Senior Program Manager II(TS/SCI)

Description

The company is an end-to-end space company that designs and builds rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems, with missions aimed at the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The Space Systems team builds complete spacecraft, precision payloads, and components such as solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, and radios. It has supported more than 1,700 missions, including interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing, and national security and defense work, with partners such as NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.

This is a Senior Program Manager II role (TS/SCI) based at the company's global headquarters in Long Beach, CA. You act as the program lead for one of the company's most sensitive next-generation mission platforms, owning the technical roadmap and major programmatic decisions from first prototype through flight qualification and into responsive production. You will work closely with warfighters to understand their operational problems and turn them into concrete technical milestones. The program will depend on you.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the team that takes highly maneuverable, time-critical mission platforms from concept through qualification, responsive production, and flight, and own the technical roadmap that grows the team's core capabilities.
• Run several active programs at once, make architectural decisions with Chief Engineers, work through the hardest trade-offs in closed-loop guidance and control, on-board autonomy, and propulsion, and get hands-on with the problems that threaten the program.
• Build an engineering culture where capable people take smart, sustainable risks and the best idea wins regardless of its source. Coach and develop the next generation of program and team leaders.
• Own the program P&L on a Firm Fixed Price basis. Produce accurate forecasts, meet revenue and margin milestones on time, prepare program and capital budgets, and make defensible Make/Buy decisions.
• Manage high-stakes subcontracts and suppliers as strategic partners to the mission, protecting schedule and margin.
• Coordinate hardware, software, GNC, and mission assurance teams, and clear roadblocks quickly so the team keeps moving at pace without losing quality.
• Serve as the main point of contact for assigned U.S. Government national security customers, and work with BD & Strategy on proposals and technical narratives for the next generation of national security mission systems.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in physics, math, science, or another technical discipline.
• 8+ years of experience in the aerospace or space industry.
• 5+ years of technical program management experience.
• Depth in at least one of the following areas: a proven record of moving integrated hardware and software systems from early prototypes to fully qualified, flight-ready platforms; understanding of EO/IR sensing, optical payload architectures, or focal plane arrays; familiarity with takt time, line-of-balance, design-for-manufacturing, and learning-curve economics; experience finding tooling, supply-chain, or yield risks and removing them before they affect throughput; understanding of RADAR, SAR, or advanced communication system architectures.
• Experience identifying technical, schedule, or supply-chain risk and removing it before it affects the mission.
• An active TS/SCI clearance.
• Nice to have: a playbook for moving low-volume prototypes into responsive production without compromising mission reliability.
• Nice to have: deep experience in National Security Space (NSS) and time-critical mission sets.
• Nice to have: a record of negotiating, capturing, and delivering large U.S. Government contracts.
• Nice to have: a master's degree in engineering or a related field, enough to peer-review technical roadmaps.
• Nice to have: working knowledge of Systems Engineering, including trade studies, interface control, and requirement integrity, and familiarity with Jira, Confluence, and ERP systems to keep program health visible.

Conditions

Based at the company's global headquarters in Long Beach, CA.

The role may involve long periods of sitting, standing, walking, and computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.

Level and base salary are decided case by case, based on job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. Base pay range (CA only): $153,000 - $229,500 USD.

For U.S. office candidates: to meet U.S. export rules for space technology, including ITAR, you must be a U.S. citizen, a lawful U.S. permanent resident (Green Card holder), lawfully admitted as a refugee or granted asylum, or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable.

For New Zealand office candidates: background checks, including nationality checks, will be completed before any offer is made, and you must be eligible to access ITAR-regulated equipment and data. You may be ineligible if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a NATO member country, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality.

Benefits

• Competitive base pay plus company stock as part of your total compensation, giving you a direct stake in the company's results.
• Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount on company stock.
• Medical plans: HMO, PPO, and a zero-cost HDHP option with a significant company contribution to the HSA.
• Dental and vision coverage.
• Paid vacation and sick time, plus 11 paid holidays.
• Flexible spending and dependent care accounts.
• Paid parental leave.
• Disability and life insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Subsidized EV charging, onsite fitness centers where available, and discounted gym memberships.
• Complimentary snacks and beverages.
• 50% employee discount on the company merch store, plus other employee discounts.