Re-Entry Technical Lead

Role Overview

We are supporting a client of ours in the search for a senior engineer to take technical ownership of a critical heat shield development programme. This is a high-impact role for someone with deep aerothermal expertise and proven re-entry domain experience.

The programme is already beyond concept phase and is moving through detailed design and analysis. The successful person will pick up existing work, lead technical direction, and provide the level of authority needed to help the team move quickly and confidently.

You will act as the technical lead / design authority for heat shield development, supporting a team of engineers working on re-entry spacecraft technology. The focus is not people management, but technical leadership — setting direction, making decisions, and driving delivery across the workstream.

• Lead the aerothermal / thermal engineering activity for heat shield design and analysis
• Take ownership of an already-mature design and progress it through further detailed development
• Act as the design authority for the work, making sound technical decisions and directing engineering activityi>
• Provide technical tasking and guidance to a capable but relatively junior team
• Bring re-entry domain expertise into the team to strengthen decision‑making and programme execution

• Strong aerothermal / thermal engineering background
• Proven re-entry domain experience is essential
• Good understanding of the orbital and atmospheric entry environment
• Ability to operate as a systems‑level thinker rather than a narrow specialist
• Comfortable making decisions, setting direction, and operating with technical authority

• Experience on return satellites, re-entry vehicles, or related programmes
• Background in hypersonic systems may be relevant where there is strong overlap in aerothermal analysis

The engineer will support a team currently around eight people, expected to grow to around ten or eleven. There are no direct line management responsibilities in this role; functional leads manage the resource pool, while this position provides technical leadership across the work.

• This is an urgent hire
• Permanent hire is preferred, but contract options may be considered
• Candidates must be UK‑based due to export control constraints