Space

Space hiring has changed considerably. Alongside the established primes there's a substantial cluster of smaller satellite and payload businesses, and the two operate at different tempos, on different budgets, with different expectations of what an engineer will take on. The same candidate is often right for one and wrong for the other, and the difference is rarely technical.

The engineering itself sets a high bar. Hardware that cannot be repaired after launch, radiation and thermal constraints that shape the design from the outset, and verification regimes built around never getting a second attempt. Engineers who have worked a mission through from concept to flight carry evidence that transfers well — and they know how few of them there are.

Export control shapes this market more than any other we work. ITAR and UK export licensing determine who can work on what, and a brief that doesn't account for it early tends to fall over late, after the good candidates have gone elsewhere.