Gilmour Space hiring spree
Australian launch firm Gilmour Space posted more than 30 open roles, including senior robotics and flight-dynamics engineering positions, indicating scaling of its space-robotics and launch operations. The hiring push suggests growing demand for onboard autonomy and guidance expertise at small launch firms (x.com/GilmourSpace/status/2042146616145277286).
Gilmour Space is not hiring like a company that just wants a few extra hands. Its website says “30+ open positions” right now, even after its first Eris rocket flight in July 2025 lasted 14 seconds and ended back on the ground. (gspace.com, space.com) That matters because rockets are not built by one launch team. Gilmour says it is building three things at once in Australia: the Eris launch vehicle, the ElaraSat satellite platform, and the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in Queensland. (gspace.com, gspace.com) The launch side is still in test mode. Gilmour’s launch page says Eris TestFlight1 was completed in July 2025 and Eris TestFlight2 is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. (gspace.com) So a hiring surge here is less about replacing people after a failed flight and more about building the machinery for the next one. Gilmour’s own launch timeline says the company now has a licensed orbital spaceport, a launch permit, an approved flight plan, and one full test campaign behind it. (gspace.com) The specific jobs tell you where the pressure is. One advertised senior guidance, navigation and control engineer role says the work includes designing flight-critical software, improving navigation, guidance and control algorithms, and running Monte Carlo simulations, which are repeated computer trials used to see how a rocket behaves when small things go wrong. (simplyhired.com.au) Another listing for flight software says the company wants engineers to build embedded software, support testing, and help operations at remote sites. In rocket terms, that is the code that sits inside the vehicle and keeps talking to sensors, valves, computers, and ground crews in real time. (simplyhired.com.au) Gilmour is also not just a rocket startup anymore. In September 2025, it said its 100-kilogram ElaraSat Multi-Mission Satellite-1 platform was operating in orbit after launching on SpaceX’s Transporter-14 mission in June. (gspace.com, satnews.com) That satellite work helps explain the robotics angle in the hiring. Once a company is building both rockets and satellites, software for autonomy, pointing, navigation, and onboard decision-making stops being a side project and starts becoming shared infrastructure. (gspace.com, gspace.com) The money is there to support the push. On January 20, 2026, Gilmour said it raised 217 million Australian dollars in private equity, with the company describing the round as funding the next phase of growth in Australia’s domestic space capability. (gspace.com) Put those pieces together and the hiring spree looks like a company moving from proving it can light the engine to proving it can run a repeatable space business. Gilmour now has a rocket program aiming for another test flight in late 2026, a satellite bus already in orbit, and more than 30 open roles to turn both into a steadier operation. (gspace.com, gspace.com, gspace.com)
