Director of Permitting, Space & Regulatory Strategy

Reflect Orbital; Hawthorne (NJ); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision coverage

HSA, FSA, and 401K

Unlimited PTO

Healthy lunches provided

Job summary

Reflect Orbital seeks a hands-on Director of Permitting to build and lead the company’s permitting function from the ground up. You will secure site rights, approvals, and relationships across FAA, FCC, and local authorities while coordinating with legal and engineering teams to align permits with tomorrow's satellite program.

Your background should include leading new regulatory functions in fast-moving environments, exceptional stakeholder relations, and a willingness to travel to establish

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in permitting, regulatory affairs, or related field.
• Track record of building a process or function from scratch in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment.
• Comfortable asking regulators questions they’ve never been asked before.
• Strong relationship-building with regulators, landowners, and officials.
• Hands-on, travel-ready, and able to push permits forward one conversation at a time.
• Excellent judgment navigating ambiguity, politics, and competing stakeholder interests.
• Strong written and verbal communication to represent the company credibly.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end permitting and site-operating approvals for every location.
• Build the permitting playbook from the ground up.
• Identify and engage federal, state, and local regulatory bodies and determine permit requirements.
• Build relationships with landowners, utilities, and local officials near target sites.
• Navigate international space law and orbital/spectrum considerations as needed.
• Address light-pollution and environmental concerns raised by regulators and communities.
• Translate regulatory requirements into satellite and mission design constraints.
• Track and manage a live pipeline of site permits as Reflect scales.

Skills

Regulatory affairs

Stakeholder engagement

Policy analysis

Communication

Project management

Travel readiness

Ambiguity navigation

Education

Bachelor's degree in regulatory policy, engineering, or related field

Tools

Regulatory tracking software

Job description

Reflect Orbital seeks a hands-on Director of Permitting to build and lead the company’s permitting function from the ground up. You will secure site rights, approvals, and relationships across FAA, FCC, and local authorities while coordinating with legal and engineering teams to align permits with tomorrow's satellite program.

Your background should include leading new regulatory functions in fast-moving environments, exceptional stakeholder relations, and a willingness to travel to establish