Leads the propulsion and vehicle fluid systems organization for a medium-lift launch vehicle. Responsibilities include setting technical architecture, driving design through flight and reuse, managing schedules, budgets, risks, suppliers, and certification interfaces, and building a multidisciplinary engineering team. The role requires deep liquid bipropellant rocket engine experience, fluid and propulsion system analysis, component and plumbing design, hazardous operations leadership, test campaign experience, and stakeholder and proposal engagement.
About Canada Rocket Company
Canada Rocket Company is developing Canada's first medium-lift launch vehicle.
We are a team of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, ArianeGroup, Pangea Propulsion, Tesla, MDA, and more, bringing over a century of combined launch and space systems experience back to Canada.
Our mission is to provide reliable, independent access to space for Canada and its allies in a rapidly expanding global market.
Our approach is defined by pragmatic engineering:
- We utilize a single 750 kN engine that scales from light- to medium-lift via engine clustering.
- We lean on simple, proven technologies to reach orbit faster, avoiding the pitfalls of complex or novel designs.
- We test early and often, catching problems on the bench instead of at the pad.
Backed by over $20M in funding secured within our first four months, including the largest all-Canadian seed round in the sector and an $8.3M Department of National Defence grant, we are moving with the speed and institutional backing required to meet Canada’s orbital launch needs.
About the role
Canada Rocket Company is building a sovereign launch capability for Canada. We're looking for a Head of Propulsion Systems to build and lead the team responsible for the propulsion and fluid systems on the vehicle. This is both a leadership and technical role. As a demonstrated leader, strategic manager, technically proficient engineer you will guide the team through design, development, operation, and reuse of propulsion and stage fluid systems.
What you'll do
- Steer the technical direction and architecture for propulsion and vehicle fluid systems.
- Drive development, qualification, production, flight, and reuse of propulsion and vehicle fluid systems.
- Manage propulsion and fluid systems’ schedule, budget, resources, risk, design reviews, as well as suppliers and subcontractors.
- Plan, coordinate, and oversee concurrent propulsion subsystem programs.
- Build, lead, and mentor an exceptional multidisciplinary team consisting of systems engineers, combustion devices engineers, turbomachinery engineers, components engineers, thermal analysts, fluid analysts, structural analysts, and more.
- Instill a culture of extreme ownership and efficient actions.
- Coordinating efforts spanning departments.
- Interfacing with customers, launch operators, or government agencies (e.g., FAA, NASA, DoD) on propulsion certification.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience in design, analysis, development, qualification, and operation of liquid bipropellant rocket engines with appreciable durations both as an individual contributor and leader.
- Proven ability to build and lead engineering teams, including hiring, mentoring, and establishing processes from an early stage.
- Inclination toward a fast-paced, resource-constrained, environment with rapid hardware development using iterative design-build-test cycles that are central to the engineering culture.
- Experience with sizing, material selection, fabrication processes, and developing injectors, chambers, and or nozzles.
- Awareness of basic turbomachinery configurations, operations, and performance parameters.
- Analyze or trade propulsion elements using first order thermodynamic, fluid mechanics, and structural mechanics analyses.
- Proficiency designing, analyzing, and interpreting complex fluid systems as well as understanding the behaviour of the mechanisms in those systems.
- Experience sizing and using components such as solenoid / pneumatic / hydraulic valves, regulators, check valves, relief valves, filters, pressure transducers, thermocouples, flow meters, etc
- Experience sizing and using plumbing parts including tubing, piping, flanges, gaskets, o-rings, fittings, etc.
- Proficiency applying first principles to identify solutions not traditionally considered.
- Issue identification, diagnosis, and resolution including Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Fault Tree Analysis, and Fishbone analysis.
- Experience preparing for and participating in test and or flight campaigns.
- Hazardous operations (HAZOP) planning and safety culture leadership.
- Functional proficiency in Visio, CAD, and Python.
- Familiarity with CGP, EIPA, ITAR, etc regulations.
- Stakeholder reporting to senior leadership and customers.
- Proposal writing and business development exposure.
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