Director of Engineering

Stanford Climate Ventures; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Vision/Dental

PTO

401k

Stock options

Job summary

General Galactic seeks a Director of Engineering in Los Angeles to lead technical teams across mechanical, electrical, software, propulsion, and test disciplines. This senior role combines hands-on engineering leadership with strategic direction, shaping product and mission fleet while maintaining rigorous execution.

You will mentor engineers, drive critical design decisions, and uphold high standards in a fast-paced startup environment that seeks to redefine human operations beyond Earth.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or related field.
• 6+ years of experience developing complex aerospace, defense, or other high-performance hardware/software systems.
• Demonstrated ability to solve hard technical problems and make decisions under uncertainty.
• Experience hiring or mentoring exceptional engineers.
• Strong first-principles engineering judgment and rigorous analysis.

Responsibilities

• Own engineering execution and logistics across vehicles, missions, and product lines.
• Serve as a senior technical decision-maker across multiple engineering domains.
• Recruit, mentor, and lead engineers across software, avionics, mechanical, propulsion, and tests.
• Personally contribute to critical technical work.
• Drive architecture decisions with business and customer-facing teams.
• Architect and maintain engineering processes and practices.
• Maintain startup pace and high quality of execution.
• Set and oversee engineering standards.
• Foster ownership, speed, and high standards through first-principles reasoning.

Skills

Leadership

Systems thinking

First principles

Mentoring

Education

PhD in aerospace engineering

MS in aerospace engineering or related

BS in engineering

Job description

About General Galactic

General Galactic designs, builds, and flies advanced spacecraft that redefine what’s possible beyond Earth. Led by former SpaceX, Varda, Impulse, and Relativity engineers, our vision is to dominate cislunar space and build the railway to Mars – expanding access to high-energy orbits and enabling the next generation of missions along the way. Based in Los Angeles, California, we’re leveraging our paradigm-shifting water-based technology to reshape the space domain for good.

Job Description

This is a senior technical leadership role for an exceptional engineer who can operate across mechanical, software, avionics, fluids, test, and systems domains. The ideal candidate is someone who is both a strong individual contributor and a strong technical leader: the kind of person who can make hard engineering decisions, set technical direction, lead high-performing engineers, and personally drive critical work to completion. This is not a middle-management role or a purely administrative role.

As Director of Engineering at General Galactic, you will lead teams while remaining deeply technical and hands-on. As the company grows, this role will have significant ownership and say in the development of the General Galactic product and mission fleet, and help us redefine what it looks like for humans to operate beyond Earth.

Responsibilities may include:

• Own engineering execution and logistics management across vehicles, missions, and product lines, from early architecture through design, build, test, qualification, and mission operations
• Serve as a senior technical decision-maker across mechanical, electrical, software, propulsion, fluids, thermal, test, and systems engineering domains
• Recruit, mentor, and lead exceptional engineers across software, avionics, mechanical, propulsion, test, and systems disciplines
• Personally contribute to critical technical work
• Work with the business and customer-facing team to drive vehicle and system architecture decisions
• Architect and maintain engineering processes and practices for General Galactic
• Maintain high-performing startup pace and quality of execution. Lead the engineering team through rapid development cycles.
• Set and oversee engineering standards
• Maintain a strong engineering culture around ownership, speed, high standards, and first-principles reasoning

Requirements

Successful applicants should have most of the following:

• BS, MS, or PhD in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related technical field
• 6+ years of experience developing complex aerospace, defense, or other high-performance hardware/software systems
• Exceptional technical range across multiple engineering disciplines, including hands-on individual hardware experience
• Demonstrated ability to personally solve hard technical problems and make sound engineering decisions under uncertainty
• Ability to read and challenge mechanical designs, electrical schematics, software architecture, test data, system requirements, and integration plans
• Experience hiring or mentoring exceptional engineers
• Strong first-principles engineering judgment and the ability to make high-quality decisions with incomplete information

Your salary and incentives will be determined individually on the basis of the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

• Benefits include medical/vision/dental/PTO/401k/stock options, and more!

This position requires access to information protected under US export control laws, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and/or the Export Administration Regulations. As such, US person status (including US citizens, U.S. permanent residents, individuals granted U.S. asylum status, or individuals admitted in U.S. refugee status) is a required qualification for this position.

General Galactic Technologies Corporation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.