Launch services company Orbex is hiring an additional 50 staff over the next six months.
The new team members will support its final push to prepare for a first vertical rocket launch from UK soil.
Many of the new roles will support testing of the complete rocket at the Orbex LP1 launch platform test facility at Kinloss.
The facility allows for full dress rehearsals of rocket launches at the site situated a few miles from the Orbex headquarters in Forres.
The new roles will also strengthen existing teams responsible for key areas of development of the rocket, including propulsion, structures, avionics, machining and embedded software.
Other recruitment areas will facilitate communications between ground staff and the rocket in flight, covering fields such as guidance, navigation and control systems, sensors, data capture, ground segment software and radio engineering.
A further 15 of the new roles will be non-technical positions, which require no past experience of the space or aerospace industry and cover areas such as logistics, finance and procurement.
Orbex recently revealed the full rocket in its final form, making this the first full orbital micro-launcher to be unveiled in Europe.
The innovative Orbex Prime rocket will be the first orbital rocket to be powered by bio-propane, which should reduce carbon emissions by up to 96%.
The sustainability credentials extend to the company's spaceport of Space Hub Sutherland on the north coast of Scotland, which aims to become the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceport.
Prime is a ‘micro-launcher’ rocket, designed to transport small satellites weighing around 150kg to low Earth orbit.
Chief executive Chris Larmour said: “We have already tripled the size of our team over the last 12 months - and now, the roles we're recruiting for are the clearest demonstration that we're in the final countdown to launch from UK soil.
“There's no better time to join Orbex - we have an extremely exciting few years ahead of us and we encourage people to find out more about the roles we have on offer.”
Employment Minister Richard Lochhead commented: “These jobs will bring us a step closer to achieving our ambition of 20,000 jobs in the Scottish space sector by 2030.
“Orbex is bringing high-value jobs to Moray while inspiring the study of science and engineering – which will help create future rocket scientists.”
David Oxley, director of strategic projects at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, added: “We are fast approaching a time when Scottish-made satellites will be sent into low Earth orbit from Scottish spaceports, using rockets designed and manufactured in Scotland.
“That vision would have seemed far-fetched just a few years ago, and Orbex is playing a major role in making it a reality.“
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