Recovery Operations Engineer (m/f/d)

Mission Brief

As a Recovery Operations Engineer in the Reusability Program, you define and mature the CONOPS for post‑flight recovery, refurbishment, and return‑to‑flight of reusable launch vehicle elements. You enable safe, repeatable, and cost‑efficient reuse by embedding recovery and refurbishment considerations into vehicle design, ground operations, and long‑term fleet operability from the outset.

Your Role in Our Space Mission

Define and evolve recovery Concept of Operations (CONOPS), covering primary recovery scenarios as well as fallback scenarios, from landing through return‑to‑flight

Evaluate and down‑select launch sites, landing zones, and ranges with respect to recovery feasibility, safety, and operations

Specify and assess recovery ground support equipment (GSE), including cranes, transport frames, barges, and port infrastructure

Define refurbishment and recycle processes, including inspection flows, repair scope, turnaround timelines, and reuse limits

Drive maintainability and operability requirements into vehicle and system design

Support integration and payload processing concepts where recovery impacts launch‑site operations

Contribute to fleet and lifecycle management strategies, including inspection intervals and retirement criteria

Develop and maintain operational cost models, including recovery, refurbishment, infrastructure, and reuse cost functions, and support cost estimation and trade studies to inform architectural and program‑level decisions

Qualification Checklist

Education & Technical Background

Engineering education in aerospace, mechanical, civil, naval, industrial, or a closely related field, or equivalent senior industry experience

Technical background in launcher ground operations plus recovery and refurbishment concepts for reusable launch vehicle hardware

Proven knowledge of transport, handling, lifting, storage, inspection, and repair of large aerospace hardware and associated ground support equipment

Proven knowledge of large‑scale logistics and ground infrastructure as primary drivers of operability, cost, and turnaround time in a reusable launch vehicle fleet

Experience

5–10+ years in launch vehicle programs, recovery programs, or large‑scale aerospace hardware projects

Direct involvement in designing and evaluating end‑to‑end CONOPS, covering recovery logistics, ground support equipment, refurbishment, maintainability, and return‑to‑flight

Practical work with large ground support equipment and infrastructure, including recovery assets, lifting systems, transport solutions, hazardous substances supply systems and launch-site or port environments

Hands-on exposure to launch vehicle or aircraft refurbishment and post‑operation processing, including inspection strategies, repair scope definition, structural and systems assessments, and reuse or return‑to‑service considerations.

Demonstrated ability to assess how recovery and ground operations concepts drive launcher architecture, interfaces, access requirements, and design margins

Proven involvement in operational trade studies, addressing feasibility, cost drivers, turnaround time, and risk across alternative recovery and refurbishment approaches

Skills & Competencies

Ability to architect recovery and refurbishment CONOPS that are technically executable and scale with fleet growth

Strong judgement balancing launcher design, ground support equipment capability, logistics constraints, safety, cost, and schedule

Deep practical knowledge of ground support equipment-driven constraints and their impact on recovery methods and launcher interfaces

Clear command of maintainability and refurbishment drivers, including access, wear mechanisms, handling damage, and inspection effort

Capability to challenge launcher and ground design decisions based on operational realism rather than theoretical optimization

Structured decision‑making under uncertainty, grounded in experience with real hardware, infrastructure, and field operations

Fluent in English (German is a plus)

Benefits

Employee Participation Program: Share in our success through our virtual company share program

30 days of vacation: Enjoy the days off to relax and recharge

Company pension plan: Secure your future with our company pension plan, featuring a 20% employer contribution after the probation period

Subsidised lunch: Stay energised with delicious, subsidised lunches every day

Public transport ticket: Commute with ease using a fully financed Deutschlandticket

Sport Clubs membership: Stay fit with our sponsored sports club memberships (EGYM Wellpass)

Individual learning allowance: Grow your skills with an individual learning budget granted after the probation period

Childcare allowance: Receive a childcare allowance for your non-school-age children

And Much More! Discover additional perks and benefits when you join our team

Who we are

We are Isar Aerospace and we are at the forefront of New Space building a modern space business to enable faster, better and cheaper access to space.

Our mission is to help democratise space and use it for good in order to improve life on Earth now and for the future generations.

We are a fast-growing company aiming to provide sustainable and environmentally friendly launch solutions for small and medium-sized satellites and constellations into Low Earth Orbit. The company is privately funded by world-leading technology investors with strong commitment and support and our team is made of driven and talented people with a real passion for space innovation.

We're making rockets in a way that hasn't been done before disrupting a traditional industry. If you are up for the challenge, want to work on cutting-edge projects and be part of a team changing the world for better, come, join us and launch your career!

Want to find out more about us?

Visit www.isaraerospace.com

Data Protection

We process your personal data for the purpose of managing the recruitment process and assessing your application. For detailed information on how your data is processed, including your rights, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Disclaimer

Isar Aerospace SE is an equal-opportunity employer committed to fairness and inclusivity. We do not prioritize any specific religion, gender, nationality, or background. Due to security clearance requirements, affiliations with countries listed under § 13 para. 1 no. 17 SÜG may affect the application process. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.

We use Metaview to record interview audio so our team can review it later and stay focused during the conversation. We will record interviews only if you opt in. Please note that we will request your consent separately during the interview process. Participation is completely voluntary and will not affect your application in any way. For more information on how we process your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.