QSET Rover - Chief Technical Officer

Description

The Queen's Space Engineering Team (QSET) is a large multi-disciplinary team consisting of students from all engineering disciplines, in addition to the Faculty of Arts and Science. QSET designs a prototype Mars Rover for participation in international Rover competitions.

If selected as Rover's Chief Technical Officer, you will oversee the development of QSET’s Rover projects while supervising the technical managers—mechanical, electrical, software, and science along with the subsystem leads. The rover team will compete in either the University Rover Challenge or the Canadian International Rover Challenge, with the possibility of participating in both. The successful applicant will take on a systems-engineering role in the high-level planning and design of the entire rover system and act as the main liaison between the technical sub-teams.

As the primary liaison, the CTO must stay updated on all technical projects by being present at meetings for all sub-teams, and by holding periodic, full-team design reviews. The CTO must lead the completion of competition milestones including reports, schedules, and videos. It is important to keep track of planning, design, testing, and implementation milestones for the full rover system to ensure competition readiness.

Additionally, the CTO will represent the rover team at conferences, showcases, and other outreach events, including through the creation and execution of presentations.

The Queen’s Space Engineering Team encourages applications from women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, Persons with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community. If you require accommodations during the interview process, please contact

APPLY BY:
February 25th, 2026 at 10:00pm EST

• Stay informed about the technical requirements and timelines for all competitions.
• Develop project plans (scope, success criteria, deliverables, Gantt charts, etc.) with the technical managers.
• Identify roadblocks and barriers for project deliverables, developing mitigation strategies and alternative actions for these roadblocks.
• Manage the technical progress of the various sub-teams and assist managers with any technical challenges or barriers.
• Hold weekly meetings with the rover executive team.
• Facilitate communication between sub-teams.
• Assist the captain and outgoing CTO with team transitioning.

• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of project management, project management tools (e.g., Gantt charts), and present leadership capabilities.
• Good critical thinking and decision-making abilities.
• Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills.
• Good communication and presentation skills
• Independent, quick learner who is interested in all aspects of engineering design.
• A minimum of one year’s membership on a technical subsystem on QSET Rover is an asset.