Senior Mechanical Engineer

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Space Inventor

Copenhagen or Aalborg, Denmark

Are you a creative and skilled senior mechanical engineer with a structured mindset and deep experience in space technology? Do you want to be a key asset in our Satellite Factory, taking ownership of the mechanical design of satellite platforms in the 60–600 kg class carrying advanced payloads such as optical and radar instruments? Then this job is for you!

As a Senior Mechanical Engineer, you will be a key player in our mechanical engineering team. You will be responsible for designing, innovating, analyzing, and optimizing the mechanical components of our satellites — structures, platforms, deployment and control mechanisms, and payload accommodation — ensuring they meet rigorous space environment requirements. You'll work on satellites significantly larger and more complex than a CubeSat, where structural stiffness, alignment stability, and mechanical integration with sensitive optical and radar payloads become central design drivers. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure the mechanical integrity of the satellites, particularly under the challenging conditions of launch and space operations.

You can be based in Copenhagen or Aalborg (Denmark) — whichever location suits you best.

Your Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design, analysis, and development for satellite platforms in the 60–600 kg range, from concept through flight;
• Design, prototype, test, and qualify complex mechanical subsystems and mechanisms, including deployables (solar arrays, antennas, booms) and precision mounting structures;
• Drive the mechanical integration of advanced payloads — optical instruments and radar (SAR) systems — where alignment stability, stiffness, and thermal-mechanical behavior directly affect payload performance;
• Utilize CAD software to design, modify, and optimize mechanical parts and assemblies for space applications;
• Perform detailed mechanical analysis, including thermal, vibrational, and structural simulations, ensuring satellite durability and performance across larger, more structurally demanding platforms;
• Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation, including design reports, manufacturing plans, and test procedures;
• Collaborate with avionics, thermal, RF, and systems engineering teams to integrate mechanical systems with electronic, propulsion, and payload modules;
• Conduct rigorous testing and validation to qualify mechanical components and full platforms for space environments;
• Guide and mentor other mechanical engineers, sharing best practices in mechanical analysis, CAD, and documentation, and help establish design standards as the team scales to larger platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field;
• Minimum 5 years of hands-on, space-relevant engineering experience, ideally including work on satellite platforms beyond cubesat/smallsat scale;
• Demonstrated track record designing mechanical structures or subsystems that have flown, or are qualified to fly, in space;
• In-depth knowledge of space projects and their execution, including how mechanical design decisions ripple through payload performance, launch qualification, and AIV;
• Proficiency in CAD software and strong command of mechanical analysis tools (structural, thermal, vibrational);
• Strong experience in mechanical documentation and report preparation;
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail, with the judgment to make sound design trade-offs on complex, multi-disciplinary hardware;
• Ability to support the commercial team in sketching new platform designs in an innovative manner, considering orbit, satellite attitude, and the mechanical accommodation of key components such as antennas, sensors, and payloads;
• Ability to work effectively in a team-oriented, multidisciplinary environment, and to lead technical discussions with confidence.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience designing mechanical structures for satellites in the 60–600 kg class, rather than cubesat/microsat platforms only;
• Experience with mechanical integration of optical payloads (alignment stability, athermal design, precision mounting) and/or radar/SAR payloads (large deployable antenna structures, RF-compatible mechanical design);
• Familiarity with thermal control and vibration damping techniques for larger, more structurally complex space systems;
• Experience with space qualification testing (vibration, thermal vacuum, shock) at platform level, not just component level.