Space Jobs

Academics, students, grads, professors and government funded scientists scarcely ever "boldly go" anywhere these days, except perhaps to the library or the dollar store or on a cool "field trip" where they can sometimes get an autograph from someone "inspiring."  

Graphic c/o SpaceRayStott. an Australia & UK based space consultant.

Instead, real exploration is typically left to the flawed and the foolish, the inordinately ambitious opportunists and those without inheritances or a role in the current system, who self-appoint themselves to seek out "new life and new civilizations" and sometimes leave behind a useful legacy.

Fortunately we live in a world with fewer academic opportunities and greater, but so far mostly undefined, private sector opportunities.

With that in mind, here's the 2018 listing of several dozen useful places with several thousand current job openings in the international space and aerospace industry. We've even included the national space agencies, for those with a cautious bent.

But this situation won't last. So hurry, and please note that some of these jobs require security clearances, passports, work permits, landed immigrant status and/or even the acquisition of citizenship from the country where the job is located. 

How's that for a challenge. Happy hunting.

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The 100 Top Aerospace Companies of 2017 - What better place to start than with the biggest and fastest growing firms in this area. Produced by Defence News, this annual report outlines the trends in the industry and ranks the top companies by revenues and profitability. The 2018 report should be out within the next few months. Job hunters will be sure to check it out.

Aero News, A Sky of Opportunities - A Quebec based job site focused on the Canadian aerospace market. Hundreds of Canadian positions from Airbus, Pratt & Whitney, Bombardier, Boeing and others.

The Bigelow Aerospace Career Page - Where better to discover "your place in space," than the firm with backing from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As outlined in the February 25th, 2015 Yahoo News post, "Business On the Moon: FAA Backs Bigelow Aerospace," the company has been encouraged by a variety of US Federal government agencies to continue the development of private sector applications for use on the Moon and elsewhere in space.

The Blue Origin Career Page - As outlined in the August 14th, 2017 Business Insider post, "Here’s a first look at Jeff Bezos’ monster rocket factory," Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is building a new rocket factory in Florida and needs employees to staff it. If you want to become one of the chosen, check out the site.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Careers, Jobs and Internships Page - A one stop shopping emporium for CSA job opportunities. The site includes links to listings covering CSA job openings, internships and student jobs, grants for universities and industry to work on CSA approved programs and the Canadian Space Directory, a listing of private and public organizations and academic institutions which do work for the CSA. Please note that, as of press time, there were scarcely any job openings at the CSA, so you might want to expand your search criteria.

The Epiq Space Job Board - This San Diego, California, based company is an online community dedicated to the satellite industry. The site was developed by industry veterans for engineers, scientists, suppliers, service providers and others who want to find products, companies, resources, industry news and career opportunities related to the satellite industry.

The European Space Agency (ESA) Career Page - As private business slowly begins to eclipse government in importance over the next few years, these government jobs will slowly begin drying up, so get them while they still available.

HE Space - Denmark-based specialist supplier of manpower for space programs with offices in the Netherlands, Germany and the US. The firm also manages the Jobs in Space Linked-In group.

The Indeed.com Listing of Astronomy and Planetary Scientist Jobs - Not all space focused jobs require applicants with an engineering degree. This list, with hundreds of openings from all around the world, focuses on candidates with a scientific background.
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The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) 2018 Recruitment Page for Scientists and Engineers - ISRO has engaged in great scientific and technological feats in the aerospace and space sectors over the last two decades and they're always looking for new employees. Updated via the ISRO and Freshersworld.com, an Indian based job search firm.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) - Even in space, there are opportunities for those who are looking for something a little different from the traditional science or engineering degree. The IAMAW represents more than 40,000 Canadian workers in air transport and a wide range of manufacturing including aircraft, auto parts, buses, aerospace, electronics, light and heavy machinery, tools and appliances.

The Colorado Springs CO based Maxar Technologies List of Jobs Available at its MDA Locations Across Canada - Dozens of positions, mostly for engineers willing to work in Montreal PQ and Vancouver BC. But be careful. As outlined in the April 19th, 2018 SpaceQ post, "MDA Marketing New Robotic Kits for On-Orbit Servicing," MDA Group president Mike Greenley has already moved the Canadian HQ from Vancouver, BC to Brampton, ON and will likely close the BC office at some point in the future.

NASA Careers - A public listing of available National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) openings. According to the site, NASA is one of "the best places to work in the Federal government®" as ranked by federal employee satisfaction.

Nebula Space - Recruiters of "top class candidates for the most exciting industry in the world." Run by industry professionals and focused solely on the space market.

The NewSpace Global listing of top 1000 NewSpace companies (subscription required) - This list is divided up into three smaller lists covering the most influential privately held companies, a second list covering additional privately held companies perceived as being "on the bubble" of growth (NSG OTB) plus a third list of top rated publicly traded space companies (the NSG PTC). A surprising number of companies on these three lists are Canadian and a surprising number of the rest have offices and employment opportunities in Canada.

NewSpace People - British based, database driven head-hunting firm with 1000's of listings which bills itself as "the business network for the space industry's global professionals and companies." Offers business development and recruitment campaigns, plus "free access to a global network growing by over 5% each month. Our business network is diverse with over 3,000 director-level decision makers, covering 100s of startup founders, chief executives of established space and satellite corporations, and venture capitalists from the global investment community."

The Sapienza Consulting Space & Defence Industry Jobs & Career Page - Focused on jobs for people who are eligible to work in the European Union.

Space Careers - A French based but English language site focused on "the top jobs and the best talents in the industry." Includes a jobs center, a space industry directory, a news and resource section with space news RSS feeds and a LinkedIn page. The site is maintained by Spacelinks, a specialist staffing consultancy focused on the European space and defense industry.

SpaceCareers.UK - Built by students for students and graduates looking to work in the space industry. A project of the UK chapter of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS).

Space Individuals - Augsburg, Germany based  group of proactive people from various industries including aerospace engineering, information technology and user experience design, with  one common goal – to bring together individuals and employers.

Space Jobs - A site organized by Ray Stott, a European based freelance consultant focused on the space industry focused on upstream (manufacturers, space/launch/ground segments) & the downstream (satellite/space data applications) sector positions. The jobs seem focused geographically around the UK, Europe and Australia.

SpaceJob Fair.com - Organizes job fairs and informational meetings on the space industry. Launched to connect space companies with the best talent across disciplines and experience levels in order to become "the driving force in capacity building and job creation in space."

The Space Job Market - A recruitment site designed to help job seekers join the right circles through networking and building personal contacts, where they can meet people in the space industry who are able to hire them. According to CEO and founder Paul Koronka, "Space has inadvertently evolved a closed shop that locks out newcomers and makes it difficult even for established people to advance our careers. And yet employers are crying out for new talent."

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STSCI) listing of Employment Opportunities - Located on the Johns Hopkins University Campus in Baltimore, Maryland, the STSCI manages both the Hubble Space Telescope and its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). They offer "the wonder of 21st century space exploration in a job that offers a competitive salary and generous benefits."

The Telesat Canada listing of Current Job Opportunities - The iconic Canadian company, which helped launch a communications revolution in the North back in the 1970's, is still going strong. It's also still looking for a few good people to help administer its current fleet of satellites and build the next generation of low-latency low Earth orbit (LEO) communications satellites. 

UNIFOR - This union, created from the 2013 merger of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), might not represent the typical career path imagined by the average astronaut wannabe, but Canada's largest private sector union does represent aerospace workers at Boeing Canada (Local 2169), Bombardier/ de Havilland (Local 112), Cascade Aerospace (Local 114), CMC Electronics, Magellan Aerospace (Local 3005) and Pratt and Whitney Canada (Local 510), which makes it worth checking out.

UrtheCast - Canada's most creative space company (formed through the "reverse takeover" of a publicly traded mining company) has fallen on hard times recently (as outlined in the  April 3rd, 2018 post, "Do the Bells Toll for UrtheCast? Q4 2017 Fiscal Report Shows Another Net Loss and Concern over Long-term Survival") but has still posted more openings on their career page, than you can find on the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Those applying for positions here should stand by for adventure.

Virgin Galactic (VG) - For those who prefer suborbital space travel, this firm has a jobs board with literally dozens of new positions waiting to be filled.

The Wikipedia listing of government agencies engaged in space exploration - Categorized according to capabilities and including links to the listed agency's primary website. Consider this as one stop shopping for those inclined towards government service.

The Wisdom.com listing of Aerospace Company Jobs - India's top jobs site has a large section of employment opportunities, as befitting a nation with one of the fastest growing indigenous space industries. But the real surprise is the number of international position which show up after a basic search.

The Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) careers page - The company that built the world's first "commercial spacecraft" has dozens of job openings covering a wide range of expertise.