Senior Program Operations Engineer

Description

The company builds next-generation space stations and infrastructure using an incremental, hardware-heavy approach that keeps costs low.

Its multi-module station is being built to keep people in orbit continuously for America and its allies, supporting microgravity research and manufacturing and opening a commercial space economy for government, corporate, and private customers.

The 2025 demo flight made the company the only operational commercial space station firm to have flown and run its own spacecraft.

Its first station is scheduled to launch in 2027 and would be the first commercial station in orbit, with more modules to follow.

The company has also announced a high-power satellite line that reuses station components and the demo's heritage.

Based in Long Beach, California, with over 1,000 employees and more than $1 billion in private capital, the company has the facilities to build and operate the next US station. Future plans include habitats for the Moon and Mars, stations for government partners, and other crewed systems.

This senior role reports to the Director, Technical Projects, and leads operations and long-range strategic planning for the program team. You will work with cross-functional groups to turn program requirements into goals that match company operating plans, and partner with adjacent development programs so those plans can actually be carried out. The core aim is to scale the business so the program succeeds.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain the program manifest for the station programs, along with all related long-range and strategic planning
• Set the program's operational requirements that drive company targets, such as headcount, CapEx, and engineering development assets
• Coordinate with finance, manufacturing, industrial engineering, facilities, and people teams to hit operational targets
• Lead initiatives and projects that deliver program and operational goals, build the analytics and dashboards they need, and report progress monthly, quarterly, or both
• Solve problems, resolve conflicts, and make decisions by reasoning from first principles
• Lead every initiative with urgency

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field
• At least 5 years of proven results in engineering, program operations, program or project management, or corporate or business strategy
• Proven track record managing a product across its full lifecycle
• Hands-on use of project and reporting tools such as MS Project, SmartSheet, JIRA, and Confluence
• Proven NPI experience and a working grasp of product lifecycle management from cradle to grave
• Preferred: master's degree in engineering or a related field; an MBA focused on operations or strategy is a plus
• Preferred: examples of scaling a successful program or product to market as a technical contributor or lead
• Preferred: experience across engineering, manufacturing operations, operations management, and business strategy
• Preferred: familiarity with lean and six sigma methods and business finance principles
• Preferred: experience moving products from low-volume to high-volume production; delivery of aerospace, defense, or flight hardware is preferred but not required
• Preferred: strong strategic thinking and the ability to carry out cross-disciplinary tactical plans

Conditions

Full-time, exempt position based in Long Beach, California

Pay range: $133,446 - $189,429 USD

Base pay within the range depends on job-related knowledge, education, skills, experience, business needs, and market demand

Level and pay are set by the selected candidate's experience and demonstrated capability; applicants across experience levels are welcome

Travel up to 20% of the time

Benefits

• Company equity for full-time employees
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents
• Generous paid time off, with up to 20+ days of vacation for exempt staff and up to 10+ days for non-exempt staff; unused vacation can be cashed out annually
• Paid parental leave
• Short and long-term disability insurance and life insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan access
• ClassPass credits and personalized mental healthcare through a third-party provider
• Other discounts and perks
• Free snacks, drip coffee with onsite barista, cold drinks, and dinner meals; lunch is subsidized