Deputy Program Engineer, Hypersonic Strike

Castelion; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grant

Paid time off

Holidays

Health benefits

Parental leave

Fitness stipend

EV charging onsite

Catered meals

Food during peak periods

Stocked kitchen

Job summary

Castelion is a defense systems company seeking a senior engineer to guide system-level trades for Blackbeard development milestones. You will own vehicle-level configurations, drive cross-disciplinary execution, and ensure readiness across vehicle subsystems, including propulsion, avionics, GNC, software, payload, and ground systems.

The role requires leading readiness reviews, managing technical data deliveries, and rapidly incorporating lessons learned from tests into configurations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical, aerospace, electrical engineering or related field.
• 8+ years of hands-on hardware design, testing and support.
• Demonstrated project management and communication across 100+ organizations.
• Ability to evaluate system-level risk and develop test strategies approved by customer.

Responsibilities

• Own objectives, success criteria, schedule and vehicle configuration for each development test.
• Own integrated technical configuration for each development vehicle and mission.
• Identify and resolve cross-functional issues, interface conflicts and gaps.
• Track vehicle technical maturity, schedule risks, and readiness to leadership.
• Lead vehicle and mission readiness reviews and drive closure of actions.
• Coordinate preflight engineering verification across disciplines.

Skills

Hardware design

Testing

Project management

Communication

System-level risk assessment

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Job description

Castelion is rapidly developing and delivering advanced defense systems at a time when execution and technical excellence matter more than ever. We move fast, focus hard, and build real capability—not just concepts. This is a rare opportunity to join at an early stage where your work will directly shape critical systems, influence major technical decisions, and have immediate real-world impact.

Role Overview

System-level trades for Blackbeard development test milestones and own configuration and release status for all Blackbeard development flights. Serve as the primary technical partner to the product Responsible Engineer, maintaining a vehicle-level understanding of the system and driving technical execution across the program. Set and maintain clear visibility into testing progress across the company including vehicle-level systems integration, propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, software, payload, thermal, and ground systems.

Responsibilities

• Own the objectives, success criteria, schedule, and vehicle configuration for each development test. Align these with program leadership and technical stakeholders.
• Own the integrated technical configuration for each development vehicle and mission, including top-level vehicle CAD, interfaces, configuration baselines, and design release status.
• Identify and resolve cross-functional technical issues, interface conflicts, and configuration gaps that could impact vehicle performance, build, test, or flight.
• Track and communicate vehicle technical maturity, schedule, critical-path risks, and readiness to the broader organization and program leadership.
• Lead vehicle and mission readiness reviews, ensuring technical risks, open work, deviations, and required decisions are clearly understood and driven to closure.
• Coordinate preflight engineering verification across all disciplines, ensuring required analyses, tests, inspections, and technical approvals are completed.
• Own or coordinate key customer technical data deliveries and mission-specific vehicle information.
• Ensure lessons learned from ground and flight testing are rapidly incorporated into subsequent vehicle configurations.
• Operate with broad authority across the program and drive issues to closure regardless of functional ownership.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of hands-on hardware design, testing, and support
• Demonstrated project management and communication skillset across 100+ organizations
• Demonstrated capability to evaluate system-level risk and develop test strategies aligned with and approved by the customer.

Preferred Skills And Experience

• System integration and test for electromechanical hardware and software
• Flight vehicle test experience, first flights, rockets
• Deep ownership mindset – reliably deliver extreme outcomes

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Benefits And Perks

• All full-time employees are granted meaningful long-term equity, sharing in the company's significant growth trajectory.
• Four (4) weeks of paid time off.
• Ten (10) company-paid holidays.
• Comprehensive health benefits - including 100% employee-covered medical and strong dependent coverage, along with dental and vision plans.
• Paid parental leave to support growing families.
• $100 monthly fitness stipend to promote health and performance.
• Onsite EV charging for convenience.
• Catered meals.
• Company-covered food during high-demand periods.
• A fully stocked kitchen to stay fueled throughout the day.

While this position does not currently require a U.S government‑issued security clearance, it may in the near future. Therefore, the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government‑issued security clearance is required. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.

Affirmative Action/EEO Statement

Employment with Castelion is governed on the basis of competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.