Rocket firm launches careers of six graduates after thousands of applicants

SIX university graduates have been appointed to engineering roles at one of the UK’s most exciting space start-ups following interest from thousands.

After more than 1,000 applications and a vigorous assessment day; Edward Robertson from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, Conor Melens, Inverness, Edinburgh local Leo Glass, Liam Brymer, Stirling, Magdalena Kraus from Wroclaw, Poland and Amy Markham from Rabat in Malta have kick-started their aerospace careers with Skyrora.

The assessment day – which hosted around 100 candidates from the initial application phase – consisted of a number stages including aptitude tests, company assessments, high level engineering exams, company design projects and speed interviews, amongst other diligent tasks.

Following this assessment, the best performing candidates were handpicked and assigned engineering roles at the Edinburgh-based firm which aims to be the first British space company to launch a rocket from UK soil next year.

One of the new starts Conor Melens, who achieved a first-class MEng Aero-Mechanical Engineering degree at the university of Strathclyde, spent time working for Rolls-Royce Nuclear, gaining valuable experience in design, verification and manufacturing jobs within engineering before applying to the role with Skyrora.


Conor said:

“It has always been my career goal to work within the space industry. However, the opportunities for a fresh engineer were limited. I jumped at the opportunity to apply for a project engineering role for Skyrora as soon as I saw the posting!”

Another candidate, University of Glasgow, Aeronautical Engineering graduate, Amy Markham, found the assessment day to be demanding; yet feels this process as lead to even greater satisfaction in getting the job.


Amy said:

“The assessment centre was fast-paced and challenging; having been to a few assessment centres before, this was the most challenging one I’ve been to, making the job even more rewarding.”

The six successful candidates are already underway with their STEM jobs at the Scottish-based firm and are part of creating a more environmentally cautious, sustainable space industry.


Head of Engineering at Skyrora, Dr Jack James Marlow, said:

“We have six brilliant young talents here that we are really excited about getting into the thick of it.

With the sheer volume of applicants and those at the assessment day, it’s a testament to Amy, Conor, Leo, Liam, Magdalena and Edward for performing so well and showing us why they are right for Skyrora.

There were so many strong applicants across the board at our assessment day so we’d urge everyone to continue applying for roles at this exciting group.”

Skyrora’s mission to be the first firm to launch a rocket from the UK has recently become even more tangible, having recently sealed a deal with a Scottish spaceport.


Jack-James said:

“There is so many exciting projects going on at Skyrora at the moment, it’s a really dynamic place for our graduates to work.

The new members of the team can help us on our mission to orbit, whilst doing it sustainably.”

The space sector is made up of more than engineers and scientists. Skyrora offer opportunities for different career types and welcome transferable skills across the board. They continue to hire from a range of different skills, qualities and backgrounds.

Skyrora are also progressing environmentally whilst making huge advances in the space industry. The Edinburgh based company place education and sustainability at the heart of their core values as well as aiming to make space history.