just acquired AMM-42, a high-precision metal manufacturer that recently went into administration. This is Sirius’ second acquisition in less than a year (they bought SERM last June). They are getting ready for the first full-scale tests of their Star-1 engine later this year. Their first suborbital demonstrator flight is planned for early 2027.

Isar Aerospace delayed (again), but secures a massive contract 

Weather has forced Isar Aerospace to push the highly anticipated second launch of their Spectrum rocket. They are now targeting March 23!

But it wasn't all bad news this week: Astroscale just announced they selected Isar to launch their ELSA-M orbital debris removal mission. The mission is now targeting 2028 (a two-year delay from original estimates 😅), giving Isar time to get a few successful Spectrum flights under their belt first.

The shift to defense is inevitable

It was only a matter of time. The European Defence Agency just gave a €15.65M contract to a 17-company consortium to design a military satellite optimised for Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). And over in Canada, Telesat announced they are officially pivoting 25% of their Lightspeed constellation (initially planned as a Starlink competitor) to military Ka-band to meet the growing demands of NATO and allied defense partners. The commercial space sector is increasingly becoming a defense sector 🤷‍♂️

Satellogic wants to map the whole planet, every single day 

And adding to what we just said: Satellogic just announced Merlin, a new constellation that will map the entire Earth daily at one meter resolution. The goal is to move away from manually telling a satellite to take a picture of a specific spot. Instead, the system will continuously monitor the globe and automatically flag when something actually changes. It is heavily focused on defense, and the first launch is set for October 2026.

Meanwhile in Texas: SpaceX keeps moving forward

Get ready to see another Starship flying soon… 👇

That’s all for the week!

Until next Thursday!

P.S. Hiring? Post your role here

As usual: connect on LinkedIn and follow the Find a Space Job for updates.