Spaceplane Maintenance Technician

Job description

At Dawn Aerospace, we are building the future of space access through the Mk-II Aurora, a reusable, rocket-powered spaceplane designed to operate with the frequency, responsiveness, and practicality of aircraft. As we continue to expand flight operations and advance the Mk-II programme, we are seeking an Aircraft Maintenance Technician to play a key role in preparing, maintaining, inspecting, and operating the spaceplane and its supporting ground systems. This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys working directly with hardware, solving problems at the point of use, and contributing to the development of a new generation of aerospace operations. The successful candidate will be a core member of the Flight Operations team, supporting both day-to-day maintenance activities and the continual improvement of maintenance processes as Dawn scales towards increasingly frequent flight operations. This role reports to the Flight Operations Team Lead and works closely with stakeholders across the wider spaceplane programme. We are looking for someone who combines technical competence with a practical mindset. You will be comfortable following established procedures, identifying and addressing issues before they become problems, maintaining accurate records, and contributing ideas that improve safety, reliability, and operational efficiency. Success in this role requires adaptability, attention to detail, and a willingness to take ownership in a fast-moving aerospace programme. If you're motivated by working on cutting-edge flight hardware, enjoy turning plans into operational reality, and want to help build the maintenance foundations that support high-cadence reusable spaceflight, we'd love to hear from you. What You’ll Do Flight operations support Carry out pre-flight, post-flight, turnaround, and ground operations tasks such as propellant filling and ground movements of the Mk-II spaceplane and associated systems. Conduct maintenance activities, such as inspections, servicing, and recovery activities. Follow approved checklists, procedures, work instructions, and safety controls during flight test operations. Identify, report, and help resolve issues that could affect aircraft readiness or operational safety. Maintain clear communication with flight crew and ground crew during flight operations. Ensure tools, equipment, consumables, and ground support systems are available, serviceable, and ready for use. Record maintenance and ground operations activities accurately in the appropriate logbooks and documentation. Provide practical feedback from hands-on maintenance and flight operations activities, into procedural and process updates. Support development of Mk-II maintenance manuals and maintenance training material. Participate in reviews of lessons learned from flight testing, maintenance errors, and operational experience. Aircraft Maintenance Work with design engineers to develop and refine maintenance procedures, inspection tasks, checklists, and work instructions. Support production and assembly development, including structural assemblies, test rig builds, and wire harnessing. Perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on the Mk-II spaceplane and related systems in accordance with the maintenance program. Assist with defect investigation, rectification, inspections, functional checks, and return-to-service preparation. Support maintenance planning by providing practical feedback on task timing, tooling, access, and execution risks. Maintain high standards of housekeeping, tool control, configuration control, and maintenance discipline. Takes initiative to identify opportunities to reduce maintenance errors, improve turnaround efficiency, and make the aircraft easier to operate and maintain. Required: Comfortable working in a fast-changing environment where systems, procedures, and responsibilities are still being developed. A safety-focused mindset and willingness to stop, question, and escalate when something does not look right. Ability to work across different disciplines (software, avionics, structures, propulsion, systems) with competing needs and priorities. Excellent attention to detail and a strong habit of completing documentation correctly. Ability to follow procedures carefully while also identifying where procedures need improvement. Highly Desired: Prior experience with CAA Part 102 or equivalent uncrewed aircraft maintenance standard. Prior experience in aerospace, flight test, and/or novel technology industries and environment. Hands-on aircraft and/or space system maintenance/assembly experience, ideally in flight-test, R&D, UAV, experimental aviation, and/or similar complex technical environment. Existing LAME qualification. Diversity & Inclusion At Dawn Aerospace, we believe that diverse teams build better solutions. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences are valued and supported to do their best work. About Dawn Aerospace Dawn Aerospace is a space transportation company with a purpose. Our mission is to enable the next generation of space users by providing more sustainable and scalable ways to access and move around in space. We believe this access, in the form of a transportation network, will fundamentally change what’s possible from space. We currently focus on three areas of space transportation: In-space propulsion We're a leading supplier of turnkey green propulsion systems for various classes of satellites. Our systems utilise safe, accessible propellants and we have over 170 of these propulsion units on more than 40 operational satellites already. A further 200 units are in production. In-space servicing Coupled with our propulsion expertise, we are ensuring that our customers' satellites are refuellable. In the coming years, Dawn will offer a refueling service to enable life extension of customer satellites. This new market is aligned with our sustainability goal to ensue a clean and safe space for everyone! Spaceplane We are developing the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever to take off from a runway, combining the extreme performance of rocket propulsion with the reusability of conventional airplanes to enable high-frequency, low-cost access to sub-orbital space. Our international teams are distributed across four locations: the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, and the USA. Apply for this Job Important! If you think you have what it takes but are unsure that you check every box, we still want to hear from you. To all recruitment agencies : Dawn Aerospace does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our job’s alias, our employees, or any other company location. Dawn Aerospace will not be responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.