Chief Engineer

Socket.dev; Mojave (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Time Off

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Gym memberships nationwide

401(k) with company match

Wellness programs

Job summary

Voyager Technologies in Mojave, CA (onsite) is seeking a Chief Engineer for VTVL systems to lead end-to-end mission success, manage multidisciplinary teams, and align technical execution with budgets and schedules.

You will own vehicle architecture, guide design reviews, drive risk retirement, and collaborate with Lunar Systems to set standards while ensuring manufacturability and testability. U.S. clearance preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, or related engineering with 15 years of experience.
• Technical lead of a major component, subsystem, or vehicle for a complex spacecraft or safety-critical system.
• Experience adjudicating design trade-offs and leading Engineering Review Boards.
• Deep understanding of system architecture, requirements, and technical risk management.
• Ability to translate customer needs and CONOPS into engineering design.

Responsibilities

• Own vehicle architecture, design philosophy, requirements, interfaces, margins, and performance.
• Serve as senior technical authority, resolving cross-functional design issues.
• Lead vehicle design and development from concept through flight test and deployment.
• Own margins (mass, propellant, delta‑V, thrust‑to‑weight) and drive corrective action.
• Identify technical risks and retire them through early testing and analysis.
• Define development, qualification, and flight-test approach to retire risk.
• Collaborate with design standards and engineering rigor; tailor to program risk.
• Partner with manufacturing, test, and operations to ensure manufacturability and testability.

Skills

Technical leadership

System architecture

Risk management

Flight hardware

Verification & tests

Clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Job description

Voyager is an innovative space, defense, and national security technology company committed to advancing and delivering transformative, mission-critical solutions. We tackle the most complex challenges to unlock new frontiers for human progress, fortify national security, and protect critical assets to lead in the race for technological and operational superiority from ground to space.

Forge the Future: Join Voyager Technologies

The future belongs to those who build it. At Voyager Technologies, we’re building technologies that protect lives, expand frontiers and prepare us for what’s next. And we’re doing that with people who are wired to solve, build, adapt and lead. These roles are not for the faint of heart.

You’ll help lay the foundation for humanity's future. Join a culture where innovation thrives, curiosity is rewarded, and impact is real. We’re a company of doers, thinkers and builders, united by purpose and grounded in reality.

If you want to put your skills to work where the stakes are real and the mission is bigger than any one person,forge the future with Voyager.

The Chief Engineer for Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL) systems is an autonomous technical leader responsible for the end-to-end mission success of our VTVL programs by managing multidisciplinary teams, overseeing complex systems engineering processes, and aligning technical execution with budgetary and schedule requirements.

The position reports to the Chief Engineer of Lunar Systems and is part of the Office of Chief Engineering based in Pittsburgh, PA. This role is onsite and can be located either in Mojave, CA, or Long Beach, CA.

In this role, the essential functions are:

• Own the vehicle's technical architecture, design philosophy, requirements, interfaces, margins, and performance allocations, ensuring subsystems integrate into a safe, mission-capable vehicle
• Serve as the program's senior technical authority, providing independent judgment on major design decisions, waivers, risks, and readiness, and resolving cross-functional disagreements on engineering merit
• Lead vehicle-level design and development from concept through qualification, integrated/flight test, and operational deployment
• Own vehicle performance and technical margins (mass, CG, propellant, delta-V, thrust-to-weight, structural/thermal margins, power, comms, control authority), driving corrective action as needed
• Own technical risk identification and retirement, driving early testing of high-risk technologies and failure modes
• Define the development, qualification, and flight-test approach, ensuring the test program retires risk rather than just demonstrating nominal performance
• Works with the Chief Engineer of Lunar Systems to establish design standards and engineering rigor (analysis methods, margins, safety factors, configuration control, documentation) and tailor as needed to the program's risk posture
• Partner with manufacturing, test, and operations to ensure the design is manufacturable, testable, and operable, incorporating field experience into design decisions

If your experience aligns with our basic qualifications and you are inspired by our mission, we’d like to connect. If you don’t see the right role right now, Join Our Talent Community and stay connected as we continue to build what’s next.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or other relevant engineering discipline with 15 years of engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical lead of a major component, subsystem or vehicle for a complex spacecraft, launch vehicle, aircraft, or similarly integrated safety-critical system.
• Experience adjudicating complex technical trade-offs and leading or participating in Engineering Review Boards.
• Deep understanding of how to manage system architecture products, requirements, and technical risk.
• Familiar with understanding of customer needs, CONOPS, and requirements and translating into engineering architecture and detailed design.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Has served as the primary technical spokesperson for a program or project, including responsibility for system architecture, requirements, interfaces, design trades, technical risk, verification, and resolution of cross-subsystem technical issues.
• Direct experience taking flight hardware through development, integration, test, and flight or operational deployment, with demonstrated involvement in major design reviews, test readiness, anomaly resolution, and flight/readiness decisions.
• Experience leading liquid propulsion system projects.
• Current U.S. Security Clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one.

Travel, Physical, and/or Government Mandated Requirements:

• Travel up to 25%, including the possibility of overnights within the US.
• Ability to lift, move or carry items or equipment up to 50 pounds

The good faith base salary rangefor this role is $180,000 - $240,000 at the time of this posting. Where you fall within the range depends on your experience, skills, and location. This range reflects base salary only and does not include benefits or bonus/incentive. This range may be adjusted in the future.

The position may be eligible for lump-sum bonus upon hire.

Voyager offers a highly competitive total compensation package designed to support the well-being, growth, and success of our employees. Employees benefit from a flexible and comprehensive rewards program that supports both professional and personal well-being.

• Flexible Time Off (FTO), empowering employees to take the time they need to recharge and maintain a healthy work-life balance
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their families, with a significant portion of premiums covered by the company and many benefits paid at 100% for employees
• Flexible, affordable gym memberships with 12,700+ options nationwide, including 24 Hour Fitness, EoS Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Blink Fitness, Chuze Fitness, and more! No long-term contracts and FREE on-demand workout videos before you enroll
• 401(k) retirement plan with a 50% company match on contributions up to 8%, supporting long-term financial security
• Company wellness programs that support physical and mental well-being
• Additional voluntary benefits and employee support resources
• The opportunity to work alongside a highly talented team in an innovative, mission-driven environment

Voyager is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (22 CFR Parts 120–130) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR Parts 730–774), applicants for this position must be a U.S. Person: a US Citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., or a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3). Applicants must be eligible to obtain any required export authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran

The statements contained in this job description are intended to describe the general content and requirements for performance of this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all job duties, responsibilities, and requirements. This job description is not an employment agreement or contract. Management has the exclusive right to alter the scope of work within the framework of this job description at any time without prior notice.

California pay range

$180,000 — $240,000 USD