Mission Engineer - IBEX

PAVE Space is building LYOBA, a heavy kick stage moving up to 4-tonne payloads from LEO to high-energy orbits in under 24 hours.We're preparing our first commercial mission and actively qualifying customers for it. The work centres on IBEX, our vehicle adapted for institutional and governmental use cases. The technical-commercial bridge doesn't exist yet. You'd be the first hire to own it. You'll work alongside a VP of Sovereign Affairs and be supported by the engineering team, but the mission design work and technical positioning in customer conversations are yours from day one.You will ownDesign and simulate orbital scenarios based on customer needs, autonomously for early-stage qualificationPerform vehicle sizing and trade studies to assess feasibility and constraints for IBEX missionsTranslate customer concepts into clear mission architectures and performance parametersPrepare the technical sections of proposals and RFP responsesBuild and maintain reference scenarios, assumptions, and models that speed up every future bidQualify opportunities alongside the commercial lead and strengthen technical positioning in customer discussionsWhat we are looking for5+ years in the space sector with a solid grasp of spacecraft systems and mission designStrong orbital mechanics fundamentals; you can size a mission and know when it doesn't closeFamiliarity with Space Situational Awareness concepts and terminologyYou've engaged directly with customers and can explain technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholdersAbility to work at pace: turn a customer conversation into a credible technical response in days, not weeksFluent English (our working language)Nice to have: experience supporting proposals or pre-sales activities, familiarity with institutional or governmental space programmes, exposure to operational concepts and mission planning, experience building simulation tools or internal models.You will fit ifYou're energised by the boundary between engineering and commercial, not stuck on one side.You can turn a vague customer need into a concrete mission design without waiting for someone to hand you the requirements.You're comfortable being the single technical voice in a room full of decision-makers.You move fast and know when 'good enough to bid' beats 'perfect but late.'This is fully on-site in Villeneuve (VD). You'll be the first person in this role. There's no existing bid library, no predecessor's templates, no established workflow between engineering and sales. You're building that while simultaneously delivering on live opportunities. What makes that worth it: you'll directly shape which missions PAVE Space flies. Every contract signed will have your technical work behind it and you'll see that hardware reach orbit.We are building to ship, grounded on real hardware, real funding, real milestones. #J-18808-Ljbffr