About Magdrive
Magdrive is developing the next generation of spacecraft propulsion to address current bottlenecks in space missions. Our cutting-edge thruster technology aims to deliver unmatched thrust and efficiency, enabling accessibility to new orbits and entirely new industries such as satellite servicing, orbital assembly, and interplanetary transport . We are also starting to develop recycling & refuelling approaches for future spacecraft propulsion.
About the Role
As Chief Engineer you will work very closely with the Chief Technology Officer and heads of technical teams to provide technical leadership and system‑level ownership of Magdrive’s propulsion products. You will be responsible for shaping the next generation of Magdrive propulsion systems, guiding them from concept through development, qualification, and handover to flight. Working across R&D, Systems, and Flight Delivery teams, you will ensure coherent requirements flow‑down, robust design trade‑offs, and successful integration of complex subsystems into a space‑qualified product. This is a hands‑on leadership role combining deep technical judgement with team direction, where you will drive engineering excellence, rigorous testing and reliability, and play a key role in moving Magdrive technology from advanced development into flight‑ready, in‑orbit demonstrated systems.
Location:
Primarily Magdrive Oxfordshire sit in the UK
Options for hybrid/remote working
Occasional travel to US site and conferences expected
Responsibilities:
Take technical ownership and lead development of the next iteration Magdrive’s propulsion system, improving upon current designs.
- Own propulsion system life cycle and its corresponding processes up to design freeze / hardware handover to MAIT pipeline.
- Leading requirement definition of the system, with support from the Systems team, and input from Flight Delivery team and R&D teams, ensuring flow-down of requirements into design targets.
- Ensure successful integration of different subsystems to create a complete space qualified propulsion system.
- Make informed technical trade-offs to maximise performance, reliability, manufacturability and use cases for end customers.
- Address technical risks with numerical tools, experiments and test campaigns, and propose solutions.
- Report to and work closely with the CTO.
Lead R&D teams to achieve engineering excellence.
- Identify required standards and ensure compliance across product and subcomponents.
- Provide technical direction to cross-functional R&D engineering teams, ensuring all design activities align with the overarching system architecture and goals.
- Ensure requirements are captured and delivered, and documentation completed by relevant teams (e.g. ICD & DDF).
- Continue to improve engineering processes throughout Magdrive.
Verification and validation
- Own and refine Magdrive testing philosophy.
- Work with technical teams to define thorough testing campaigns, ensure tests completed and resulting data enables informed design decisions.
- Mature the propulsion system through test campaigns, and iterative development.
- Lead structured failure investigations (e.g. RCCA, DOE, FMECA, etc) and drive reliability and performance through data-driven design choices.
Ensure collaboration between R&D and Flight Delivery teams
- Collaborate with the Flight Delivery team to ensure handover of prototypes and products suitable for the MAIT pipeline
- Ensure that requirements and insight from manufacturing are returned from flight team into product design.
- Work with flight to assist with external partner technical queries to ensure integration of propulsion systems into spacecraft.
Requirements:
- 10 years of experience in engineering, with 5 years in the space industry.
- Proven experience leading space hardware development into successful deployment.
- Hands on experience running verification and validation campaigns and implementing corrective action on complex hardware.
- Experience leading cross-functional technical teams of >20 people
What success looks like:
You have been able to deliver a reliable and high performance Magdrive propulsion system, which is well characterised and qualified for use in space, and worked with the Flight Delivery team to successfully deploy this product in orbital demonstration missions.
What we offer:
💷 Salary: £90k – £110k per annum (DOE)
🌴 25 days annual leave + bank holidays + birthdays, and long-service awards (up to 30 days)
🌐 Regular conference attendance
🏥 Private medical insurance
⏰ Flexible working hours
💻 Hybrid/remote working where possible
🏡 Financial support for relocation and home office setup
👨👩👦 Generous parental leave
🎉 Regular company socials and societies
