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ispace

Lunar payload transport and data services

Satellite Technical Lead

Spacecraft & Launch Vehicle SystemsConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeTokyo, JapanNo salary listed

About the Job

Requirements

  • At least 7 years of professional experience in satellite or aerospace system development.
  • Strong technical expertise in one or more of satellite system engineering, attitude and orbit control systems (AOCS) or guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), power, thermal or structural systems, and radio frequency (RF) or communication systems.
  • Experience across requirements definition, design, development, and testing phases of satellite projects.
  • Proven ability to make and explain technical decisions under schedule and cost constraints.
  • Strong cross-functional communication skills in multidisciplinary engineering environments.
  • Business-level English sufficient to participate in technical discussions and reviews and to prepare documentation.

Responsibilities

  • Own the satellite system across its full lifecycle, from mission requirements definition through design, development, testing, launch preparation, and operations readiness.
  • Lead system-level architecture decisions covering satellite bus, payload, ground segment, and operational concepts.
  • Drive technical trade-off analyses across performance, mass, power, cost, schedule, and risk.
  • Serve as the primary technical decision-maker, or delegate technical authority, for project-level engineering topics.
  • Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks at system and subsystem levels.
  • Lead project execution with a strong engineering focus, ensuring technical feasibility, quality, and consistency.
  • Develop and manage integrated schedules aligned with engineering milestones and reviews.
  • Support project cost control and profit-and-loss decision-making by assessing technical cost drivers and design choices.
  • Plan, prepare, and technically lead major project reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and FRR.
  • Technically lead internal and external engineering teams across satellite, payload, ground, and operations domains.
  • Conduct technical reviews and provide guidance to subsystem leads and engineers.
  • Coordinate and negotiate technical matters with international partners, suppliers, and customers.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience as a System Lead, Subsystem Lead, Technical Lead, or Technical Project Lead.
  • Involvement in launch campaigns and/or early orbit operations (LEOP).
  • Experience with international space projects, such as those involving JAXA, ESA, or NASA.
  • Experience in startup or new mission development environments.
  • Ability to balance technical excellence with business and contractual constraints.
  • Career aspiration toward senior technical leadership roles such as Chief Engineer or Technical Director.
  • Business-level Japanese.

About the Company

ispace

Lunar payload transport and data services

ispace develops lunar exploration and resource development, offering two main services: Payload Services, which transports customer payloads to lunar orbit or the surface using its robotic landers and rovers, and Data Services, which collects and provides lunar data for mission planning and surface development. It differentiates itself by owning its own lunar hardware, using agile development with commercially off-the-shelf components to cut costs, and pursuing a cadence of Hakuto-R missions to establish a regular cislunar transport system, while partnering with NASA under CLPS and with ESA. Its goal is to enable a growing lunar economy by delivering reliable, affordable access to the Moon for scientists, governments, and industry and by advancing the utilization of lunar resources such as water ice.

Company size
201-500
Company stage
IPO
Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
Founded
2010

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