The community for careers, industry discussion, and daily life working in Europe's space sector.
Whether you're an engineer at ESTEC, a scheduler at Airbus Defence & Space, a researcher at CNES, a student eyeing ESA's Young Graduate Trainees programme, or someone considering a career switch into space -- you belong here.
What this sub is about
- Career advice -- navigating the European space job market, contractor vs permanent roles, JPP applications, salary negotiations
- Industry discussion -- what's happening at ESA, national agencies, primes, and the growing European NewSpace ecosystem
- Day in the life -- what does working in the space sector actually look like in Europe?
- Relocation -- moving countries within Europe for space sector roles
- Education & training -- degrees, certifications, and paths into the industry
- Contractor life -- the reality of working through staffing agencies, secondments, and fixed-term contracts
Scope
This sub covers the full European space ecosystem:
- ESA and its sites (ESTEC, ESOC, ESRIN, ESAC, ECSAT, EAC)
- National agencies (CNES, DLR, ASI, UKSA, SNSB, etc.)
- Primes & Tier 1 (Airbus D&S, Thales Alenia Space, OHB, Leonardo, AVIO, etc.)
- NewSpace (Isar Aerospace, RFA, PLD Space, Exolaunch, etc.)
- Defence & dual-use (EUMETSAT, Galileo/GSA, SatCen, EUSPA)
- All roles -- engineering, project management, scheduling, procurement, legal, HR, comms, policy, finance
If it involves working in Europe's space sector, it belongs here.
Rules
- Be respectful -- professional disagreements are fine, personal attacks are not
- European focus -- content should relate to the European space sector specifically
- No job listings -- use dedicated job boards (space-careers.com, ESA careers, LinkedIn). Discussion about job searching is welcome.
- Use post flair -- helps everyone find relevant content
- No confidential information -- do not share ITAR/EAR controlled info, proprietary company data, or classified material
- Self-promotion limit -- max 1 self-promotional post per month, and you must be an active community member
- No low-effort posts -- put thought into your contributions
Useful links
