Beyond Gravity becoming the biggest space company in Portugal by creating 200 jobs

Beyond Gravity’s new site in Lisbon will foster emerging technologies such as AI, enhancing the company’s entire IT core and digital infrastructure. Lisbon will be working alongside Beyond Gravity’s 12 existing international locations. This Innovation & Digital Hub will allow Beyond Gravity to take a leading role as an agile innovator in the space industry, drive growth and stay at the very top of engineering. With its 40-year history, Beyond Gravity is the preferred supplier of launch vehicles such as the new European Ariane 6 Launcher and is a leader in selected satellite products and constellations in the space sector. Moreover, the company is also an important supplier for the lithography industry.

200 professionals by 2025

The expansion of the new site offers attractive employment opportunities to tap into Portugal’s attractive talent pool in engineering and digital technology. Beyond Gravity plans to hire more than 50 new employees this year, mainly in the engineering, IT and financial areas, integrating 200 professionals by 2025, becoming the largest aerospace engineering company operating in Portugal. 

André Wall, CEO of Beyond Gravity is celebrating Beyond Gravity’s commitment to innovation: "We are thrilled to announce the launch of our Innovation & Digital Hub in Lisbon. This strategic move underscores our unwavering dedication to capturing top-tier talent in Space Engineering, Digital, and Innovation. By opening our doors to over 50 new team members this year and aiming to reach 200 by 2025, we are on a trajectory to become the premier space engineering company in Lisbon.” The Portuguese capital has been chosen as the 13 sites for Beyond Gravity after a careful analysis. Lisbon stood out with the concentration of technical universities, an attractive location, a dynamic start-up environment, a growing space ecosystem, among other equally important aspects. “In addition, Portugal has a pool of highly specialized professionals who are difficult to find elsewhere, and who will contribute to our company's growth in the coming years. It will put us in an even better position to respond to the needs and expectations of our clients around the world," André Wall adds.

Ricardo Conde, the President of the Portuguese Space Agency, considers that the establishment of Beyond Gravity's hub in Portugal will significantly contribute to the expansion of the national space ecosystem: “The Portuguese space ecosystem is steadily growing, and the inclusion of Beyond Gravity represents a significant leap forward. Not only is Beyond Gravity a well-established and renowned company, but it also offers a fantastic opportunity for our talented individuals. The Portuguese Space Agency anticipates the emergence of new synergies between Beyond Gravity and the national space ecosystem.”

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Beyond Gravity to Lisbon. Beyond Gravity new innovation & digital hub will be yet another major contribution to further strengthen the positioning of Portugal as a preferred location for Engineering and Tech-enabled operations and crucial for the growth and competitiveness of the space ecosystem in Portugal”, said João Noronha Leal, Executive Board Member of AICEP – Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency.  

Preferred supplier of payload fairings and satellite products

Beyond Gravity is the preferred supplier of structures for all types of launch vehicles and is a leader in selected satellite products and constellations in the space sector. The company is organized into three divisions: The Launchers division manufactures payload fairings for various European, American, and Japanese launch vehicles, amongst other things. The Satellites division supplies almost all the core elements of a satellite – from the structure to the computer and the antenna. And the Lithography division manufactures special actuators and apertures which are used for the nanometer-precise exposure of wafers (semiconductor silicon substrate).

Customers from Amazon to ESA and NASA to Rocket Lab

Beyond Gravity has supplied products for hundreds of different missions for more than 40 years and is currently working on 400 projects. The company’s current customers include companies such as ESA, NASA, Maxar, Rocket Lab; Ball Aerospace, Airbus Defence & Space, Thales Alenia Space, Amazon, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Ariane Group and Mitsubishi. The current 1600 employees are spread across 13 locations in seven countries (Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Germany, USA, Finland and Portugal), develop and manufacture products for satellites, launch vehicles and the semiconductor industry. In 2022, the company generated revenues of around 356 million Swiss francs (365 million euros), and this figure is expected to grow.