Space Situational Awareness Bid Manager/Bid Engineer

Astroscale is seeking to employ a motivated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Bid Manager / Engineer at our UK office based in the Harwell Space Cluster. This is an exciting and unique opportunity to join a dynamic company seeking to make a positive contribution to the growing problem of orbital debris that endangers humanity’s continued use of space.  

 

The successful candidate will report to the head of department in the BD team, will develop bids and secure funding for Astroscale UK, and will support in a number of BD-related areas including proposal production for institutional or defence sales. 

 

Astroscale's work environment is fast-paced and dynamic, with plenty of opportunities to learn and contribute. This role would suit someone with past experience in bids or sales, ideally in the spacecraft sector or in complex engineering services or products, who wishes to grow responsibility in the space Business Development area. 

Responsibilities

• Working with the SSA Strategy Lead, take responsibility for managing and coordinating entire bids, or parts of bids as required, through the bid process from call opening all the way to bid submission (leading or supporting negotiation as needed).
• Control overall production of the bid volumes to ensure delivery on schedule.
• Draw on other relevant teams in Astroscale (as needed for larger bids), including: projects, engineering, procurement & contractual, finance, business analysis teams.
• Ensure bid execution according to bid Product Assurance/Quality Assurance philosophy; conduct bid/no bid reviews and later stage bid reviews (e.g. gold / red team) as appropriate, conduct win-theme analysis.
• Control bid finances, working with finance team and with external partners on multi-partner / consortium-style to assign / control finances.
• Coordinating partner inputs (scope, finances), with procurement team as needed, for multi-partner / consortium-style bids.
• Support to SSA programmes and studies as needed.

Essential Skills

• Ability to be SC cleared (UK national or resident in the UK for a minimum of five years).
• 1 – 4 years’ experience working in bid management in the space industry, with a preference for those with domain knowledge and defence bidding capability.
• An excellent “sales / marketing style” in bid production which can be used to convey the selling points of the business, and to construct competitive but deliverable bids and commercial proposals.
• Strong commercial awareness.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and willing to take initiative.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and written/verbal communication skills including to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong understanding of the space industry and ecosystem.
• Passionate about space with knowledge of the space environment and space debris.

Desirable skills

• Postgraduate degree (in engineering where possible).
• A background in SSA (Space Situational Awareness) / SST (Space Surveillance Tracking) / SDA (Space Domain Awareness) or excellent domain knowledge in these areas. Bid experience which involves SSA/SST/SDA is useful.
• Understanding of the UK defence ecosystem.
• Experience of bidding into the following technical domains: in-orbit servicing, active debris removal. Space segment bid capacity desirable, ground segment bid capacity also useful but not essential.
• Experience of working on bids of various different sizes, from 1 to 2 pager propositions for expressions of interest, to small Research & Development bids, to larger mission / service proposals of hundreds of pages.
• Experience of delivering / compiling key volumes for bids: technical, commercial, financial, implementation, management, contractual, risk.
• Understanding of project management of space programmes, or some past experience in this area.
• Experience of working in a satellite business development or satellite sales environment.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Opportunity to work with a highly talented, diverse & dynamic international team with cutting edge technology
• Flexible working around core hours in a friendly and supportive environment
• Hybrid working available (dependent on individual role requirements)
• 25 days holiday (increasing yearly up to a maximum of 28 days) + 8 days Bank Holiday
• Life insurance and long-term sick pay
• Private healthcare (taxable benefit)
• Relocation allowance
• Visa sponsorship for employees considered
• New state of the art office and cleanroom facility
• Regular social events 

Location

Astroscale UK (Harwell), with potential for some travel to Astroscale Japan (Tokyo)

About Astroscale

We aim to deliver cutting edge technologies that will become part of routine commercial space operations by 2030.

Astroscale is the first private company with a vision to secure the safe and sustainable development of space for the benefit of future generations, and the only company dedicated to in-orbit servicing across all orbits. Founded in 2013, we are developing innovative and scalable solutions across the spectrum of in-orbit servicing missions, including End of Life services, Active Debris Removal, In-situ Space Situational Awareness and Life Extension Services, to create sustainable space systems and mitigate against the hazardous build-up of debris in space.

Astroscale is an Equal Opportunities employer and embraces a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants, including minorities, women and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Note to recruitment agencies: Astroscale operates a preferred Supplier List, and we do not accept unsolicited agency approaches. Please do not forward candidate CVs or details in response to this advert, or to any Astroscale employee.