Mechanical Engineer Technical Lead

Nigrán, Spain

Full-time

Permanent employee

Your mission

At Kreios Space, we are looking for a Mechanical Engineer Technical Lead to join our team on-site in Porto do Molle (Nigrán) and help us lead the mechanical engineering department and be responsible for the quality, technical consistency, and delivery of its results,
ensuring compliance with agreed-upon requirements, milestones, and deadlines. Combine technical judgment and authority with a leadership style that is collaborative, open, and focused on both results and people: listen to and value the team’s input, integrate
different perspectives, foster their autonomy, and promote their growth. The primary focus will be the development of IOD2, a satellite platform weighing approximately 500 kg.

Some of your responsibilities will be:

Lead, organize, and develop the team; assign responsibilities, delegate clearly, provide feedback, and support the team through monitoring, training, and performance evaluations. Foster collaboration, initiative, and autonomy among
the engineers.
Plan capacity, resources, and workload across projects; agree on priorities and deadlines, anticipate dependencies, and manage deviations with specific action plans.
Assume ultimate responsibility for the department’s deliverables: ensure that committed milestones are met on time and in the proper manner, with technical quality, traceability, and risk visibility.
Represent the Mechanical Engineering department in dealings with Systems, Electronics, Propulsion, AIT, and project management; align requirements, interfaces,
deliverables, and acceptance criteria.
Lead the high-level mechanical definition: configuration, structure, materials, joints, integration, and trade-offs between mass, stiffness, thermal behavior, cost, and schedule.
Act as a technical authority: conduct reviews, resolve discrepancies, and approve decisions within your scope, drawing on the expertise of design and simulation leads and evaluating their proposals.
Ensure that effective processes are in place for the review, change control, quality assurance, and traceability of mechanical deliverables; the design lead will be responsible for the execution and detailed review of CAD models and drawings.
Identify risks, contracting needs, and requirements for external support; coordinate with engineering vendors and escalate to the CTO any decisions that exceed your scope, along with options and recommendations.

Your profile

You’ll be a great fit if you have:

A degree in Mechanical, Industrial, or Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent technical training, with at least 10 years of relevant experience in mechanical product development.
Demonstrable experience in managing people and technical leadership: delegation, professional development, feedback, collaboration, and resolving conflicting priorities.
Open, results-oriented, and people-focused leadership: ability to listen to different perspectives, make decisions judgmentally, and empower the team to work autonomously.
Track record as a mechanical engineering manager, team lead, or principal engineer with team management or technical authority over a department or product.
Previous hands-on experience in mechanical design and analysis; ability to question hypotheses, loads, boundary conditions, and simulation results, and to demand sufficient technical evidence.
Solid knowledge of mechanical assemblies, tolerances, materials, fasteners, manufacturing, and integration; ability to evaluate structural and thermal trade-offs in collaboration with specialists.
Experience coordinating multidisciplinary requirements and interfaces, taking hardware from concept to manufacturing and validation, and ensuring milestones, deliverables, and deadlines are met.
Clear communication skills, the ability to make decisions with incomplete information, professional-level English, and a genuine willingness to work on-site in Nigrán.

Nice to have:

Previous experience in the space sector (satellites, subsystems, or space/aerospace hardware), design reviews, structural or thermal testing, and ECSS standards. Not a mandatory requirement.
15 or more years of experience managing teams with both junior and senior members.
Experience with CAD/FEM tools, PDM or PLM systems, and planning for teams working on multiple projects.

Why us?

At Kreios Space, you won’t just be working on isolated developments- you’ll be contributing directly to the product. Your work will have a visible impact on what we build, how it performs, and how it evolves. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys being close to the technology, the decisions, and the final outcome.

We also care a lot about creating an environment where people genuinely enjoy working together. We have a very good team atmosphere, close collaboration, and a culture where ideas are welcome and contributions are valued.

What we offer:

The opportunity to work on technology with real product impact.
A collaborative and innovative environment where you can contribute from day one.
Meaningful technical challenges and the chance to work close to the final product.
Continuous learning and professional growth opportunities.
A strong team culture and a genuinely positive working environment.
An on-site role in Porto do Molle (Nigrán).
Fresh fruit in the office every week, plus coffee and milk always available.

About us

We are leading the development of the first air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) system designed specifically for Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). This revolutionary engine enables satellites to orbit between 150 and 300 km by capturing and using atmospheric particles as propellant.
By eliminating the need to carry fuel onboard, we drastically increase efficiency and overcome the main challenge of atmospheric drag in VLEO. This disruptive technology opens the door to an entirely new generation of space services, from high-resolution Earth observation to near real-time communications.
To achieve it, we rely on a team of professionals who are passionate, visionary, and committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible. If you share this passion and want to leave your mark on the future of the space industry, we want to meet you.