Junior Engine Control System & Monitoring Engineer

The Exploration Company is developing, producing and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital space vehicle. The role joins the engine control and monitoring team of Storm, a high-thrust LOX/LCH4 cryogenic rocket engine. Working alongside senior control engineers, the Junior Engine Control System & Monitoring Engineer will develop and test control and monitoring algorithms, work with engine functional models, contribute to the controller development environment, and verify controllers through Model-, Software- and Hardware-in-the-Loop testing and engine test campaigns. This is an entry-level, hands-on role for a recent graduate with strong control fundamentals.

Responsibilities

Design and implement engine control and monitoring algorithms, following the software team's rules, guidelines and auto-coding practices; Contribute to the definition of the engine regulation strategy (thrust and mixture ratio control, chill-down, start-up and shutdown transients) together with functional and system engineers; Support the definition of control and monitoring requirements for engine subsystems (valves, pumps, sensors, controller, software); Contribute to setting up the controller development environment, including toolchain, model and code configuration management, auto-coding chain, and the MiL/SiL/HiL simulation and test infrastructure; Integrate the engine functional models delivered by the functional team into the control design and simulation environment; Run closed-loop simulations to assess controller performance, stability margins and robustness to model uncertainties; Feed test results back to the functional team to support model correlation and flag model limitations that matter for control; Contribute to the engine monitoring strategy that assesses the health status of the engine and its subsystems; Implement fault detection and sensor validation logic for real-time protection and post-test analysis; Support failure mode analyses (FMEA) and the management of failure modes; Prepare and run Model-, Software- and Hardware-in-the-Loop (MiL, SiL, HiL) test campaigns; Support Storm engine and component cryogenic (LOX/LCH4) test campaigns, including test preparation, on-site support, data processing and post-test analysis; Produce clear development documentation: specifications, test procedures, test reports and justification files

Requirements

Master's degree (or equivalent) in Aerospace, Electrical, Control or Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline; Recent graduate (or graduating within the next months); no professional experience required; Solid fundamentals in control theory, both classical and modern (state-space, robustness, digital control); Practical use of MATLAB/Simulink and Python through coursework or projects; basic knowledge of C/C++; Basic understanding of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics; strong interest in cryogenic propulsion and turbomachinery; Fluent in English; Eagerness to learn and to take on increasing ownership under the guidance of senior engineers; Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to draw useful conclusions from partial or contradictory data; Clear oral and written communication; Organised, able to prioritise tasks and deliver within time constraints; Positive, flexible attitude and enthusiasm for space exploration

Nice to have

Exposure to MiL/SiL/HiL testing or real-time embedded systems; Experience with auto-coding from Simulink models; Familiarity with safety-critical design practices, reliability engineering or failure mode analysis; Interest or experience in data science applied to health monitoring and anomaly detection; Knowledge of space standards (ECSS, MIL-STD, NASA-HBK…); German and/or French

Benefits

Relocation assistance for those willing to relocate; Visa sponsorship where applicable