In-Orbit Performance Engineer

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About Aerospacelab

Our mission is supported by an ambitious vertically integrated approach: design & manufacture of small satellites combined with development of earth observation services.

Since its creation in 2018, the company has already grown substantially. Our team gathers more than 25 engineering expertise, from hardware design to software development & data science.

In 2026, Aerospacelab counts offices in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Toulouse (France), Lausanne (Switzerland) and US West Coast with more than 500 full-time employees, with the ambition to position itself as the European leader in small satellites.

Role overview

As an In-Orbit Performance Engineer within the Space Operations team, you will monitor, analyze and improve how our satellites perform once in space. You will turn telemetry into insight: tracking subsystem health and trends, validating that in-flight behavior matches design and mission requirements, and feeding the lessons learned back into operations, design and flight software. You will work closely with the Mission Managers, flight operators, and the AOCS, power, thermal, payload and software teams.

Duties

Monitor the health and performance of the in-orbit fleet through telemetry analysis, and detect trends, degradations and anomalies at an early stage
Perform activities on the satellite fleet using the procedures and tools available
Assess in-orbit performance of all subsystems (AOCS, EPS, thermal, TT&C, OBC, propulsion, payload) against requirements and pre-launch predictions
Perform in-orbit calibration, characterization and validation activities during commissioning and throughout the satellite’s life
Analyze orbit and attitude data, maneuvers and propulsion performance (e.g. delta-v, orbit determination, orbit maintenance)
Track the evolution of resources such as battery capacity, solar array degradation, propellant budget and lifetime predictions
Investigate anomalies and support root-cause analysis, in coordination with the design teams and suppliers
Define and maintain monitoring tools, dashboards, alarm limits and automated reporting
Produce regular performance reports, anomaly reports and fleet-level KPIs for internal and customer use
Provide operational feedback to design, AOCS, FSW and systems teams to improve current and future satellite generations
Contribute to the validation of operational procedures, flight software updates and in-orbit tests
Contribute to the continuous improvement of data processing and analysis chains

Must have

MSc or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Data Science or a related field
Good understanding of satellite subsystems and their in-orbit behavior
Solid knowledge of orbital mechanics and attitude dynamics
Strong analytical skills, with experience in telemetry analysis and data processing
Proficiency in Python (or equivalent) for data analysis and automation
Rigorous and structured approach to troubleshooting and root-cause analysis
Ability to communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
Fluent English
Availability to take part in on-call duty and operations campaigns (including outside office hours during LEOP, routine or critical operations)

Nice to have

Experience in satellite operations or in-orbit commissioning
Experience with small-satellite constellations
Knowledge of electric micro-propulsion systems
Experience with monitoring and visualization tools (Grafana, time-series databases)
Familiarity with Git
Background in reliability, FDIR or degradation modelling
Willingness to work out of your comfort zone