Thruster Technical Owner

Here at The Exploration Company, we are developing, producing, and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle that can eventually be refuelled in orbit and that can carry cargo - and potentially humans in the longer run.

As a Thruster Technical Owner, you will own the technical follow-up of the supplier providing assigned Nyx Earth thruster assemblies, including the technical baseline, supplier development path, qualification evidence, delivery readiness, integration support, and flight-operations feedback loop.

You will work closely with propulsion system engineering, GNC, avionics, vehicle design, program management, procurement, quality, PA, supplier quality, AIT/MAIT, test, safety, operations, and the thruster supplier or manufacturing partner. The reporting line is to be confirmed by Propulsion leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the assigned thruster technical baseline, including requirements, interfaces, verification methods, performance needs, qualification logic, review data, and acceptance criteria.

• Maintain a system-level view of thruster fluidic, mechanical, thermal, electrical, command, GNC, FDIR, safety, operations, and vehicle-design interfaces.

• Follow the supplier development path, hot-fire evidence path, qualification logic, acceptance test logic, review sequence, and flight-hardware decision path for the assigned thruster scope.

• Build a direct, fact-based technical relationship with the supplier or manufacturing partner while keeping TEC's independent technical judgment clear.

• Review supplier deliverables, analyses, drawings where available, procedures, inspection evidence, test results, review packages, and non-conformance inputs.

• Make technical maturity, evidence quality, manufacturing readiness, test readiness, schedule risk, delivery risk, and recovery options visible early.

• Support AIT/MAIT preparation, integration, test, operations preparation, flight-data review, and treatment of abnormal thruster behaviour.

What We Would Love To See From You

• Strong aerospace, mechanical, propulsion, or related engineering background.

• Experience with spacecraft liquid propulsion hardware, ideally bipropellant thrusters, thrust chambers, thruster valves, hot-fire testing, qualification, manufacturing, or acceptance testing.

• Proven ability to own technical supplier follow-up for a critical component or unit across requirements, interfaces, qualification, delivery, integration, and anomaly support.

• Strong system-engineering judgment across propulsion, GNC, avionics, vehicle design, AIT/MAIT, quality, PA, safety, and operations interfaces.

• Ability to communicate clearly with suppliers, engineers, program leadership, procurement, quality, test, and operations stakeholders.

• Fluency in English; French and/or German are useful assets.

Skills And Behaviours