Mechanical R&D Test Lead

ROLE HIGHLIGHTS: Mechanical R&D Test Lead - Location: Warsaw, Poland - Department: Optical Systems - Reports to: Engineering Manager, Optical Systems - Employment type: Permanent - Workplace model: Hybrid - Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO, where required) WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS: As Mechanical R&D Test Lead, you will lead the team responsible for mechanical AIT of ICEYE's new generation of optical spacecraft, taking end-to-end ownership of how the team qualifies and accepts hardware for launch. You will organize the team's work and lead its people, while staying close to the technical work itself: the qualification and acceptance test campaigns, the MGSE that supports them, and the feedback loop back into design. This is a role for someone who wants to combine hands-on technical ownership with growing into people leadership. WHO WE ARE ICEYE is the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space. We deliver persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth. ICEYE owns the world's largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation. To our customers we provide intelligence with unmatched quality, latency and revisit times, in any weather, day or night. To governments who choose to operate their own constellation we provide this proven capability as a sovereign system. ICEYE-built constellations serve customers in defence and intelligence, environmental monitoring, insurance and emergency management. We enable fast decisions that contribute to a safer future. Founded and headquartered in Finland, ICEYE operates globally with over 1000 employees across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. YOUR DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITIES - Lead the mechanical AIT team, organizing its work and owning the end-to-end mechanical AIT process for new spacecraft and subsystems. - Oversee qualification and acceptance vibration test campaigns for new satellites and subsystems, and the satellite-level qualification mass models used to run them. - Own the design, build, and upkeep of the Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) the team relies on for testing and integration. - Lead flight model integration for the new spacecraft generation, ensuring AIT procedures are created and properly handed over to the production team. - Represent the team's testing and integration findings back to the design engineering groups, from early concept through late prototyping, and drive the resulting design changes. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR Must haves: - Either experience leading people, or a senior, people-oriented technical background with a genuine interest in moving into people leadership. - Hands-on experience with mechanical AIT and test campaigns, comfortable doing the work yourself, not only directing it. - Experience organizing work across a team and taking ownership of a process end to end. - A can-do attitude and a hands-on engineering mindset, able to work both independently and as part of a team. - Comfortable working under pressure and tight timelines, since test campaigns can involve intense, demanding periods. - Experience with vibration testing and mechanical validation of hardware, and designing MGSE for satellite testing. Nice to haves: - Experience in aerospace or satellite hardware development. - Hands-on experience in satellite assembly. - Familiarity with finite element analysis tools to support test setup validation. APPLICATION PROCESS - Talent Attraction Screening - Hiring Manager Screening - Onsite workshop + Technical discussion - Interview with Leadership WORKING AT ICEYE At ICEYE, you’ll join a diverse and highly engaged team united by the ambition to make the impossible possible. As a global scale-up, we combine speed and ambition with the opportunity to take real ownership from day one. Your growth, wellbeing, and success are a priority, with continuous professional development, training opportunities, and a cultur…