---
title: 'Senior Composite Engineer at The Exploration Company'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-composite-engineer-the-exploration-company-munich-vngn7kxh5w5h'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-06'
---

# Senior Composite Engineer at The Exploration Company

- **Company:** [The Exploration Company](https://feeny.ai/companies/the-exploration-company)
- **Location:** Munich, Germany
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-08-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-06
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/the-exploration-company/92c51ffb-5130-4fae-bbc9-64c6d6c617c1

## Job description

Here at The Exploration Company, we are building spacecrafts for humanity. We are seeking an experienced Senior Composite Engineer to support the development, verification, and qualification of primary and secondary composite structures for space applications.

The successful candidate will bring strong expertise in composite materials, structural mechanics, and verification methodologies, combined with a solid understanding of the complete lifecycle of structural hardware development. The role requires the ability to define robust technical solutions, assess structural integrity, support manufacturing activities, and contribute to the delivery of flight-quality composite structures.

The ideal candidate combines strong engineering fundamentals with a pragmatic mindset and understands how requirements, design, analysis, manufacturing, inspection, testing, and qualification activities contribute to the successful delivery of high-reliability hardware.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead the design, development, verification, and qualification of composite structural hardware for space applications.
- Define structural concepts and perform design trade-offs considering reliability, mass, manufacturability, schedule, and cost.
- Develop technical specifications covering structural requirements, materials, manufacturing processes, inspection, and verification activities.
- Support the selection of materials, manufacturing processes, laminate architectures, and structural interfaces.
- Identify and assess critical failure modes throughout the product lifecycle and ensure appropriate mitigation measures are implemented.
- Support supplier management activities, including technical oversight of build-to-print and build-to-specification hardware.
- Review supplier analyses, manufacturing documentation, inspection reports, test reports, and non-conformance dispositions.
- Support anomaly investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective action implementation.
- Interface with systems engineering, manufacturing, AIT, quality, procurement, and program teams.
- Present technical recommendations and structural justifications during project reviews and decision boards.
- Contribute to the development of robust, manufacturable, inspectable, and flightworthy structural solutions.

What We Would Love to See from You

## Qualifications

- Master's degree or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Minimum 8 years of experience in structural analysis and mechanical justification of aerospace, space, or other high-performance composite structures.
- Proven experience in the design, development, verification, and qualification of composite structures.
- Strong knowledge of composite materials, manufacturing processes, structural mechanics, and damage tolerance principles.
- Proficiency in finite element modelling and simulation methods for static, buckling, dynamic, thermo-mechanical, and joint analyses.
- Proficiency in finite element analysis (FEA) software (Altair suite and Nastran are preferable).
- Good understanding of composite design allowables, materials and process qualification, structural testing, and analysis-to-test correlation.
- Experience with bolted and bonded joints, load introduction, and interface justification in composite structures.
- Experience with CAD software (Siemens NX) is a plus,
- Fluent in English. Knowledge of German, French or Italian is an asset.

Skills and Behaviors:

- Strong engineering judgement, analytical thinking, and problem-solving capabilities.
- Ability to take ownership of complex technical topics and drive them to closure.
- Proactive and pragmatic mindset, capable of balancing technical excellence, schedule constraints, and business objectives.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams and external suppliers.
- Ability to identify risks early, challenge assumptions, and make data-driven decisions.
- Comfortable operating across design, analysis, manufacturing, testing, and qualification activities.
- Demonstrates behaviors aligned with The Exploration Company values, including Mission, Integrity, Excellence, Vision and Teamwork.
- Motivated to contribute to the development and delivery of reliable, flightworthy space hardware in a fast-paced and ambitious environment.

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.

## About The Exploration Company

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: The Exploration Company (TEC) is building a full-stack space transportation platform, including a reusable space capsule (Nyx) and a high-thrust rocket engine (Storm), to democratize access to space.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: Munich, Germany (HQ); additional offices in Bordeaux (France), Luxembourg, Turin (Italy), Houston (Texas, USA), and Dubai/Abu Dhabi (UAE)
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Hélène Huby (CEO) and a team of aerospace veterans

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Space transportation, aerospace engineering, orbital logistics
- **Target customers**: Space station operators, satellite operators, government space agencies (e.g., NASA), commercial space companies (B2B, B2G)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "To build space vehicles for humanity, enabling everyone to participate peacefully in the building of our human future." [exploration.space](https://exploration.space/about)

## Products & Services
- **Nyx**: A reusable space capsule designed to dock with any space station, capable of carrying cargo (and eventually crew) to low-Earth orbit. It is the company’s first commercial vehicle.
- **Storm**: A high-thrust, staged-combustion rocket engine delivering up to 180 tons of thrust, designed to power a globally competitive, reusable launcher.
- **Mission Bikini**: A first demonstrator capsule built for ballistic reentry, completed from paper sketch to flight-ready in nine months.
- **Mission Possible**: A second demonstrator capsule built for controlled re-entry and recovery with cargo, completed in two years.
- **Orbital Propulsion**: In-house development of avionics, flight software, guidance/navigation/control (GNC), and reusable thrusters.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Total Funding**: $210.06M (Series B, with a $160M round raised approximately two years ago) [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/the-exploration-company)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Backed by tier-one investors; first European company to sign a Space Act Agreement with NASA; board includes figures like Mike Griffin (former NASA Administrator) and Yo-Yo Ma (cellist and board advisor) [exploration.space](https://exploration.space/about)
- **Growth Signals**: 10 missions already booked; two demonstrator capsules built in under three years; team of 450+ employees spanning 35 nationalities; offices in 6 locations across Europe, the US, and the UAE; named one of the fastest-growing space companies worldwide.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Speed of execution**: Demonstrated ability to go from concept to flight-ready hardware in 9–24 months, far faster than traditional aerospace.
- **Reusability focus**: Both Nyx and Storm are designed for rapid reuse, dramatically lowering per-mission costs.
- **Open-source vehicle design**: TEC’s approach is intentionally collaborative, fostering partnerships across countries and with NASA.
- **Full-stack capability**: Controls the entire space transportation stack (capsule, engine, avionics, software), reducing dependency on external suppliers.
- **European base with global reach**: Positioned as a key European player in the new space economy, with strong government and commercial ties.

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercial cargo missions**: First priority is launching Nyx to serve low-Earth orbit space stations (both public and private).
- **Engine development**: Continuing work on Storm to power a future European launcher.
- **International expansion**: Deepening presence in the US (Houston office) and UAE (Dubai/Abu Dhabi office).
- **Talent scaling**: Growing the team from 450+ to meet mission milestones, with a focus on engineering, production, and digital roles.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Emphasizes speed, execution, and ownership. Values include Excellence, Teamwork, Integrity, and "Space for everyone." The company prides itself on gathering diverse, international talent from both space and non-space backgrounds.
- **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Offers flexibility and remote work opportunities depending on the role, but encourages a hybrid approach where possible. [exploration.space](https://www.exploration.space/careers)
- **Relocation Support**: Yes, the company provides relocation assistance and work permit/visa support for new hires.
- **Notable Perks**: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge space vehicles from day one; internal mobility encouraged; background check required for all offers.
- **Engineering Culture**: Leadership includes aerospace veterans who have worked on major global space programs. The team is 450+ strong, representing 35 nationalities, with a flat, fast-moving structure.

## Sources
1. [exploration.space - Home](https://exploration.space/)
2. [exploration.space - About](https://exploration.space/about)
3. [exploration.space - Careers](https://www.exploration.space/careers)
4. [cbinsights.com - The Exploration Company](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/the-exploration-company)
5. [Wikipedia - The Exploration Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exploration_Company)

## Other roles at The Exploration Company

- [Welding Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/welding-engineer-the-exploration-company-bordeaux-0kgzkww4cjpd) — Bordeaux, France
- [Head of Electronics & software](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-electronics-software-the-exploration-company-munich-3yxtwzah13vy) — Munich, Germany
- [TCS and ECLSS Certification Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/tcs-and-eclss-certification-engineer-the-exploration-company-bordeaux-rqv9dzq7gzfa) — Bordeaux, France
- [Lead Commercial Sales](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-commercial-sales-the-exploration-company-munich-y0f88sgexmm6) — Munich, Germany
- [Storm Test Bench Principal Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/storm-test-bench-principal-engineer-the-exploration-company-bordeaux-4kdfjx6tgmck) — Bordeaux, France
- [IT Administrator](https://feeny.ai/job/it-administrator-the-exploration-company-turin-ntapn0kbmp7t) — Turin, Italy
- [Non-Destructive Testing Technician – Level 2](https://feeny.ai/job/non-destructive-testing-technician-level-2-the-exploration-company-munich-xcyjx5zjyph0) — Munich, Germany
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