Darwin Recruitment are currently hiring for a Payload Controller and Downlink Leader on behalf of a business in Poland that are operating a constellation of synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellites and high-resolution radar imaging of the Earth’s surface available day or night and in all weather conditions since 2014. As the Payload Controller and Downlink Leader, you’ll oversee the design, integration, and operation of mission-critical electronics responsible for data acquisition and high-speed communications. You’ll lead a multidisciplinary team to develop next-generation payload control systems that combine electronics, firmware, mechanical, and thermal aspects, ensuring robust performance from orbit to ground. This role is both deeply technical and highly strategic: you’ll drive end-to-end ownership, guide architecture decisions, and ensure the seamless operation of the companys downlink and payload systems across their fleet.

Why this role?

You’ll lead a multidisciplinary team to develop next-generation payload control systems that combine electronics, firmware, mechanical, and thermal aspects, ensuring robust performance from orbit to ground. This role is both deeply technical and highly strategic: you’ll drive end-to-end ownership, guide architecture decisions, and ensure the seamless operation of the company’s downlink and payload systems across their fleet. If you’re ready to push the limits of satellite payload performance, manage exceptional engineers, and define how the company delivers world-class spaceborne electronics, this position is for you.

What you’ll do

● Lead the design, development, validation testing, and qualification of payload controller and downlink electronics for the company’s satellites.

● Manage and mentor a team of engineers, fostering technical excellence and collaboration across disciplines.

● Own mission-critical systems end-to-end, ensuring they meet performance, reliability, and scalability goals.

● Drive projects that integrate electronics, mechanical, thermal, and firmware elements into cohesive system solutions.

● Architect and deliver high-speed electronics and FPGA-based designs that enable real-time data handling and downlink operations.

● Apply industry insights, data, and system-level thinking to guide design trade-offs and influence the company’s payload strategy.

● Promote engineering discipline and best practices across teams, shaping how the company builds spacecraft payload hardware.

● Anticipate future needs, architecting systems and processes that keep the company’s payload operations ahead of industry standards.

About you

● Proven experience managing engineering teams and leading complex hardware development programs.

● Extensive experience designing high-speed and FPGA-based electronic architectures.

● Track record of leading projects with electronics at their core, while coordinating mechanical, thermal, and firmware domains.

● Demonstrated ability to design and deliver end-to-end electronics systems in demanding operational environments.

● Skilled in data-driven decision-making and balancing technical excellence with business and mission objectives.

● Recognized for strong communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration.

● Trusted technical representative internally and externally, capable of influencing at all levels.

Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

Sebastian Prins