OPEN POSITIONS
We are an international volunteer team developing a wind-driven Mars rover to disrupt Mars exploration using a swarm of low-cost spacecraft. This will not only allow unprecedented science and business cases to be realized, but will also open up deep space exploration to a larger audience. Our goal is to land hardware on Mars by 2030. Started in 2017 by high school students, we have since built 3 rover prototypes, tested two of them in a Mars analogous environment and won numerous competitions. At the moment, we are doing both theoretical mission and rover design studies and analysis as well as building subsystem-level prototypes in preparation for three planned demonstration missions: Firstly, an Earth demonstrator will test the integration of all critical rover functions into one rover and evaluate key science cases in 2025. A deployment demonstrator is planned to be tested on a suborbital test flight in 2025 as well. Lastly, an in-orbit demonstrator to evaluate our electronic systems and software in a space environment will be developed starting in 2023.
For 2022-23, we focus on demonstrating key technologies in a laboratory setting, such as the unfolding, control and resting mechanism of the rover, its navigation and computing and its electrical power supply. We are also maturing the mission, system and subsystem architecture for our Mars demonstrator mission to further constrain the design of our demonstration missions. Also, we are continuing to evolve our science and business cases for the ultimate mission, further developing the utility of our platform. Finally, we are always working on professionalizing our organization to bring us closer to our goal.
To reach our goals and ensure high quality in our work, members should expect to spend around 15 hours a week on average on Team Tumbleweed project work. Please also keep in mind that all positions are on voluntary basis!
Current Call
About the Position:
As the Head of Head of Electrical and Software Systems at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team, and report directly to Leadership. You will be responsible for overseeing and guiding our Electrical and Software Development Team concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical and Software System on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical and software system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space-grade version of the rover. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays a vital role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems, Computer Engineering, Physics or similar
- Experience in the space industry
- Experience with the space systems design process and ECSS standardization
- Demonstrated success in delivering complex engineering projects and guiding teams
- Strong project management skills
- Ability to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment with rapid iteration cycles
- Familiar with Python and Numpy and Scipy libraries
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
Responsibilities:
- Lead the Electrical and Software Engineering Team with 10-15 volunteers
- Participate to Executive meetings of the Organization, taking key technical and organizational decisions
- Project planning & high level Project management for the Electrical and Software System (ELS) together with the subsystem project managers
- Acting as Product owner of the Electrical and Software System (ELS)
- Architectural Design for the Electrical and Software System (ELS) of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Schematic and/or PCB design of circuits for the Electrical and Software System
- Collaboration with Systems Engineers to define interfaces to other subsystems of the Rover
- Make-or-buy decisions for modules of the Electrical and Software System
- Test of Electrical and Software System module
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to lead a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Design, developing and testing of space grad electronics and software.
- Boost your technical aerospace engineering knowledge
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, who want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish your work novel concepts in different aerospace conferences and get known by the international scientific community.
About the Position: As the Head of Communications at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team, and report directly to Leadership. Aside from overseeing and having significant control over our media presence and output across different platforms, you will work closely with other members of the Executive Team to strategize and help chart the team’s future strategy. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays a vital role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Resourceful, flexible, and creative
- Strong leadership skills
- Preferred: experience in a similar role
Responsibilities:
- Help build our reputation through extending and strengthening our network
- Ensure our team produces consistent, high-quality content on social media platforms and our website to attract funding and talent
- Oversee all communications projects and support their execution
- Supervise the Media team
- Lead the development of the team’s brand communication strategy and press relations
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Lead a major arm of a growing Mars exploration team
- Meet and engage with many prominent actors across the space industry
About the Position: As the Head of Funding at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team, and report directly to Leadership. Aside from overseeing and having significant control over the team’s financial management, funding acquisition, and legal projects, you will work closely with other members of the Executive Team to strategize and help chart the team’s future strategy. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays an important role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Comfortable with unstructured tasks
- Resourceful and creative
- Strong leadership skills
- Preferred: experience in a similar role
Responsibilities:
- Ensure team has sufficient fiscal & material resources to achieve its goals
- Oversee all business and finance projects, and support their execution
- Supervise the Business Development team
- Lead the development of the team’s funding and commercialization strategy, align and optimize operations
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Lead a major arm of a growing Mars exploration team
- Meet and engage with many prominent actors across the space industry
About the Position: As the Head of People & Operations at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team, and report directly to Leadership. Aside from overseeing and having significant control over all operational processes within the team, you will work closely with other members of the Executive Team to strategize and help chart the team’s future strategy. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays a vital role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Resourceful and creative
- Strong leadership skills
- Organized and detail-oriented
- Preferred: experience in a similar role
Responsibilities:
- Ensure our team has established and follows necessary procedures to achieve its goals (including Project Management Office, IT & documentation management, People & Culture processes, etc.)
- Oversee all operational teams and their projects, and support their execution
- Supervise the People & Culture and Operations teams
- Lead the development of the team’s growth and professionalization strategy
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Lead a major arm of a growing Mars exploration team
- Meet and engage with many prominent actors across the space industry
Associated Department Head: Head of Operations
About the Position: As a recruiting manager, you are in charge of the entire recruiting process from job definition to onboarding. Furthermore, outside of recruiting stretches you function as a people manager, developing our members skills and providing learning opportunities.
Expectations:
- Being proficient in English and having a professional approach to working in teams
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Open mindset combined with a clear proactive communication style & intercultural skills
- The ability to think outside the box
- Knowledge of people and social skills
Responsibilities:
- You will be in charge of the entire recruiting process from job definition to onboarding.
- You will play an integral role in creating a smooth recruiting experience for not only applicants but also the executive team and your fellow team members.
- You will be in charge of assessing team fit for all applicants and actively manage team culture assessments to allow for the right fit.
- Beyond recruiting you should support our new members’ development throughout their time in the team. This means organizing and holding workshops and providing members with learning opportunities whenever we are not actively recruiting.
- Bonus: you will manage a project of your choice in the field of people & culture!
Rewards. Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Expand your knowledge on human resources, management, organizational psychology, space exploration, Mars, strategy making and much more.
- Have a unique opportunity to have an impact on the forefront of the current space industry.
- Most importantly, you will get to know and become friends with incredibly talented people.
Associated Department Head: Head of Communications
About the Position: Not only are many of Team Tumbeweed’s members located in Delft, but the TU Delft is also one of our most important supporters. Help us strengthen and further extend our network in the area, keep in touch with our partners, and increase our visibility in and around Delft! Your work is flexible and partially remote in an international team. We expect you to commit around 15 hours per week. In this position you help bridge the gap between our progress and all those interested in it, an essential part of our vision: Deep Space for Everyone.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English (Dutch additionally desirable)
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Writing experience and creativity
- Good organizational and planning skills
- Strong teamwork skills
- Located in or near Delft, Netherlands (Randstad)
Responsibilities:
- Be the contact person for and help organize various events in the area
- Be the main contact person for our partners in and near Delft (TU Delft, NL Space Campus, Aerospace Innovation Hub, …)
- Maintain and expand Team Tumbleweed’s presence in Delft and establish new contacts
- Supervise internal and external communication and interfaces
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
Associated Department Head: Head of Communications
About the Position: As a content creator, you play an important role in communicating our teams work and achievements. Find the most interesting, fun or curious things our members are working on and share them with the world on our website’s blog, our newsletter or on our various social media channels. Talk both to team members and others in the field to provide insights into the world of Mars exploration. Your work is remote and flexible in an international team. We expect you to commit around 15 hours per week. This position allows you to bridge the gap between our progress and all those interested in it, an essential part of our vision: Deep Space for Everyone.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Writing experience and creativity
- Curious about space and its exploration
- Strong teamwork skills
- Location: remote
Responsibilities:
- Stay up to date with our team’s work and make sure that it’s broadcasted to the world via our blogs & newsletters
- (Copy-)Writing for the social media channels
- You will make sure that our texts are consistent with our brand voice
- Bonus: you will manage a project of your choice in the field of communications!
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
General Open Positions
EXECUTIVE
About the Position:
As the Head of Head of Electrical and Software Systems at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team, and report directly to Leadership. You will be responsible for overseeing and guiding our Electrical and Software Development Team concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical and Software System on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical and software system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space-grade version of the rover. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays a vital role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems, Computer Engineering, Physics or similar
- Experience in the space industry
- Experience with the space systems design process and ECSS standardization
- Demonstrated success in delivering complex engineering projects and guiding teams
- Strong project management skills
- Ability to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment with rapid iteration cycles
- Familiar with Python and Numpy and Scipy libraries
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
Responsibilities:
- Lead the Electrical and Software Engineering Team with 10-15 volunteers
- Participate to Executive meetings of the Organization, taking key technical and organizational decisions
- Project planning & high level Project management for the Electrical and Software System (ELS) together with the subsystem project managers
- Acting as Product owner of the Electrical and Software System (ELS)
- Architectural Design for the Electrical and Software System (ELS) of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Schematic and/or PCB design of circuits for the Electrical and Software System
- Collaboration with Systems Engineers to define interfaces to other subsystems of the Rover
- Make-or-buy decisions for modules of the Electrical and Software System
- Test of Electrical and Software System module
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to lead a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Design, developing and testing of space grad electronics and software.
- Boost your technical aerospace engineering knowledge
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, who want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish your work novel concepts in different aerospace conferences and get known by the international scientific community.
About the Position: As the Head of Communications at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team, and report directly to Leadership. Aside from overseeing and having significant control over our media presence and output across different platforms, you will work closely with other members of the Executive Team to strategize and help chart the team’s future strategy. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays a vital role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Resourceful, flexible, and creative
- Strong leadership skills
- Preferred: experience in a similar role
Responsibilities:
- Help build our reputation through extending and strengthening our network
- Ensure our team produces consistent, high-quality content on social media platforms and our website to attract funding and talent
- Oversee all communications projects and support their execution
- Supervise the Media team
- Lead the development of the team’s brand communication strategy and press relations
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Lead a major arm of a growing Mars exploration team
- Meet and engage with many prominent actors across the space industry
About the Position: As the Head of Funding at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team. Aside from overseeing and having significant creative control over the team’s finance, funding, and legal projects, you will work closely with other members of the Executive Team to strategize and help chart the team’s future strategy. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays an important role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Comfortable with unstructured tasks
- Resourceful and creative
- Strong leadership skills
Responsibilities:
- Oversee all business, finance, and legal projects of the team
- Support the execution of projects overseen, if needed
- Lead the development of the team’s funding strategy, especially to align and optimize operations
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Lead a major arm of a growing Mars exploration team
- Meet and engage with many prominent actors across the space industry
About the Position: As the Head of People & Operations at Team Tumbleweed, you will be part of the organization’s Executive Team, and report directly to Leadership. Aside from overseeing and having significant control over all operational processes within the team, you will work closely with other members of the Executive Team to strategize and help chart the team’s future strategy. This is a highly critical, influential, and demanding leadership position that plays a vital role in supporting the development and growth of the team.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Resourceful and creative
- Strong leadership skills
- Organized and detail-oriented
- Preferred: experience in a similar role
Responsibilities:
- Ensure our team has established and follows necessary procedures to achieve its goals (including Project Management Office, IT & documentation management, People & Culture processes, etc.)
- Oversee all operational teams and their projects, and support their execution
- Supervise the People & Culture and Operations teams
- Lead the development of the team’s growth and professionalization strategy
Rewards: Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Lead a major arm of a growing Mars exploration team
- Meet and engage with many prominent actors across the space industry
OPERATIONAL
Business Development
Associated Department Head: Head of Funding
About the Position: Financial analysts are responsible for accounting, financial planning and financial forecasting. This role involves engagement with technical teams to stay abreast of changing needs and regulate expenditure, whilst also serving as a dynamic link between business strategists and technical teams. Financial analysts play an important role integrating teams with one another and strategizing for the team, particularly as regards budgetary matters as well as the acquisition and maintenance of strategic assets.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Methodical and diligent
- Comfortable with independent research
- Strong quantitative skills
- Desirable: experience in finance
Responsibilities:
- Regular budgeting
- Financial planning and advice
- Financial forecasting and strategizing
- Bonus: you will manage a project of your choice in the field of business development!
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
Associated Department Head: Head of Funding
About the Position: Business strategists support the development of the team commercially. In particular, business strategists have the imminent responsibility of acquiring funding, which involves substantial engagement with external partners and creativity in approaches to problems. As R&D costs in the space industry are astronomical, business strategists play a crucial role in securing funding for the team and widening the team’s commercial partnerships.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Comfortable with unstructured tasks
- Resourcefulness and creativity
- Desirable, but not necessary: experience in science, technology or engineering
Responsibilities:
- Engagement with potential partners and sponsors
- Research and grant applications
- Acquisition of sponsorship and partnerships for the team
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
Legal
Associated Department Head: Head of Funding
About the Position: You’ll play a key role in supporting team growth through research on legal matters to identify both threats and opportunities. This is supplemented by continuous evaluation of existing team practices to ensure development compliant with relevant legal standards. The space industry is highly regulated, making consistent efforts to ensure compliance important. You will also be involved in vetting potential partners, if necessary, and helping the team adopt a legal strategy that will best support technical development.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Required: experience in law (e.g. studying law/law graduate)
- Desirable: experience in Austrian or Dutch law
- Strong ability to convey complex information to non-specialists
- An interest in commercial and/or space law
Responsibilities:
- Research into commercial and space legislation, especially in the EU
- Monitoring and evaluation of status quo legal practices
- Engagement with external legal advisors
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
Media
Associated Department Head: Head of Communications
About the Position: As a Social Media Manager, your job is to make sure that our various media platforms are continuously performing. Oversee the stats and create strategies on how to improve our outreach via social media. You’ll also help content creators by suggesting the most relevant topics. Engage with our followers to help build a stronger community and establish our presence by interacting with other accounts. Find out what people want to see! Your work is remote and flexible in an international team. We expect you to commit around 15 hours per week. This position allows you to bridge the gap between our progress and all those interested in it, an essential part of our vision: Deep Space for Everyone.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Familiarity with social media platforms
- Strong teamwork skills
- Location: remote
Responsibilities:
- Oversee our social media accounts
- Collaborate with our content creators to produce content that’s most relevant to our keep our audience up to date
- Analyze posts and engagement data to identify the best social media strategy for us
- Implement our brand communications strategy
- Bonus: you will manage a project of your choice in the field of communications!
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
Associated Department Head: Head of Communications
About the Position: As a content creator, you play an important role in communicating our teams work and achievements. Find the most interesting, fun or curious things our members are working on and share them with the world on our website’s blog, our newsletter or on our various social media channels. Talk both to team members and others in the field to provide insights into the world of Mars exploration. Your work is remote and flexible in an international team. We expect you to commit around 15 hours per week. This position allows you to bridge the gap between our progress and all those interested in it, an essential part of our vision: Deep Space for Everyone.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Writing experience and creativity
- Curious about space and its exploration
- Strong teamwork skills
- Location: remote
Responsibilities:
- Stay up to date with our team’s work and make sure that it’s broadcasted to the world via our blogs & newsletters
- (Copy-)Writing for the social media channels
- You will make sure that our texts are consistent with our brand voice
- Bonus: you will manage a project of your choice in the field of communications!
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
Operations
Associated Department Head: Head of Operations
About the Position: Creating and enabling the team to build a Mars rover sometimes might be an even harder task than building the rover itself – that’s why we need you! Operations manager plays a crucial role in making sure that our team can achieve its mission by setting up structures for smooth internal processes.
As the operations manager, you will supervise internal communication and interfaces. You will make sure that it is easy to find the needed information and that our work is documented efficiently and up to the industry standards. You will also be our IT manager and make sure that everyone has access to the relevant information.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Motivation to get the work done and inspire others do the same
- Good organizational & planning skills
- Strong teamwork skills
Responsibilities:
- Supervision of internal communication and interfaces
- Setting up and maintaining information management and documentation
- IT management (minimal) to maintain smooth operations in the team
- Bonus: you will manage a project of your choice in the field of operations!
Rewards: Check out the perks of being in our team at teamtumbleweed.eu/apply!
People & Culture
Associated Department Head: Head of Operations
About the Position: As a recruiting manager, you are in charge of the entire recruiting process from job definition to onboarding. Furthermore, outside of recruiting stretches you function as a people manager, developing our members skills and providing learning opportunities.
Expectations:
- Being proficient in English and having a professional approach to working in teams
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Open mindset combined with a clear proactive communication style & intercultural skills
- The ability to think outside the box
- Knowledge of people and social skills
Responsibilities:
- You will be in charge of the entire recruiting process from job definition to onboarding.
- You will play an integral role in creating a smooth recruiting experience for not only applicants but also the executive team and your fellow team members.
- You will be in charge of assessing team fit for all applicants and actively manage team culture assessments to allow for the right fit.
- Beyond recruiting you should support our new members’ development throughout their time in the team. This means organizing and holding workshops and providing members with learning opportunities whenever we are not actively recruiting.
- Bonus: you will manage a project of your choice in the field of people & culture!
Rewards. Next to the perks of being in our team (teamtumbleweed.eu/apply), you will also:
- Expand your knowledge on human resources, management, organizational psychology, space exploration, Mars, strategy making and much more.
- Have a unique opportunity to have an impact on the forefront of the current space industry.
- Most importantly, you will get to know and become friends with incredibly talented people.
TECHNICAL
Systems Engineering
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: In this position, you will be managing and synchronizing the development of a novel, wind-driven rover as part of the systems engineering project. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. As a rover system engineer, you will analyze and define a variety of subsystems of the rover and make sure that the development of the individual subsystems runs smoothly. Furthermore, you will be called upon to perform mission-level analyses and design work. You will report to the program manager and lead system engineer. This position requires you to be in direct communication with a host of engineers within and outside of the project. As a rover system engineer, you will also be spearheading the implementation of model-based systems engineering tools and methods.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Academic background in Aerospace or System Engineering, or similar
- Strong background and affinity for systems engineering
- Ability to integrate systematically into a complex and complicated workflow
- Demonstrated experience in the design of complex systems
- Good proficiency in fundamental systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: experience in the design of miniaturized spacecraft
- Bonus: experience in managing technical development projects
Responsibilities:
- Define, evolve and maintain the systems architecture, technical budgets, and specifications of rover subsystems.
- Maintain major system-level and subsystem-level interfaces of mission and rover.
- Communicate proactively with subsystem engineers and host systems engineering sessions.
- Define subsequent development activities for de-risking of the mission and rover system.
- Evolve rover systems design for an Earth test mission and deployment test.
- Create and maintain system models and documentation.
Rewards:
- Be at the forefront of the development of a novel space system.
- Gain real-life experience through the holistic systems engineering of innovative technical solutions.
- Receive advice and mentoring from experienced industry professionals and academics.
- Interact with outside industry partners and internal technical staff.
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: This position will allow you to manage and guide the development of a miniaturized, low-cost entry and descent system for wind-driven Tumbleweed rovers. You will be a part of the systems engineering project. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. Over the project, you will do systems and requirements analysis, system sizing, and other systems engineering activities as you perform the initial and detailed systems design for the entry and descent vehicle. You will report to the program manager of the systems engineering project and lead system engineer. This position requires you to be in direct communication with a host of engineers within and outside of the project. A position as EDV systems engineer provides an ideal starting point to take part in the deployment demonstration mission which aims to fly a prototype of the entry vehicle on a sub-orbital test flight.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Academic background in Aerospace or System Engineering, or similar
- Strong background and affinity for systems engineering
- Ability to integrate systematically into a complex and complicated workflow
- Demonstrated experience in the design of complex systems
- Good proficiency in fundamental systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands, or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: experience in the design and analysis of entry vehicles and their aerodynamics
Responsibilities:
- Define, evolve and maintain the systems architecture, technical budgets, and specifications of entry vehicle subsystems.
- Maintain major system-level and subsystem-level interfaces of the entry system with the rover and mission constituents.
- Define subsequent development activities for de-risking of the entry system.
- Evolve entry vehicle systems design for an Earth test mission and deployment test.
- Create and maintain system models and documentation.
Rewards:
- Be at the forefront of the development of a novel space system.
- Gain real-life experience through the holistic systems engineering of innovative technical solutions.
- Receive advice and mentoring from experienced industry professionals and academics.
- Interact with outside industry partners and internal technical staff
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: As an astrodynamics engineer, you are tasked with analyzing orbital transfer trajectories to Mars, designing parent mission release strategies to achieve Mars entry. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. Throughout the project, you will perform analysis on launch windows and parameters, define strategies for releasing the Tumbleweed mission from a variety of parent mission profiles and create trajectory simulations for the Tumbleweed mission between release from the parent mission and its entry into the Martian atmosphere. You will collaborate closely with the EDV system engineers and the Entry and Deployment engineers to create a deployment strategy of the Tumbleweed rover between parent mission release and release of the Tumbleweed rover from the entry vehicle, jointly generating an entry vehicle design.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace or System Engineering, or similar
- Familiarity with astrodynamics calculations and simulations
- Proficiency in Python
- Ability to integrate systematically into a complex and complicated workflow
- Proficiency in fundamental systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands, or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience with orbit propagation and astrodynamics simulations
Responsibilities:
- Perform orbital trajectory analysis and simulation for the Tumbleweed mission.
- Analyze potential transfer and approach trajectories available to the mission.
- Devise an approach and entry strategy for the entry vehicle.
- Define specifications for the parent mission and the deployment conditions it can provide.
- Interface with the EDV system engineers and the entry and descent engineers to create a complete deployment strategy.
Rewards:
- Create trajectory simulations and perform optimization thereof in a real-life setting.
- Push the boundaries of low-cost interplanetary landing.
- Forge a new path to establish a crucial aspect of the Tumbleweed mission.
- Show off your work and receive work to academics and industrial partners.
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: Being an Entry and Deployment Engineer entails designing the entry, deployment and landing sequence of the Tumbleweed rover. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. Throughout the project, you are going to simulate the atmospheric entry of the Tumbleweed mission, design and analyze the deployment and landing conditions of the Tumbleweed rover while reporting to the lead system engineer. You will collaborate closely with the EDV system engineers and the Astrodynamics engineers to create a deployment strategy of the Tumbleweed rover between parent mission release and release of the Tumbleweed rover from the entry vehicle, jointly generating an entry vehicle design. Also, you will work with the outer/inner structure subsystem engineer to create a design for the innovative deployment mechanism of the Tumbleweed rover.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics or similar
- Ability to integrate systematically into a complex and complicated workflow
- Proficiency in Python
- Experience with systems modeling and simulations in Python
- Proficiency in fundamental systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: experience in entry, descent and landing design
Responsibilities:
- Perform analysis and simulation of the entry, descent and landing of the Tumbleweed mission.
- Design the deployment sequence and its parameters of the Tumbleweed rover.
- Analyze the ballistic performance and stability of the entry vehicle.
- Collaborate on defining the mid-air unfolding sequence of the Tumbleweed rover with the entry vehicle and rover system engineers and the outer/inner structure subsystem engineer.
Rewards:
- Pioneer an unprecedented passive soft-landing approach on Mars.
- Be involved in the development of innovative folding methods
- Push the boundaries of low-cost and accessible Mars surface exploration.
- Present your results to academics and professionals and receive guidance.
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: As a rover performance engineer, you will analyze and optimize the obstacle and terrain traversal as well as distance performance of the Tumbleweed rover, as well as simulate its trajectory based on various terrain and under a variety of wind conditions. You will also look into how swarms of the rover will spread over the surface and how individual rover’s behavior may be optimized to achieve specific area coverage and final distributions. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. You will collaborate with rover systems engineers and the outer/inner structure as well as sail subsystem engineers, reporting to the lead system engineer. Throughout the project, you will create tools to simulate the spreading and locomotion of wind-driven mars rovers, derive specifications for high-level rover physical, rolling and aerodynamic properties. Also, you will work on defining and optimizing rover behavior to maximize its performance.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace or System Engineering, or similar
- Ability to integrate systematically into a complex and complicated workflow
- Proficiency in Python
- Experience with systems modeling and simulations in Python
- Proficiency in fundamental systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
Responsibilities:
- Perform analysis and simulation of the Tumbleweed rover’s obstacle traversal capabilities and macroscopic motion.
- Create tools to simulate spreading of individual rovers and swarms throughout various areas on Mars.
- Analyze and optimize Tumbleweed rover system-level parameters to achieve desired performance, both as a single rover and within a swarm.
- Develop autonomous behavior of the rover to achieve swarm-level results and maximize the scientific utility of the mission.
- Collaborate on developing control mechanisms to influence rover motion.
Rewards:
- Develop novel analysis tools for a low-cost, swarm-based Mars exploration mission.
- Create simulations for the dynamic obstacle performance of the rover.
- Analyze swarm behavior of wind-driven Mars rovers
- Devise simple autonomous system behavior to achieve complex goals within a swarm of rovers.
- Show off your results to academics and receive feedback.
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: Working on the communications architecture and ground segment for the Tumbleweed mission is the main focus of the ground segment engineer. This work includes the detailed analysis of the performance of available relay satellites to provide data transmission and positioning to the Tumbleweed rover. You will derive detailed data and communications constraints for each rover. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. You will work together with the rover and payload systems engineers and transmit-receive module subsystem engineer to derive link and data budgets. Also, together with the operations engineers you will derive constraints on the operation of the rover. You will report to the lead systems engineer.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering or System Engineering, or similar
- Familiarity with fundamental concepts of telecommunications and ground systems.
- Proficiency in Python
- Ability to integrate systematically into a complex and complicated workflow
- Familiarity with fundamental systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: experience in the design of space mission ground segments
Responsibilities:
- Analyze the available data link and positioning capabilities of existing Mars relay satellites within the Tumbleweed mission.
- Investigate mission geometry, overpass frequencies and lengths for various potential mission locations and times.
- Allocate communications budgets of the mission
- Refine specifications for the data transmission system of the Tumbleweed rover.
Rewards:
- Investigate the communication and location determination constraints of the Tumbleweed mission.
- Develop the foundation of swarm-to-relay communication infrastructure.
- Work on a complex interplanetary communications system.
- Cooperate with fellow students and academics on the development of such communications infrastructure.
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: As part of the operations engineer position, you will work on defining how the operations team and the end users will interact with the Tumbleweed mission to achieve scientific and commercial goals. You will work on the operational workflow that will accompany the space mission, design the behavior and autonomy of the Tumbleweed rovers that enables them to safely and reliably achieve their mission. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. You are going to report to the lead system engineer as a part of the systems engineering project, and work together with the ground segment, rover performance and rover system engineers to achieve an integrated design solution that includes both the technical and operational aspects of a space mission. You will also collaborate with the science team to devise operations strategies that maximize the scientific return of the mission.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering or System Engineering, or similar
- Background in and affinity for systems engineering
- Familiarity with basic concepts of spacecraft operations
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
Responsibilities:
- Define initial mission timeline and operational flow
- Create a high-level design of the user interface for the Tumbleweed mission.
- Plan out the placement of measurements and scientific investigations throughout the mission.
- Design rover and system behavior to enable autonomy in normal operations and in dealing with faults and other anomalous situations.
Rewards:
- Gain real-life experience on the operation of science missions.
- Create highly autonomous behavior that enables rovers to explore other planets with minimal user interaction.
- Work as a connection point between scientists and engineers to create a performant mission that can achieve a host of science objectives.
- Present your work to industry partners and academics.
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: Crucial to any systems engineering effort, the risk management engineer will work with fellow engineers throughout the team to assess, track and mitigate risks, be it large-scale mission risks or potential malfunctions of subsystems. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. You are going to report to the lead systems engineer and work with the entire systems engineering team, as well as subsystem engineers to identify and manage risks, as well as the implementation of risk management practices across the team.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering or System Engineering, or similar
- Background in and affinity for systems engineering
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Familiarity with fundamental concepts in risk management
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in risk management for technical development projects
Responsibilities:
- Identify, characterize, mitigate and manage risks throughout the systems engineering project.
- Implement and manage consistent, thorough risk management practices throughout the team.
- Perform analysis on reliability, availability, maintainability and safety of the Tumbleweed mission.
- Advise technical colleagues on risk management.
Rewards:
- Gain real-life experience of identifying and managing risk scenarios of a space mission.
- Communicate and collaborate with an international team on achieving a high standard of risk management within the organization.
- Shape crucial processes within the organization and take crucial responsibility.
- Create a reliable and robust space system.
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: As a payload engineer, you will work on developing a detailed design of the scientific payload of the Tumbleweed rover to serve a multitude of science goals. This will mean working to integrate a variety of miniaturized systems into a novel platform and assessing their performance with respect to the science goals. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. As payload engineer, you are a part of the systems engineering project and report to the lead system engineer, and regularly work with the rover system engineers, the operations engineers and the scientists to realize the scientific and commercial potential of the Tumbleweed mission.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering or System Engineering, or similar
- Familiarity and affinity for space instrumentation
- Interest in planetary science and exploration
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in developing instrumentation or sensing systems
Responsibilities:
- Evolve and define in detail the payload package of the Tumbleweed rover.
- Characterize physical parameters and requirements of the payload.
- Integrate the payload into the operational scheme of the Tumbleweed rover.
- Evaluate the technical feasibility and readiness of the payload instruments.
Rewards:
- Work on miniaturized Mars surface instrumentation ranging from atmospheric sensing to radiometric sensors and imaging systems.
- Realize complex scientific mission objectives .
- Interact with the scientific and academic community and potentially collaborate with researchers on real-world science cases.
Structures
Available Projects: P2 (Outer/Inner Structure and Deployment Mechanism Lab Demonstrator), P3 (Aerodynamics and Sails Wind Tunnel/Lab Demonstrator), P4 (Pods and Thermal Concept Initial Prototype)
About the Position: As a subsystem engineer, you interact with both the discipline engineers and the rover system engineers to lead the system engineering effort of subsystems of the Tumbleweed rover. Here, you will be confronted with novel design challenges related to the unfolding and deployment as well as the locomotion of the rover. You will be part of a subsystem development project, as well as strongly involved in the systems engineering project. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15+ hours per week for the duration of the project. You will report to the lead systems engineer as well as the head of structure. The subsystems that you will have the opportunity of working on include the unfolding and breaking mechanisms, the inner and outer structure, the electronics housing and the sails.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
- Knowledgeable with high-level programming languages (preferred: Python/MATLAB)
- Familiarity and affinity for space systems
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in a leadership position(s), project management
Responsibilities:
- Lead the systems engineering effort and take ownership of the development of an individual mechanical subsystem of the Tumbleweed rover.
- Lead the development from a technical side, together with the head of structures.
- Establish strong systems engineering practices within the development of each subsystem.
- Work with other subsystem engineers to synchronize the development of the respective subsystems.
Rewards:
- Realize cutting-edge space systems for a wind-driven Mars rover.
- Gain experience leading and managing the development of space systems.
- Collaborate with a wide range of motivated people in an international team.
- Share your work with industry and academic partners and receive feedback.
Available Projects: P2 (Outer/Inner Structure and Deployment Mechanism Lab Demonstrator), P4 (Pods and Thermal Concept Initial Prototype)
About the Position: Developing the light-weight, resilient outer and inner structure of the Tumbleweed rover is your daily business as a structural engineer. You will design, analyze and optimize the spherical structure of the rover which not only has to be light-weight, but also absorb the impact energy of landing on Mars and resist the harsh Martian surface conditions all the while being foldable. As a part of the structures department, you will report to the responsible subsystem engineer and the head of structures. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. As a structural engineer, you have the opportunity to work on both the outer and inner structure of the rover as well as the electronics pods.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
- Knowledgeable with high-level programming languages (preferred: Python/MATLAB)
- Familiarity and affinity for space systems
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in structural analysis and design of systems
Responsibilities:
- Develop analysis tools to simulate and optimize the structure of the rover and its performance.
- Perform the structural design of the Tumbleweed rover structure.
- Analyze and optimize the structure of the rover to achieve the required low mass and impact properties.
- Investigate in detail the interaction between the ground as well as various obstacles and the spherical rover structure.
- Cooperate with mechanical and mechatronics engineers to demonstrate the unfolding and structural performance of the Tumbleweed rover through testing.
Rewards:
- Develop specialized structures for a wind-driven Mars rover.
- Create and test structural analysis tools to investigate and optimize aerospace structures.
- Push the boundaries of robust, light-weight and deployable structures.
- Construct and test structural prototypes.
Available Projects: P2 (Outer/Inner Structure and Deployment Mechanism Lab Demonstrator), P3 (Aerodynamics and Sails Wind Tunnel/Lab Demonstrator)
About the Position: Being a mechanical engineer at Team Tumbleweed means developing the mechanisms required to unfold the Tumbleweed rover, control its trajectory and deploy the rover into its stationary state. You will be focussing on the Tumbleweed rover’s mechanisms, how they are actuated, and how they can be built sufficiently light and reliable. As a part of the structures department, you will work with deployment engineers, subsystem engineers, structural engineers and mechatronics engineers to practically demonstrate the unfolding of the Tumbleweed rover and the trajectory control mechanism. You will also collaborate with the testing engineers on proving the mechanism design and its reliability. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15+ hours per week for the duration of the project and reporting to the subsystem engineer.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
- Knowledgeable with high-level programming languages (preferred: Python/MATLAB)
- Familiarity and affinity for space systems
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in developing mechanisms
Responsibilities:
- Design and analyze the unfolding and rover control mechanisms for the Tumbleweed rovers.
- Optimize the mechanisms and their actuators to fit requirements and mass constraints.
- Demonstrate mechanism reliability through practical testing.
- Collaborate with the deployment engineers, subsystem engineers, structural and mechatronics engineers to demonstrate the unfolding and landing of the rover in a laboratory test.
Rewards:
- Create a novel deployment mechanism to support mid-air unfolding of a Tumbleweed rover.
- Design a light-weight path control mechanism to arrest the motion at will.
- Devise a method to deploy the Tumbleweed rover into a stationary configuration.
- Come up with creative solutions for challenging actuation problems.
Available Projects: P2 (Outer/Inner Structure and Deployment Mechanism Lab Demonstrator)
About the Position: As a mechatronics engineer, you form the interface between the mechanisms of the rover and the electronic systems that control them. The focus of your work is on the triggering and actuation of a host of mechanisms on the rover that will unfold, control and transform the rover. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project and you will report to the subsystem engineer. You will collaborate with mechanical and structural engineers to create the entire rover structure and interface with members of the electronics and software department to develop the interface between the mechanisms and the electronic systems. This will ultimately demonstrate the deployment, control and transformation of the structure in a laboratory setting.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
- Knowledgeable with high-level programming languages (preferred: Python/MATLAB)
- Familiarity and affinity for space systems
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in integrating mechanisms and testing them
Responsibilities:
- Cooperate with the electronics department to define the interface needed to actuate the variety of mechanisms responsible for deployment, control and transformation of the Tumbleweed rover.
- Devise actuating methods to convert electrical signals into the motion of the mechanisms.
- Create the actuating electronics required for the demonstration of mechanisms.
- Collaborate with the deployment engineers, subsystem engineers, structural and mechanical engineers to demonstrate the unfolding and landing of the rover in a laboratory test.
Rewards:
- Design compact, light-weight triggering and actuating systems to control a wind-driven Mars rover.
- Create prototype triggering and actuating systems and test them within the laboratory.
- Integrate your work into mechanisms and the overall structure and perform integrated tests.
- Come up with creative solutions for challenging triggering and actuation problems.
Available Projects: P3 (Aerodynamics and Sails Wind Tunnel/Lab Demonstrator)
About the Position: Being an aerodynamics engineer means that you will be working to optimize the performance of the Tumbleweed rover through maximizing the thrust force it gets from the wind. The propulsion force is being generated by a number of sails, spreading in different spatial orientations inside the outer shell of the rover. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project and you will report to the subsystem engineer. You will collaborate with mechanical and structural engineers to create the aerodynamic propulsion system of the rover.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
- Knowledgeable with high-level programming languages (preferred: Python/MATLAB)
- Familiarity and affinity for space systems
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in modeling fluid dynamics (e.g. CFD)
Responsibilities:
- Cooperate with structures department to define interfaces needed for mounting the sails.
- Develop the sails itself in order to ensure maximum exposure to martian wind.
- Ensuring ability to fold the sails inside the rover structure.
- Evaluating the possibility to mount solar cells on the sail.
- Collaborating with the deployment engineers, subsystem engineers, structural and mechanical engineers to demonstrate the unfolding and propulsion of the rover in a laboratory test.
Rewards:
- Design compact, light-weight triggering and actuating systems to control a wind-driven Mars rover.
- Create prototype triggering and actuating systems and test them within the laboratory.
- Integrate your work into mechanisms and the overall structure and perform integrated tests,
- Come up with creative solutions for challenging triggering and actuation problems.
Available Projects: P4 (Pods and Thermal Concept Initial Prototyper)
About the Position: Being a thermal control engineer at Team Tumbleweed means that you will develop a thermal system responsible for maintaining the rover within its temperature limits. This involves the analysis of the different thermal environments that the Pods will be exposed to over the mission, and the design of a system that satisfies all thermal cases. The position is part-time, with a time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project and you will report to the subsystem engineer. You will collaborate with structural and electrical engineers to develop the thermal system of the rover.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
- Knowledgeable with high-level programming languages (preferred: Python/MATLAB)
- Familiarity and affinity for space systems
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in developing thermal systems
Responsibilities:
- Cooperate with the electronics and structures departments to define the operational/non-operational temperature limits of the Tumbleweed rover.
- Define the hot case(s)/cold case(s) that the Pods will be exposed to.
- Develop a Mars thermal analysis model to simulate the thermal balance of the Pods.
- Develop a control system that will adapt to different thermal environments.
- Collaborate with the subsystem engineers, structural engineers and electronics engineers to demonstrate the thermal management system of a Pods prototype in a laboratory test.
Rewards:
- Design a compact, light-weight thermal design for a wind-driven Mars rover.
- Develop a Mars thermal analysis model.
- Create a thermal prototype and test it in realistic conditions.
- Collaborate on the production and publishing of a conference paper.
Available Projects: P2 (Outer/Inner Structure and Deployment Mechanism Lab Demonstrator), P3 (Aerodynamics and Sails Wind Tunnel/Lab Demonstrator), P4 (Pods and Thermal Concept Initial Prototype)
About the Position: Being a Testing Engineer at Team Tumbleweed means you will be working on analyzing, designing, executing and assessing structural, aerodynamic or thermal system tests. These tests allow the team to quantify the performance of the rover systems and demonstrate compliance with set requirements. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project and you will report to the Subsystem Engineer. You will collaborate with Structural, Mechanical and Mechatronics, Aerodynamics and/or Thermal Control Engineers to develop testing environments for the respective systems.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Academic background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar
- Knowledgeable with high-level programming languages (preferred: Python/MATLAB)
- Familiarity and affinity for space systems
- Proficiency in basic systems engineering methods
- Desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands or Vienna, Austria
- Bonus: Experience in developing thermal systems
Responsibilities:
- Use the system requirements to develop parameters to be tested.
- Develop a verification and validation plan for the system.
- Analyze and design testing equipment and environments.
- Construct testing jigs and setting up sensors.
- Leading the team through the execution of the tests.
- Gathering, processing and assessing the testing data.
Rewards:
- Gain hands-on experience building test rigs and prototypes.
- Design the testing strategy and approaches for the Tumbleweed rover subsystems.
- Learn about testing of aerospace systems.
- Iterate quickly over subsystems designs.
Electronics
Available Projects: P1 (Mars and Earth Demonstrator Mission Systems Engineering)
About the Position: Do you have a passion for engineering & development? Do you get excited by the prospect of exploring space and the universe? Then Team Tumbleweed might be the right place for you! Team Tumbleweed is an international team of young scientists & engineers designing the next generation of Mars Rovers and we are currently looking for a Systems Engineer. We are currently in the beginning of our long road to mars and thus currently not able to pay wages. Our Electrical Development Team is concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical System on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space grade version of the rover. The examination and integration of suitable solutions requires the applicant to demonstrate insight into the development of electrical systems and willingness to learn in a team.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics or similar
- Strong background in Systems Engineering, particularly Requirements engineering, System & Interface definition
- Demonstrated experience with ECSS standards, particularly ECSS-E-ST-10C and ECSS-E-ST-10-06C
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Ability to manage internal and external stakeholders
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: Familiarity with MBSE concepts and tools
- Bonus: Experience with the Space systems design process, particularly early phases
Responsibilities:
- Phase 0, A and B task for Electrical and Software Systems, for example
- Requirements Engineering
- Interface Definition
- Ensuring system compliance
- High level system analysis and simulation
- Be focal point for ECSS standardization and documentation aspects in the Electrical and Software team.
- Manage and support subsystem design engineers.
- Manage interfaces with internal and external stakeholders.
Rewards:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to be a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Develop critical thinking and management skills, by overseeing the engineering processes and have the opportunity to make an impact, by solving problems with creative solutions.
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, that want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish novel concepts in different aerospace conventions and get known by the international scientific community.
- Interact with industry partners and external stakeholders like the European Space Agency.
Available Projects: P7 (Electrical Power System Analysis and Design)
About the Position: Do you have a passion for engineering & development? Do you get excited by the prospect of exploring space and the universe? Then Team Tumbleweed might be the right place for you! Team Tumbleweed is an international team of young scientists & engineers designing the next generation of Mars Rovers and we are currently looking for a Power Electronics Engineer. We are currently in the beginning of our long road to mars and thus currently not able to pay wages. Our Electrical Development Team is concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical System on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space grade version of the rover. The examination and integration of suitable solutions requires the applicant to demonstrate insight into the development of electrical power systems and willingness to learn in a team.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Physics or similar
- Strong background in power electronics, particularly
- DC-DC converters
- Batteries
- PV and PV control
- Power distribution
- Demonstrated experience in circuit analysis and simulation of
- Demonstrated experience in Schematic and/or PCB design
- Familiarity with architecture, design and testing of Electrical Power Systems
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: Familiarity with ECSS standards, particularly ECSS-E-ST-10C, ECSS-E-ST-20C, ECSS-E-ST-21C
- Bonus: Experience in designing highly reliable electric and electronic systems for space
Responsibilities:
- Architectural Design for the PCDU and/or PV Array of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Schematic and/or PCB design of circuits for the Power Electronics
- Collaboration with Systems Engineers to define interfaces to subsystems and payloads of the Rover
- Make-or-buy decisions for modules of the power subsystem
- Test of Power Electronics Hardware
Rewards:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to be a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Develop, design and test novel PV Solar cells.
- Boost your technical aerospace engineering knowledge by innovating on cutting edge power electronics.
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, that want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish your work with novel concepts in different aerospace conventions and get known by the international scientific community.
Available Projects: P5 (Location and Attitude Determination System Embedded Demonstration), P6 (Onboard and Data Processing Computer Analysis and Design)
About the Position: Do you have a passion for engineering & development? Do you get excited by the prospect of exploring space and the universe? Then Team Tumbleweed might be the right place for you! Team Tumbleweed is an international team of young scientists & engineers designing the next generation of Mars Rovers and we are currently looking for an On-board Data Handling Engineer. We are currently in the beginning of our long road to mars and thus currently not able to pay wages. Our Electrical Development Team is concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical System on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space grade version of the rover. The examination and integration of suitable solutions requires the applicant to demonstrate insight into the development of On-board Data Handling systems and willingness to learn in a team.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics or similar
- Strong background in On-board Data Handling electronics, particularly
- FPGA
- (Micro)-Processors and hybrid SoCs
- Demonstrated experience in FPGA design and/or Machine code programming
- Demonstrated experience with Rad-hard and/or EMC computing architectures
- Familiarity with architecture, design and testing of On-board Data Handling Systems
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: Familiarity with ECSS standards, particularly ECSS-E-ST-10C, ECSS-E-ST-50-11C, ECSS-E-ST-50-12C, ECSS-E-ST-50-13C, ECSS-E-ST-50-15C, ECSS-Q-ST-60-02C
- Bonus: Experience in designing highly reliable onboard computers and bus systems for space
Responsibilities:
- Architectural Design for Onboard Computer (OBC) and/or Data Processing Computer (DPC) of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Architectural Design for Bus and Data Storage solutions of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Schematic and/or PCB design of circuits for the On-board Data Handling Electronics
- Collaboration with Systems Engineers to define data interfaces to subsystems and payloads of the Rover
- Make-or-buy decisions for modules of the On-board Data Handling subsystem
- Test of Computer hardware prototypes
Rewards:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to be a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Boost your technical aerospace engineering knowledge by designing and modeling the next generations of space on-flight computers.
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, that want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish your work novel concepts in different aerospace conventions and get known by the international scientific community.
Available Projects: P5 (Location and Attitude Determination System Embedded Demonstration), P6 (Onboard and Data Processing Computer Analysis and Design)
About the Position: Do you have a passion for engineering & development? Do you get excited by the prospect of exploring space and the universe? Then Team Tumbleweed might be the right place for you! Team Tumbleweed is an international team of young scientists & engineers designing the next generation of Mars Rovers and we are currently looking for an Embedded Software Engineer. Our Electrical Development Team is concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical and Software Systems on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space grade version of the rover. The examination and integration of suitable solutions requires the applicant to demonstrate insight into the development of optical communications systems and willingness to learn in a team.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems, Computer Engineering, Physics or similar
- Ability to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment with rapid iteration cycles
- Strong background in digital electronics hardware, particularly
- FPGA
- (Micro)-Processors and hybrid SoCs
- Demonstrated experience in FPGA design and/or Machine code programming
- Familiarity with architecture, design and testing of On-board Data Handling Systems
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located at or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: Familiarity with ECSS standards, particularly ECSS-E-ST-10C, ECSS-E-ST-50-11C, ECSS-E-ST-50-12C, ECSS-E-ST-50-13C, ECSS-E-ST-50-15C, ECSS-Q-ST-60-02C
- Bonus: Experience in designing highly reliable onboard computers and bus systems for space
Responsibilities:
- Software Development for the Onboard Computer (OBC) and/or Data Processing Computer (DPC) of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Logic Design for the Onboard Computer (OBC) and/or Data Processing Computer (DPC) of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Schematic and/or PCB design of circuits for the On-board Data Handling Electronics
- Collaboration with Systems Engineers to define data interfaces to subsystems and payloads of the Rover
- Test of Computer hardware prototypes
Rewards:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to be a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Boost your technical aerospace engineering knowledge by developing novel software and design cutting edge space data processing computers.
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, that want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish your work novel concepts in different aerospace conventions and get known by the international scientific community.
Available Projects: P5 (Location and Attitude Determination System Embedded Demonstration)
About the Position: As a Control Systems Engineer, you participate in a multitude of efforts toward designing algorithms that are visually aiding the location and attitude measurements of the Tumbleweed rover. The role is expected to be multidisciplinary, covering aspects of signal processing, sensor processing, and feedback control. You will also interact with the teams working on the structure of the rover to identify possible hardware implementations for the proposed solution. Here, you will be confronted with novel design challenges related to integrating constraints and requirements of the visual odometry system while following a consistent path on the Martian surface. You will be part of a subsystem development project and strongly involved in the systems engineering aspects of the project. Your expertise should guide important decisions in the design and optimization of algorithms. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15+ hours per week for the duration of the project. You will report to the lead systems engineer as well as the Head of Electrical & Software systems. The subsystems that you will have the opportunity of working on include the onboard control algorithms for location estimation as well as management of payload.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics or similar
- Ability to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment with rapid iteration cycles
- Strong background in Control Systems, Predictive Control, Machine Learning and Deep Learning for Control Systems.
- Familiar with Python and Numpy and Scipy libraries
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: Familiarity with Navigation & Control Systems
- Bonus: Experience with the Space systems design process and ECSS standardization
Responsibilities:
- Integrated development of Location and attitude determination algorithm of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Develop novel algorithms for space-specific constrained conditions
- Collaboration with Systems Engineers to define interfaces to other subsystems of the Rover
- Make-or-buy decisions for modules of the hardware associated with design
- Identify strategies of optimization for data processing
Rewards:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to be a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Design, developing and testing of space grade RF electronics.
- Boost your technical aerospace engineering knowledge by developing novel antenna topology and communication architecture.
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, that want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish your work on novel concepts in different aerospace conventions and get known by the international scientific community.
Available Projects: P8 (Transmit-Receive Module Analysis and Design)
About the Position: Do you have a passion for engineering & development? Do you get excited by the prospect of exploring space and the universe? Then Team Tumbleweed might be the right place for you! Team Tumbleweed is an international team of young scientists & engineers designing the next generation of Mars Rovers and we are currently looking for a Telecommunications Engineer. We are currently in the beginning of our long road to mars and thus currently not able to pay wages. Our Electrical Development Team is concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical and Software System on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space grade version of the rover. The examination and integration of suitable solutions requires the applicant to demonstrate insight into the development of On-board Data Handling systems and willingness to learn in a team.
Expectations:
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems, Computer Engineering, Physics or similar
- Ability to work in a challenging and fast-paced environment with rapid iteration cycles
- Strong background in Communications engineering, Laser communications and Optics
- Familiar with Python and Numpy and Scipy libraries
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: Familiarity with Deep space communications
- Bonus: Experience with the Space systems design process and ECSS standardization
Responsibilities:
- Architectural Design for the Transmit and receive module (TRM) of the Tumbleweed Mars Rover
- Schematic and/or PCB design of circuits for the Transmit and receive module
- Collaboration with Systems Engineers to define interfaces to other subsystems of the Rover
- Make-or-buy decisions for modules of the Transmit and receive module
- Test of Transmit and receive module
Rewards:
- Become a trailblazer. Have the opportunity to be a part of a mission that could potentially change the way we explore our solar system planets and exoplanets.
- Design, developing and testing of space grade RF electronics.
- Boost your technical aerospace engineering knowledge by developing novel antenna topology and communication architecture.
- Working with like-minded individuals from all over the world, passionate about space, that want to have a positive impact on society.
- Chance to publish your work novel concepts in different aerospace conventions and get known by the international scientific community.
Available Projects: P8 (Transmit-Receive Module Analysis and Design)
About the Position: Do you have a passion for engineering & development? Do you get excited by the prospect of exploring space and the universe? Then Team Tumbleweed might be the right place for you! Team Tumbleweed is an international team of young scientists & engineers designing the next generation of Mars Rovers and we are currently looking for a Thesis Student in Optical Deep Space Communication. Our Electrical Development Team is concerned with the conceptualization and development of the Electrical and Software Systems on the Tumbleweed rover. This work includes designing as well as simulating the electrical system and its subsystems that should end up in the final space grade version of the rover. The examination and integration of suitable solutions requires the applicant to demonstrate insight into the development of optical communications systems and willingness to learn in a team.
Expectations:
- Be in the final year of your studies at a research university (preferably in your Masters)
- Academic background in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, Optics, Aerospace Engineering, Physics or similar
- Strong academic performance in relevant subjects
- Available full-time for at least 6 months
- Background in Communications engineering, Laser communications and Optics
- Familiar with Python and Numpy and Scipy libraries
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing technical documentation
- Strongly desirable: located in or near Delft, The Netherlands
- Bonus: Familiarity with Deep space communications
- Bonus: Experience with the Space systems design process and ECSS standardization
Responsibilities:
- Be embedded in and supervised by the Electrical and Software team for the duration of your thesis assignment
- Conduct a feasibility study of an optical communication link for deep space that could include aspects such as
- Feasibility
- Performance assessment through simulations
- Deriving hardware requirements
- Concepts of operations
- Technological readiness level
- Effects on the Tumbleweed mission
- Economics of Optical Deep Space Communication
- Cooperate with team members, especially from the Communication Engineering team
Rewards:
- Be part of a young, international and enthusiastic team of volunteers that works on cutting edge space technology.
- Opportunity of making a real impact on the forefront of Mars exploration with your Thesis.
- Work aside other driven and talented people on disruptive space grade technologies.
- Learn about the design of a Swarm of rovers for Mars exploration
- Improve your CV and develop connections to key players in the space industry.
Science
Available Projects: P0 (Mars Demonstrator Mission Science Case Detailed Development)
About the Position: In this position, you will be developing the science case for a novel, wind-driven rover as part of the Mission science project. The position is part-time, with a minimum time commitment of 15 hours per week for the duration of the project. As a mission scientist, you will investigate and develop possible science experiments suitable for the Tumbleweed demonstrator mission. Delving into the field of Martian interior science, atmospheric/climate science and surface geology, and consquently reporting on your findings. This position allows you to be in contact with the planetary science community, space instrumentation, and aerospace engineers. As a Mission scientist, you will be demonstrating the fundamental purpose of the Tumbleweed mission.
Expectations:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English, in particular writing scientific articles
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Academic background or shown interest in Planetary or Earth Sciences, or similar
- Strong affinity for Planetary Science and Space Exploration
- Familiarity with Martian science is beneficial
- Demonstrated experience in report writing
- Location: remote possible, Netherlands preferred
Responsibilities:
- Define and evolve enticing science cases to the point of exact instrument and location requirements.
- Deepen and formalize relations with the planetary science community.
- Create documentation of science investigations.
Rewards:
- Definition of real, meaningful science investigations; representation and advocacy for your case within the scientific community.
- Work with planetary scientists on real mission goals.
- Publishing of findings in paper(s) and attendance of conferences.
GENERAL APPLICATION
About the Position: Would you like to join the team, but you haven’t found a role that would fit your expectations and skills? Then apply for the open position – let us know more about yourself, what you’d like to do, and what skills you have that would help our team to get closer to achieving our mission!
Responsibilities:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Relevant skills & experience relevant to your desired position
About the Position: Would you like to write a thesis on a (sub-)topic of our rover, mission, or the team? Then apply for the Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral thesis – let us know more about yourself, your academic interests, and your potential thesis topic(s) and supervisor ideas, and we’ll take it from there!
Responsibilities:
- Strong communication and intercultural skills
- Excellent written & spoken English
- Willingness for continuous learning and personal development
- Relevant academic skills & experience relevant to your desired thesis topic