Satellite Technical Lead at ispace, inc. – Tokyo
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About This Position
This role sits at the intersection of satellite system engineering and project management, ensuring that mission requirements, technical design, schedule, cost, and risk are continuously balanced and optimized.
The successful candidate will act as a technical authority and system integrator, leading crossfunctional engineering teams and making critical technical tradeoff decisions that enable both mission success and longterm business viability.
This position emphasizes technical leadership and system responsibility rather than direct people management.
Satellite Technical Lead
Technical Authority
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1. Technical Leadership & System Ownership
Own the satellite system across the full lifecycle, from mission requirements definition through design, development, testing, launch preparation, and operations readiness.
Lead systemlevel architecture decisions covering satellite bus, payload, ground segment, and operational concepts
Drive technical tradeoff analyses across performance, mass, power, cost, schedule, and risk
Serve as the primary technical decisionmaker (or delegate technical authority) for projectlevel engineering topics
Identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks at both system and subsystem levels
2. Project Execution from a Technical Perspective
Lead project execution with a strong engineering focus, ensuring technical feasibility, quality, and consistency
Develop and manage integrated schedules aligned with engineering milestones and reviews
Support project cost control and P&L decisionmaking by assessing technical cost drivers and design choices
Plan, prepare, and technically lead major project reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and FRR
3. Team & Stakeholder Collaboration
Technically lead internal and external engineering teams across satellite, payload, ground, and operations domains
Conduct technical reviews and provide guidance to subsystem leads and engineers
Coordinate and negotiate technical matters
- 7+ years of professional experience in satellite or aerospace system development
- Strong technical expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Satellite system engineering
- AOCS / GNC
- Power, thermal, or structural systems
- RF / communication systems
- Experience across requirements definition, design, development, and testing phases of satellite projects
- Proven ability to make and explain technical decisions under schedule and cost constraints
- Strong crossfunctional communication skills in multidisciplinary engineering environments
English: Business level, capable of participating in technical discussions, reviews, and documentation
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- AOCS / GNC
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-RF /
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- Experience as a System Lead, Subsystem Lead, Technical Lead, or Technical project Lead
- Involvement in launch campaigns and/or early orbit operations (LEOP)
- Experience with international space projects (e.g., JAXA, ESA, NASA)
- Experience in startup or new mission development environments
- Ability to balance technical excellence with business and contractual constraints
- Career aspiration toward senior technical leadership roles such as Chief Engineer or Technical Director
- Japanese: Business level
- System LeadSubsystem LeadTechnical LeadTechnical Project Lead
- LEOP
- JAXAESANASA
- Chief Engineer Technical Director
A few overseas business trips may be required per year.