Project Controls Engineer - Space Programmes

Project Controls Engineer – Space Programmes

At Axient Systems, we are shaping the future of sovereign space capability. Based in Delft, at the heart of the Dutch aerospace ecosystem, we develop advanced satellite systems that support critical commercial and government missions. Our solutions enable secure communications, defence, security, and resilient infrastructure where performance and reliability are essential.

As a growing and ambitious organisation, we offer professionals the opportunity to contribute directly to innovative space programmes that make a real impact on society, security, and technological progress. We are looking for an experienced project controls professional who owns the planning and controls discipline across these programmes — not someone who administers another person’s plan.

The Role

You own project controls for complex space development programmes: the schedule, the cost baseline, the risk picture, and the structural backbones — Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS), and Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) — that tie them together.

You build and maintain the resource-loaded Integrated Master Schedule, run earned value and give the Programme Manager an accurate, defensible view of where time, cost, and quality actually stand. You work autonomously and set the standard for how controls are run.

Overall accountability for programme success (time, cost, quality) sits with the Programme Manager. Your job is to give them — and the wider team — the truth they need to steer.

Key Responsibilities

• Build, own, and maintain the resource-loaded Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), including critical path and dependency analysis
• Establish and maintain the WBS, OBS, and CBS, and keep them aligned across schedule, cost, and engineering
• Run Earned Value Management: set and control baselines, track BCWS / BCWP / ACWP, and produce EAC and ETC
• Lead schedule and cost variance analysis; surface risks, delays, and overruns early and with evidence
• Own the programme risk register and drive mitigation tracking through to closure
• Run change control end to end, including impact assessments on cost and schedule
• Produce weekly and monthly performance reporting that management can act on
• Consolidate engineering, finance, and programme inputs into a single coherent controls picture
• Maintain controls documentation, baselines, and version control with full traceability

Your Profile

• HBO or WO degree in Engineering or a related field — or equivalent demonstrable depth in project controls
• 5+ years' experience in project controls or project planning. General PMO or project support experience alone will not meet this requirement.
• Proven experience building and maintaining resource-loaded Integrated Master Schedules in Primavera P6, MS Project, or an equivalent professional tool
• Demonstrable experience setting up WBS, OBS, and CBS structures from scratch
• Hands-on Earned Value Management: baselines, variance analysis, EAC/ETC
• Demonstrable experience in complex technical development programmes within the space, aerospace, defence, naval, or comparable high-tech sectors is required.
• Strong Excel for modelling, reporting, and analysis
• Familiarity with structured project management methodologies (ECSS or equivalent)
• Willing and able to undergo security screening (VOG required; VGB may apply depending on assignment)

What We Offer

A senior, autonomous role at the centre of how our programmes are run, alongside engineers, programme managers, and domain specialists building missions that matter.

Competitive, market-aligned salary and benefits, real ownership of your discipline, and room to grow as the organisation scales.

Interested?

Apply via the vacancy on LinkedIn or the registration form on our website.

In your application, include a short description of one IMS, WBS, or controls structure you set up yourself — what it covered, the tool you used, and what you owned versus what the team provided. Applications without this will not be reviewed.