Test Stand Design Engineer – Launch Vehicle Propulsion
Location: London, Canada (Relocation Opportunity)
Compensation: Competitive base salary + package
Build the facility where a new rocket engine will come to life.
We are partnering with an ambitious space launch company developing the next generation of launch vehicle technology in Canada.
Backed by significant funding and led by engineers from some of the world’s most successful aerospace and launch organisations, the company is now building the infrastructure required to develop, test and ultimately launch its vehicle.
And that starts with the test stand.
This isn't a role where you'll inherit a mature facility and simply keep it running.
You'll help create it.
From the high-pressure fluid systems and cryogenic plumbing through to thrust structures, instrumentation and controls, you'll design and commission the infrastructure that will ultimately enable full-scale rocket engine testing.
Your work will sit at the point where propulsion, structures, avionics, flight software, ground software and test operations all come together.
If you want to look back in several years and say “I helped build Canada's first facility capable of doing this” — this is that opportunity.
The experience we really need
Above everything else, we are looking for someone with strong high-pressure systems experience.
You don't necessarily need to have spent your entire career in rockets.
You could come from rocket propulsion, aerospace testing, cryogenic systems or another highly demanding high-pressure engineering environment.
What matters is that you genuinely understand the engineering behind high-pressure fluid systems — sizing and routing, valves, regulators, relief devices, pressurisation, instrumentation, pressure testing, leak checking, commissioning and safe operation.
Experience with cryogenic fluids, LOX/LCH4 or rocket propulsion would make you particularly interesting.
Your mission
You'll take ownership of the test capability from concept through commissioning and ultimately hot-fire operations.
You'll:
- Design and build test stands capable of firing and validating rocket engines.
- Engineer high-pressure propellant and pressurant systems, including cryogenic plumbing.
- Design thrust frames, engine mounts and other load-bearing structures.
- Develop P&IDs and define fluid, pneumatic and ignition-system sequencing.
- Select and integrate instrumentation measuring thrust, pressure, temperature, flow and vibration.
- Work alongside controls and software engineers to develop automated test sequences and abort logic.
- Lead pressure testing, leak checking, system shakedowns, cold-flow testing and commissioning.
- Develop hazard analyses, safety interlocks and operating procedures.
- Support live test campaigns and troubleshoot problems when the hardware doesn't behave as expected.
- Use test data to continuously improve reliability, performance and turnaround time.
What you'll bring
We're looking for an engineer who enjoys being close to real hardware.
Ideally you'll have 5+ years of experience designing mechanical and fluid systems, with significant exposure to high-pressure applications.
You'll understand P&IDs, pressurised hardware, instrumentation and component selection, and you'll have experience taking engineered systems through build, commissioning, checkout and operation.
You'll also be comfortable using CAD tools such as SolidWorks, Siemens NX or Creo and understand structural loads and the safe operation of high-energy systems.
Most importantly, you should be someone who is comfortable moving between the CAD model, the test stand and the hardware itself.
Why this opportunity is different
Very few engineers get the opportunity to build a major test capability from a blank sheet of paper.
You'll have significant ownership, work alongside experienced launch engineers and directly influence how an entire launch vehicle programme tests and qualifies its propulsion hardware.
This isn't maintaining somebody else's test facility.
It's building Canada's first facility of its kind.