Inverness graduate wins race for project engineering role at Skyrora which aims to be first British space company to launch a rocket from UK soil
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Inverness graduate Conor Melens has been selected from thousands of applicants to launch his aerospace career at one of the UK’s most exciting space start-ups.
He is one of six graduates appointed to engineering roles at Edinburgh-based Skyrora which aims to be the first British space company to launch a rocket from UK soil next year.
The 25-year-old former Charleston Academy pupil left the University of Strathclyde in 2019 with a first-class degree in aero-mechanical engineering and accepted a graduate scheme with Rolls-Royce Nuclear, gaining engineering experience in design and manufacturing roles.
He landed the Skyrora role following a gruelling application process attracting more than 1000 applications which were whittled down to 100 who attended an assessment day.
"It has always been my career goal to work within the space industry," he said.
"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."
He was delighted to make it through the process including the assessment day which included aptitude tests, company assessments, high-level engineering exams, group design projects and speed interviews.
"It was extremely challenging and competitive, pushing applicants to their highest abilities," he said.
Head of engineering at Skyrora, Dr Jack James Marlow, said with the sheer volume of applicants and those at the assessment day, it was testament to Conor and the other applicants for performing so well and showing why they were right for Skyrora.
"We have six brilliant young talents here that we are really excited about getting into the thick of it," he said.
"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 more tangible, having recently sealed a deal with a Scottish space port.
Dr Marlow added: "There are 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."
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