ReOrbit is looking for a Head of Propulsion to join our team in Helsinki.

In this role, you will lead the propulsion domain across our satellite programs, driving the architecture, performance, and delivery of electric propulsion systems for long-duration missions. You will combine deep technical expertise with leadership responsibility, ensuring robust system design, successful mission execution, and strong team development.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring both system-level ownership and the ability to guide complex engineering decisions across multidisciplinary teams.
It's an exciting chance to join a dynamic start-up, with the opportunity to make a real impact, to reach our goal of pushing the boundaries of space data transfer. 

Responsibilities

• Drive and grow a team of propulsion engineers responsible for end-to-end electric propulsion architecture, including thrusters, PPUs, feed systems, and control logic

• Define and maintain robust propulsion architectures to ensure performance closure for long-duration, high-duty-cycle missions

• Lead system-level trade-offs across thrust, efficiency, lifetime, power demand, and operational complexity, including anomaly handling and recovery strategies

• Ensure propulsion requirements are correctly integrated into system-level budgets, timelines, and mission constraints

• Provide technical leadership across the propulsion domain, working closely with payload, AOCS, flight software, AIT, operations, and ground segment teams

• Recruit, mentor, and retain a high-performing engineering team, fostering a culture of technical excellence and rigorous design verification

• Support propulsion operations, commissioning, and in-orbit anomaly resolution

Skills and Requirements

• Direct responsibility for electric propulsion systems on at least two mid- to large-scale spacecraft that reached orbit, preferably GEO missions with long-duration profiles

• Strong understanding of propulsion system performance, including thrust, efficiency, lifetime, and system margins

• Hands-on experience with electric propulsion technologies such as Hall-effect thrusters, gridded ion thrusters, or equivalent

• Direct experience with PPUs, feed systems, and propulsion control logic

• Proven experience with propulsion AIT, vacuum firing tests, and system-level integration

• Demonstrated ability to investigate and resolve propulsion anomalies during test campaigns or in orbit

• 10+ years of experience in satellite propulsion or spacecraft engineering

• 5+ years of experience leading engineering teams delivering flight hardware

• Strong system-level understanding and ability to work across multiple spacecraft subsystems, especially power

• Hands-on experience with testing at spacecraft level is a plus

• Production-oriented mindset with focus on delivery, reliability, and scalability

• Fluent written and spoken English

What does ReOrbit do?

ReOrbit builds the foundation for the next generation of space applications by transforming satellites into truly intelligent, interconnected platforms, defined by software. Our satellite design philosophy revolves around the idea that satellites must network, communicate with each other and thus improve mission efficiency. How can this be achieved? Thanks to a flexible software-first architecture, where all these aspects are dealt with upfront in the mission concept, as integrated functionalities.

ReOrbit’s top-notch team of software engineers and system architects develop in-house software, procure hardware from the best-in-class suppliers, and seamlessly integrate the components to create flexible and secure satellites. Today, we are a rapidly growing company building a very strong multidisciplinary team to support our activities. We are headquartered in Helsinki, Finland with a subsidiaries in Bristol, UK and Bariloche, Argentina.

Working at ReOrbit

At ReOrbit, we are focused on building a strong team as we believe nothing can be accomplished without innovative, humble and curious minds working together on a common goal. We’re all about fostering an inclusive, dynamic environment where equality and diversity are our strength. 

We offer

• Challenging but rewarding environment – you will thrive if you are always reflecting on how to make things better. Your ideas will be heard.

• Ambitious and supportive network of people, who are motivated to change the space industry, bringing expertise from both classic and new space .

• Benefits such as lunch vouchers, events, parties, occupational health care and additional health insurance - but most importantly a possibility to be a part of a unique and diverse team, connected by similar mindset and sense of humor. 

• We like to spend time together! You can choose activities whichever is to your liking – runOrbit, climbOrbit; become ping pong or board games champion.

• We support relocation and integration into Finnish society.

Join us in our journey of building software enabled satellites for secure communications
and, thus, creating the most compelling in space data flow company of the new space era.

For agencies: We do not accept unsolicited CVs for our open vacancies. Any CV sent to our team unsolicited will reserve us the right to pursue a candidate without obligation to the sender. All candidate submissions must be conducted through our official channels and in accordance with our terms of engagement.