Join Us!
If you are looking to gain hands-on experience in rocketry, look no further than TU Delft’s student rocketry society, DARE. Our society comprises of over 200 students who work towards ambitious goals through various small and large-scale projects. Members of our society hold organizational, technical or creative positions within our projects and gain new skills while contributing to some of the most advanced rockets students have ever built.
There are several ways you can get involved in our society, the most advanced rocket society in the Netherlands. Below you will see current vacancies in our project, typical recruitment periods as well as information on our introduction to rocketry program: SRP. Below you can read about the current open positions, the yearly recruitment options and all full-time positions in our flagship project, Stratos V.
Please note that in order to be part of DARE, you must receive an exemption from the 2017 North Korea Sanctions Agreement. We will assist you in obtaining the necessary documents after your admission into the society.
Current Open Positions
The following cards below outline all the part-time positions within DARE that are currently open for applications. Apply before the deadline at 23:59 on the 2nd of June 2023 for the chance to join us in pushing the boundaries of student rocketry!
If you have any questions regarding the current recruitment round, do not hesitate to contact us at recruitment@dare.tudelft.nl.
If you are interested in full-time positions, do not hesitate to contact us about the possibilities.
Arc: Electric Propulsion Team (~5h/wk)
Arc is developing a Pulsed Plasma Thruster, a cutting-edge technology with immense potential for space propulsion. We are looking for people interested in electric space propulsion and working on and with plasma, vacuum and electrical systems as well as mechanical design and systems engineering.
Monolith: Green Propulsion Team (~5h/wk)
Monolith is a team that aims to create clean, green rocket engines, promoting sustainable rocketry. We are looking for people who want hands-on experience with propulsion, feed system operations and testing. Experience with chemistry is preferred. Additionally, we are looking for a PR person to take pictures and document tests.
Solids Propulsion Team (~8h/wk)
Solid Six is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge advancements in solid propellant combustion. We are looking for chemists, people who have knowledge of chemical reactions and preferably experience with handling reactive substances who are interested to apply these skills to solid propellant combustion.
Read more about Solids
CanSat Committee (~8h/wk)
The CanSat Committee is looking for motivated and skilled people looking to help out developing and manufacturing rockets for the European Space Agency's yearly CanSat competition. We are looking for a Structural Engineer, Recovery Engineer, Electrical Engineer and Systems Engineer.
Read more about CanSat
Parachute Research Group (PRG) (~8h/wk)
The Parachute Research Group (PRG) works on expanding and improving the already available recovery systems. We are looking for people interested in one of our projects working on a steerable parafoil recovery system, R2B.
Read more about PRG
Open Positions - Stratos V
Stratos V Partnerships (~15h/wk)
As a Partnerships Manager with Project Stratos, your role will involve identifying, acquiring, and maintaining partnerships with companies to secure funding, resources, and expertise. You will oversee existing partnerships, complete agreements, and develop strategies to attract new partners.
Stratos V Public Relations & Marketing (~15h/wk)
As a Public Relations & Marketing Manager with Project Stratos, you'll have the opportunity to showcase our cutting-edge systems to a global audience. Your role will involve promoting team activities and achievements through social media posts, videos, and event organization. You'll capture footage, write stories, and collaborate with Partnerships managers to create impactful events and activities for the project.
Stratos V Electronics & Control (~15h/wk)
As an Electronics & Control Engineer with Project Stratos, you'll develop cutting-edge embedded systems and perform tests like engine hot fires and leak and actuation tests. You'll design and assemble PCBs, microcontrollers, and improve the ground system electronics.
Stratos V Propulsion (~15h/wk)
As a Propulsion Engineer with Project Stratos, you'll develop a powerful propulsion system and conduct various tests. You'll collaborate with other departments to ensure proper actuation timing and optimal system pressure. Project Stratos is currently working on the DLX-series Etha-LOx engine, along with a flight-ready feed system and ground system quick disconnects.
Stratos V Recovery (~15h/wk)
As a Recovery Engineer with Project Stratos, you'll develop the largest student-built parachute for our fully reusable rocket. You'll conduct tests including wind tunnel tests and parachute deployment tests, and design and manufacture the main decelerator, secondary decelerator, and deployment device.
Stratos V Simulations (~15h/wk)
As a Simulations Engineer with Project Stratos, you'll develop an in-house trajectory simulations tool and utilize ANSYS and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for the rocket's individual parts and the full vehicle. Working closely with most departments, you'll provide CFD support for tasks like fin shape validation and parachute stability.
Stratos V Structures (~15h/wk)
As a Structures Engineer with Project Stratos, you'll develop the rocket's main body, focusing on weight optimization. You'll conduct tests like hydrostatic tank pressure tests and cryogenic proofing tests. Your responsibilities include designing and manufacturing propellant and pressurant tanks and fins.
Stratos Turbomachinery R&D (~15h/wk)
The Turbomachinery team is currently developing the electric pump for the engine developed under Stratos V. We are developing the pump for the next Stratos rockets! We are looking for people interested in gaining hands-on experience with feed systems, high rpms, high power, and testing operations as we progress towards manufacturing and testing.
Yearly Recruitment Options
Project Recruitment
DARE is a diverse society of students looking to educate and innovate in all areas of rocket technology. There are multiple projects within the society investigating the application of unique and novel technologies.
The flagship project, Stratos V, is the largest team of DARE. To achieve its goals, it has fulltime team. Every year Stratos V recruits a new full-time team every year in February.
Besides this, we also host recruitment and interest events at the end of the academic year, around May for all teams to recruit parttime members, including Stratos V. Lastly, when specific positions in these projects become available, a vacancy post will be published above.
Stay informed about recruitment opportunities by following our social media accounts and visiting the website regularly.
Small Rocket Project
If you are a first-year bachelor’s student at TU Delft, you can join our yearly Small Rocket Project (SRP). This introductory program allows students to experience first-hand the excitement of rockets and space technologies.
You will design and build your own rocket in a competition against other students to send an egg to 1km and safely retrieve it without damage!
Recruitment for this project begins in Q2 of each TU Delft academic year. Prior experience is optional for this project, and we encourage students of every faculty to apply.
Stratos Team
The flagship project, Stratos V, is the largest team of DARE. To achieve its goals, it has fulltime team. Every year Stratos V recruits a new full-time team every year in February. We are however always looking for more full-time members.
If you are interested in full-time positions, do not hesitate to contact recruitment@projectstratos.nl for any further inquiries.
Management
As a Team Manager of Project Stratos, you will ensure the project’s success by overseeing and guiding the entire team to reach their fullest potential. In addition, you will be the go-to person for any personal or team issues within the team and other human recourses tasks.
You will keep an overview of the entire team and their work to ensure their performance and work environment are at their best. You will motivate and inspire the team, fostering a positive and productive work environment that encourages teamwork and collaboration. You will also oversee all areas of operations and push the team towards their next major milestones, regularly communicating project status and progress to partners with the help of External Relations.
Lastly, you will be responsible for human resource tasks such as recruitment, team bonding events and ensuring a healthy work environment. In case of personal or team challenges, you will be an intermediary to resolve these.
As the Chief Engineer of Project Stratos, you will ensure the project’s success by leading and guiding the engineering efforts of the project.
You will advise on design decisions, providing guidance and ensuring that designs meet high quality and safety standards. Moreover, you will be responsible for quality control and approval of designs, manufacturing, and tests and ensure a coherent design process.
In addition, you will be involved in the hands-on supervision of testing and manufacturing processes, providing technical support and expertise to the team. Lastly, with the Chief Systems Engineer, you will communicate with Department Chiefs on technical issues and helping to find solutions.
As the External Relations Manager of Project Stratos, you will ensure the project’s success by managing relationships with partners, stakeholders and the public. Your goal will be to find the best ways to represent the team and project, building and maintaining strong relationships with partners and boosting the project’s image.
You will lead the External Relations department, ensuring that all efforts align with the project’s goals. You will manage the project’s social media platforms and website, creating enticing content and ensuring a consistent image. Additionally, you will generate creative ways to engage and retain partners and work the Operations & Financial Manager to organize impactful external events to showcase the project’s achievements and engage with key audiences.
You will help all departments to secure necessary resources by talking to partners. In addition, you will be responsible for ensuring that agreements are fulfilled and maintaining quality control over all communications, including emails and social media posts.
As the Systems Engineer of Project Stratos, you will be crucial in ensuring the team completes the project’s goals. You will oversee the development phases for the entire project and individual systems, manage the system requirements for the project and ensure that all of the subsystems in the rocket work together to meet the mission objectives.
In addition, you will be responsible for setting up tools and gather all system parameters using those tools. Your critical thinking and problem-solving skills will be essential as you work to identify and resolve technical issues, ensuring that the project stays on track and meets its goals.
Lastly, you will work hand in hand with the Chief Engineer and Operations Manager to systematically integrate every subsystem of the project to ensure its functional reliability.
As the Operations & Financial Manager of Project Stratos, you will ensure the project’s success by maintaining our workspaces, organising testing campaigns, and managing the financials.
You will be responsible for maintaining the relations with our test sites, launch site, workspace and office space. In addition, you will be responsible for planning, organisation and inventorying for test campaigns and the launch campaign. You will closely work with Chief Engineer and Chief Systems Engineer to achieve this.
In addition, you will work with the External Relations Manager to organise events improving and expanding the project’s image. Lastly, you will manage the project’s finances by creating budgets and managing all team purchases.
External Relations
As a Partnerships Manager with Project Stratos, you will identify, acquire, and maintain partnerships with companies to secure funding, resources, and expertise for the project. This includes overseeing existing partnerships by completing agreements with partners and developing strategies to attract new partners.
You will work closely with all departments to ensure that the project’s needs for resources and knowledge are met and work closely with the Public Relations & Marketing Managers and other Partnership Managers to generate creative ways to engage and retain partners.
As a Public Relations & Marketing Manager with Project Stratos, you will have the opportunity to share all our cutting-edge systems to fellow students and our worldwide audience. You will promote the team’s activities and achievements engagingly and professionally. You will, amongst other things, make social media posts, compile epic videos of renders or system tests, and organize events.
You will closely work with all departments to capture footage and write stories of part manufacturing, system tests and more! You will also closely work with partners and events managers to organize events and activities for the project.
Technical Departments
As an Electronics & Control Engineer with Project Stratos, you will have the opportunity to develop our cutting-edge embedded systems, including the flight computer, engine control unit (ECU), and ground and rocket software, that ensures all systems are monitored and controlled, and telemetry is sent to the ground system. You will also perform various tests such as engine hot fires and leak and actuation tests. You will, amongst other things, design and assemble the printed circuit boards (PCBs) and microcontrollers and improve the current ground remote input-output (RIO).
You will work with the Propulsion team to gather information for the software that actuate all valves. Additionally, you will work with the Recovery team to provide the required signals to deploy the parachutes and the required altitude.
As a Structures Engineer with Project Stratos, you will have the opportunity to develop the rocket’s main body. You will have to design and optimize the structure for weight, which is different than in most other circumstances. You will perform various tests, such as hydrostatic tank pressure tests and cryogenic proofing tests. You will, amongst other things, design and manufacture the propellant and pressurant tanks, the fins, the intertank structure and the transportation cart.
You will closely work with the Simulations team to verify and validate the shape of the outer shell for optimal aerodynamics and with the Propulsion team to ensure the tanks meet the required pressures for optimal engine performance.
As a Recovery Engineer with Project Stratos, you will have the opportunity to develop the largest student-built parachute. This is because Stratos V will be a fully reusable rocket weighing around 150kg. You will also perform various tests, such as wind tunnel tests and parachute deployment tests. You will, amongst other things, design and manufacture the main decelerator, the secondary decelerator, and the deployment device.
You will closely work with the Simulations team to verify the parachute design will maintain the rocket stable and inside the range. Additionally, you will work with the Structures team such that at main decelerator deployment, the Structure can withstand the high g-forces.
As a Simulations Engineer with Project Stratos, you will have the opportunity to develop the in-house trajectory simulations tool. Using ANSYS, you will also be using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for both individual parts of the rocket and the full vehicle.
You will closely work with the Propulsion, Recovery and Structures team to support them with CFD tasks such as fin shape validation and parachute stability.
Simulations Engineers are essential to validate decisions made on vehicle mass budget and weather conditions and communicate expected downrange to the team, ensuring all operations are performed optimally and safely.
As a Propulsion Engineer with Project Stratos, you will have the opportunity to develop a powerful propulsion system that generates the required thrust, including the engine, feed system, and pressurization system. You will also perform various tests such as engine hot fires and leak and actuation tests. You will, amongst other things, design and manufacture valves, actuators, quick disconnects, and mass flow sensors, as well as design and iterate on the engine.
You will work with the Electronics & Control team to ensure all actuations are timed properly such that enough pressure and propellant are provided for the engine to provide the necessary thrust. Additionally, you will work with Structures to correctly attach the feed system to the tanks and ensure optimal pressure within the system.
We are currently working on our next DLX-series Etha-LOx engine, which produces 10kN thrust and has an ISP of 200s. Additionally, we are developing a flight-ready feed system, quick disconnects for our ground system, and much more!
