Head of Electronics & Software
The Exploration Company
Head of Electronics & Software
The Exploration Company
Reusable spacecraft and propulsion for cargo
Here at The Exploration Company, we are building spacecraft for humanity.
We are looking for a Head of Electronics & Software to lead and develop the engineering capability behind some of the most critical systems in our spacecraft.
This is a senior leadership role combining people leadership, engineering excellence, organisational development and technical breadth. You will lead a multidisciplinary organisation spanning:
Avionics, communications and electrical power systems
Flight software (FSW)
Guidance, navigation and control (GNC)
Electrical wiring and interconnection systems (EWIS), including harness engineering
Future projects and advanced electronics and software development
You will be responsible for ensuring our teams have the people, skills, processes, tools and engineering standards needed to deliver ambitious space programmes today, while building the capabilities we will need for the future.
This is not a role for someone looking to step away from engineering. We are looking for a leader who can engage credibly with highly technical teams, challenge constructively, develop strong technical leaders and help create an environment where exceptional engineering can happen.
Our engineering teams work in a matrix organisation, combining strong functional leadership with project-based delivery.
As Head of Electronics & Software, you will lead the functional organisation, developing its people and capabilities while working closely with Project Managers, Project Chief Engineers, technical authorities and engineering Leads responsible for programme delivery.
You will:
Lead and develop Project Leads, discipline Leads, Principal Engineers and transversal engineering resources
Partner with project leadership to align capability, resources and priorities with programme needs
Help teams navigate competing priorities across projects
Ensure clear ownership and accountability between functional leadership and project execution
Build an organisation capable of supporting multiple programmes as the company grows
Success in this environment requires collaboration, influence and sound engineering judgement rather than centralising every technical decision.
This role owns the strength and effectiveness of the Electronics & Software organisation: its people, capability, engineering practices, tools, standards and functional budget.
You will create the environment in which our technical teams can perform at their best, providing mentoring, challenge and access to expertise while supporting technical and project leadership in making strong engineering decisions.
Project technical decisions and product technical authority remain within the relevant project and technical organisations. Your role is to ensure they are supported by a highly capable engineering organisation with the right expertise, methods and resources.
You will build and shape a high-performing Electronics & Software organisation.
Your responsibilities will include:
Owning workforce and headcount planning across the function
Recruiting and retaining exceptional engineering talent
Developing clear job families, role levels and assessment standards
Partnering with Talent Acquisition, engineering Leads and hiring managers to maintain a high technical hiring bar
Leading promotion, compensation and organisational planning within the function
Building succession plans and reducing key-person dependencies in specialist areas
Creating an organisation that remains lean, scalable and aligned with current and future programme needs
Developing strong engineers and technical leaders will be a major part of the role.
You will:
Lead and develop the managers, Leads and senior engineers within your organisation
Establish meaningful objectives aligned with project and company priorities
Build clear development and technical career paths
Strengthen mentoring, coaching and leadership capability across the organisation
Create opportunities for engineers to gain experience across design, integration, test and operations
Address performance challenges fairly and constructively
Build a culture where progression is based on demonstrated capability, impact and organisational need
You will help define how excellent electronics and software engineering is done across the company.
This includes:
Owning and continuously improving engineering practices across electronics, software, GNC and electrical/harness engineering
Establishing practical standards for electronics design, software development, testing, modelling, reviews and verification
Ensuring teams understand and can effectively apply the relevant processes
Supporting certification readiness, audits and continuous improvement, including applicable EN9100 requirements
Working closely with Quality, Safety, Systems Engineering and the Chief Engineer organisation
Using lessons from development, testing and operations to continuously improve engineering practices
Our aim is not process for process's sake. We want processes that are lean, pragmatic and proportionate to engineering risk.
You will ensure our engineers have the tools and engineering environment needed to work effectively and at scale.
This includes capability across:
Electronics and PCB design
Harness CAD
Software development, build and configuration toolchains
Automated testing
GNC analysis and modelling
Software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop environments
Simulation and shared test infrastructure
You will drive standardisation, adoption and good engineering practice while partnering with Digital, IT, Procurement, Quality and other engineering teams.
The goal is simple: engineering work should be efficient, traceable, reproducible and ready to scale.
You will work closely with our projects to ensure they have access to the Electronics & Software capability they need.
You will:
Mentor engineering Leads and provide senior technical guidance where needed
Support major technical and engineering reviews
Maintain visibility of capability gaps, resource constraints and significant engineering risks
Work with project leadership to resolve resource requirements through hiring, development, internal mobility or external support
Anticipate future capacity constraints before they become programme blockers
Help resolve cross-project resource and organisational conflicts
Contribute to the company-wide electronics and software strategy alongside the Chief of Engineering and CTO
Shape future capabilities, reusable technologies, R&D priorities and obsolescence strategies
You will own the Electronics & Software functional budget and forecast, including:
Headcount and personnel planning
Engineering tools and licences
Relevant shared simulation and test capability
Training and development
Functional team travel
You will work closely with Finance, Procurement, Digital and project leadership to ensure investment supports both immediate programme needs and longer-term engineering capability.
We are looking for someone who combines credible engineering depth with proven organisational leadership.
You should bring:
Strong hands-on engineering experience in at least one of the following: avionics, electronics, embedded systems, flight software, GNC or electrical systems
Enough technical breadth to operate effectively across several of these disciplines and understand how they interact
Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams in a complex product environment
Proven formal line-management experience, including developing managers and technical leaders
Experience hiring, developing and building engineering organisations
Experience with organisational design, workforce and capacity planning
Experience creating or improving engineering processes, tools, standards and ways of working
Experience operating within a matrix organisation and supporting multiple projects or programmes
Strong coaching, mentoring, communication and influencing skills
The technical credibility to challenge senior engineers while empowering the appropriate technical owners to make decisions
A pragmatic approach to engineering quality, assurance and compliance, including relevant EN9100 practices
Experience in spacecraft, launch vehicles, aerospace, defence, aviation, robotics or another complex safety-critical engineering environment would be particularly relevant.
We are looking for a leader who:
Leads with high standards, humility and low ego
Enjoys developing people rather than simply directing them
Empowers strong technical Leads and avoids becoming a bottleneck
Can challenge experienced engineers constructively
Makes decisions using data and sound engineering judgement
Balances immediate programme pressures with long-term organisational capability
Creates clarity where responsibilities cross organisational boundaries
Promotes transparency, accountability, collaboration and continuous learning
Believes in extreme ownership and engineering first principles
Remains close enough to the engineering to understand the challenges our teams are solving
This is a leadership role with teams and stakeholders across our European organisation, so regular face-to-face engagement is important.
You should expect to spend time across our main European sites, with additional travel where required for team leadership, recruitment, major engineering reviews, audits and project support.
Why you should join us!
What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is:
We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind
We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them
We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?
We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly.
The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.
All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, which will be subject to the country, role, and project you applied for. By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree that any offer of employment may be conditional upon successful condition of this check. The Exploration Company partners with Zinc Work Limited located in the UK (Zinc), a third-party provider, to ensure this process as efficient and transparent as possible.
If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.
Reusable spacecraft and propulsion for cargo
The Exploration Company is a European space company building reusable spacecraft and propulsion to move cargo and future crew between Earth and orbit. Its Nyx reusable capsule is designed for space-station logistics, with plans for ISS docking and return, while Storm is a high-thrust oxygen-methane engine for a future European heavy-lift launcher. Nyx ferry cargo and later crew to space stations, docking as needed and returning to Earth for refurbishment; Storm provides the propulsion to lift large payloads into orbit. TEC focuses on end-to-end European space logistics with in-house systems and a path from cargo delivery to crewed missions, backed by significant funding and long-term contracts, aiming to enable regular access to orbit and docking with stations and to develop Europe’s heavy-lift capabilities.
Explore more opportunities at The Exploration Company