Junior Functional Safety Engineer (ISO 26262, Systems safety)

Role summary

We are seeking a Junior Engine Control System & Monitoring Engineer to join the engine control and monitoring team of Storm, our high-thrust LOX/LCH4 cryogenic rocket engine. Working alongside senior control engineers, you will develop and test control and monitoring algorithms, work with the engine functional models provided by the functional team, contribute to setting up the controller development environment, and help verify the controller through Model-, Software- and Hardware-in-the-Loop testing and during engine test campaigns. This is an entry-level, hands-on role for a recent graduate with strong control fundamentals who wants to learn on real hardware and progressively grow into full ownership of safety-critical engine control functions.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement engine control and monitoring algorithms, following the software team's rules, guidelines and auto-coding practices.
• Contribute to the definition of the engine regulation strategy (thrust and mixture ratio control, chill-down, start-up and shutdown transients) together with functional and system engineers.
• Support the definition of control and monitoring requirements for engine subsystems (valves, pumps, sensors, controller, software).
• Contribute to setting up the controller development environment: toolchain, model and code configuration management, auto-coding chain, and the MiL/SiL/HiL simulation and test infrastructure.
• Integrate the engine functional models delivered by the functional team (turbopumps, valves, combustion devices, cryogenic feed lines; steady-state, transient and chill-down) into the control design and simulation environment, deriving simplified or linearised models for controller synthesis where needed.
• Run closed-loop simulations to assess controller performance, stability margins and robustness to model uncertainties.
• Feed test results back to the functional team to support model correlation, and flag model limitations that matter for control.
• Contribute to the engine monitoring strategy that assesses the health status of the engine and its subsystems (combustion chamber, turbopumps, valves…).
• Implement fault detection and sensor validation logic for both real-time protection and post-test analysis.
• Support failure mode analyses (FMEA) and the management of failure modes, paving the way for engine reusability.
• Prepare and run Model-, Software- and Hardware-in-the-Loop (MiL, SiL, HiL) test campaigns to verify the control and monitoring functions at each step, from Simulink model to embedded code on target hardware.
• Support Storm engine and component cryogenic (LOX/LCH4) test campaigns: test preparation, on-site support, data processing and post-test analysis.
• Produce clear development documentation: specifications, test procedures, test reports and justification files.
• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Aerospace, Electrical, Control or Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Recent graduate (or graduating within the next months); no professional experience required. A master's thesis, internship or academic project in control, propulsion or embedded systems is a strong plus.
• Solid fundamentals in control theory, both classical and modern (state-space, robustness, digital control).
• Practical use of MATLAB/Simulink and Python through coursework or projects; basic knowledge of C/C++.
• Basic understanding of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, and a strong interest in cryogenic propulsion and turbomachinery.
• Fluent in English.

Requirements

• Eagerness to learn and to take on increasing ownership under the guidance of senior engineers.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to draw useful conclusions from partial or contradictory data.
• Clear oral and written communication; comfortable working closely with engine, avionics, software and test teams.
• Organised, able to prioritise tasks and deliver within time constraints.
• Positive, flexible attitude and enthusiasm for space the organization.
• Behaviour consistent with The organization Company's core values of Mission, Vision, Integrity, Excellence and Teamwork.

What makes us special here at The organization Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is

• We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind
• We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them
• We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?

If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.

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Nice to have

• Exposure to MiL/SiL/HiL testing or real-time embedded systems.
• Experience with auto-coding from Simulink models.
• Familiarity with safety-critical design practices, reliability engineering or failure mode analysis.
• Interest or experience in data science applied to health monitoring and anomaly detection.
• Knowledge of space standards (ECSS, MIL-STD, NASA-HBK…).
• German and/or French.