Working at Surrey 

Surrey employs almost 300 highly skilled professionals from around the world. Worldwide, more than 230 are our expert, in-house engineers, and experienced project managers who lead the design, build, test, and launch of our satellites.

Guaranteed mission exposure 

We are proud of the fact that the best aerospace engineers in the world aspire to work at Surrey. They appreciate the exposure they gain to all the elements of the satellite mission life-cycle: typically our satellites move from early-stage design through to launch within an average window of 2–3 years.

Our relatively small size (compared to the rest of the space industry) means we can offer our staff opportunities and experiences that other companies cannot. Each mission has a focused core team of 15-30 people, although up to 100 people will be involved in various aspects of the project. More than 50% of our staff have worked on at least three different missions and a large group bring the experience of having worked on more than 10 Surrey missions – an unusual level of experience in the space industry. 

Teamwork and opportunities 

Our missions are dependent on our teamwork and we find that giving people the opportunity to demonstrate their talents makes Surrey a more innovative and motivating place to work – which ultimately benefits our customers.

We have a management style that empowers people, allowing scope for creativity and autonomy. We operate a matrix management structure, which delegates responsibility and decision-making throughout the business. 

Our team

Although we are one of the longest established space satellite companies in the world, our workforce reflects that we are an innovative company, working with a diverse customer base and still growing and expanding our capabilities.

Sixty-five new staff joined us in 2007 and our team worldwide includes people of 15 different nationalities. Our people are highly skilled and experienced and 30% have an MSc or PhD.