Chief Engineer - High Thrust Engine Expert at The Exploration Company (Bordeaux, France)Chief Engineer - High Thrust Engine Expert

Here at The Exploration Company, we are building spacecrafts for humanity.

We are seeking a High-Thrust Engine Chief Engineer to lead the technical vision, architecture, and strategic direction of the Storm program, our next-gen high-thrust cryogenic rocket engine using LOX/LCH4. You will be the technical authority for the high-thrust engine development program.

This role is responsible for ensuring technical coherence across all domains and aligning engineering execution with company goals and mission objectives.

The Storm Chief Engineer serves as the senior technical authority for the program, guiding engineering leadership, setting design and performance standards, and ensuring system-level integrity and mission success. You'll own the technical integrity, performance, and safety of the engine throughout its lifecycle, from architecture definition to prototype testing. The Storm Chief Engineer will work closely with the Storm Lead and the Head of Propulsion (reports to), ensuring that engineering excellence and delivery efficiency remain balanced.

Key responsibilities:

• Technical Leadership and Vision Define and communicate the technical vision and roadmap for the Storm propulsion system in collaboration with the High Thrust Engine Lead, ensuring alignment with company strategy, mission objectives, and long-term scalability.
• System Architecture Ownership Serve as the primary owner of the Storm system architecture, ensuring optimal integration across propulsion, structures, avionics, and operations. Lead technical reviews. Arbitrate complex system trade-off
• Mentorship and Technical Oversight Provide guidance and mentorship to the team, fostering a culture of technical rigor, innovation, and accountability.
• Risk Management & Safety Identify, assess, and manage technical risks at the system level with the support of the team and their principals. Lead critical design and readiness reviews, ensuring robust decision-making and risk mitigation strategies. Approve all non-conformance waivers or design deviations.
• Collaboration Support business development, partner engagement, and customer interactions by representing the technical capabilities and vision of the Storm program. Coordinate with the Storm Lead on technical milestones, test readiness, and risk assessments. Work closely with program management and other engineering domains to balance performance, cost, and schedule, while maintaining technical integrity.
• Continuous Improvement Drive continuous improvement in engineering tools, methodologies, and team capability to ensure Storm remains at the forefront of propulsion technology. Drive maturation of critical technologies. Ensure lessons learnt are captured.

What we would love to see from you:

• A minimum of a master’s degree in propulsion engineering, systems engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field.
• Over 15 years of experience in liquid rocket engine development, including at least one full-scale or prototype program, with experience in production/industrialisation
• Deep understanding of cryogenic propulsion systems, including design, integration, and test.
• Proven track record of defining and delivering complex aerospace systems from concept through flight.
• Experience collaborating with European space agencies.
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary technical teams and arbitrate complex design trades.
• Demonstrated experience managing system-level requirements, interfaces, and verification activities.
• Experience in engine hot-fire testing and anomaly resolution.
• Exceptional leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence across engineering, program, and executive teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make sound technical decisions under uncertainty, schedule and cost pressure.
• Proven ability to work with geographically distributed teams and coordinating with external partners or suppliers.
• Positive, adaptable, and collaborative mindset, capable of inspiring excellence across the organization.
• Fluency in English.

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.