About the job

As the Head of System Modelling and Mission Analysis (SMMA) at Orbex, you will lead the SMMA department, providing technical and line leadership for the design, analysis, and performance assessment of the Prime and Proxima launch vehicles. You will oversee a multidisciplinary team of systems engineers, simulation architects, and mission analysts, guiding the development of integrated physics-based and functional models for launch systems and ground support equipment, ensuring accurate modelling of subsystems such as propulsion, fluids, thermal, and aerodynamics, and their interactions. Your responsibilities include leading mission analysis activities encompassing trajectory design, orbital mechanics, mission timelines, operational constraints, and Flight Safety Analysis, as well as developing tools to support extended mission concepts of operations including constellation deployment and interplanetary missions. You will apply system models and mission analysis to conduct trade studies for spacecraft architecture selection, subsystem design, and optimization of mission parameters including delta-v, payload mass, and coverage, providing quantitative evidence and sensitivity analyses even when inputs are partially defined. Additionally, you will establish and maintain advanced modelling toolchains such as MATLAB/Simulink, GMAT, STK, FreeFlyer, ModelCenter, and SysML, enforce modelling standards, V&V processes, documentation practices, and configuration control, and interface with internal stakeholders across systems integration, GNC, propulsion, structures, avionics, and mission operations, as well as with external stakeholders including customers and mission partners. This role requires significant experience in space systems engineering, mission analysis, trajectory optimization, model development, MBSE, and mission-level simulation, coupled with strong leadership, mentorship, and organizational development capabilities. Based on-site at Orbex’s headquarters in Forres, Scotland, this position offers visa sponsorship and full relocation support for you and your family, along with the opportunity to work in a cutting-edge aerospace environment supporting commercial and interplanetary space missions.