Director/VP of Engineering - Spacecraft Electric Propulsion Systems

Orbital Arc Corporation; Texas; Presencial; USD 100.000 - 200.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Unlimited PTO

401k with company match

Parental leave

Descripción de la vacante

Orbital Arc Corporation in Houston, TX is seeking a Director or VP of Engineering to lead our growing hardware and propulsion team through thruster development toward flight qualification and production. This player-coach role combines hands-on engineering with strategic leadership in a fast-paced space startup environment.

You will recruit, mentor, and retain top engineers, establish rigorous processes, and partner with the CEO to define technical roadmaps, schedules, and risk management while

Formación

• 10+ years of relevant experience in the space industry.
• Experience taking hardware from design to flight-ready product under constrained budgets and timelines.
• Hands-on expertise in one or more of electrical, thermal, fluid systems, or general aerospace engineering.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams.

Responsabilidades

• Lead and grow the engineering team as Director/VP.
• Mature and guide thruster development, qualification, and productization from TRL 3 to TRL 6.
• Collaborate with the CEO on design requirements and optimization for performance and manufacturability.
• Own and execute engineering work in your depth area until the team is fully built.
• Establish engineering processes, documentation standards, and design reviews.
• Mentor onboarded engineers and raise the technical bar across the team.
• Foster disciplined engineering practices and a culture of calm competence.
• Drive test, integration, and flight qualification campaigns.
• Ensure compliance in EAR/ITAR-regulated environment.

Conocimientos

Electrical engineering

Thermal engineering

Aerospace engineering

Leadership

Educación

Advanced degree in engineering

Descripción del empleo

Job Description

Director / VP of Engineering

Orbital Arc Corporation | Houston, TX (On-site) | Full-Time | Relocation Support Available

About Orbital Arc

Orbital Arc Corporation is a Houston-based space startup developing next-generation electric propulsion thrusters for spacecraft that is ~1/8th the mass, much lower cost, and offers significantly better performance on lower cost fuels than competing Hall Thruster technology. We are moving from early development into productization and flight tests, and we are building the engineering team that will carry our hardware from the lab to orbit. The company recently completed Pre-seed fundraising, and is now focused on growth and technical maturation, hiring our first full-time employees.

The Role

We are seeking a Director or VP of Engineering to lead our engineering team through the completion of thruster development and the transition to a flight-qualified, production-ready product. This is a true player-coach role: you will lead and grow a team of engineers while personally owning significant portions of the engineering work until the team is fully built out.

You will set the technical and cultural tone for the company - instilling structure, efficiency, and disciplined engineering practices, and fostering a culture of calm competence where hard problems get solved quickly, methodically, and well.

What You'll Do

• Be Employee #3. You will directly and meaningfully shape the growth and success of the company and will have a significant voice in defining what we build and how.
• Interview, select, hire, train, and lead the engineering team.
• Mature and guide our development program through the completion of thruster development, qualification, and productization, targeting progress from TRL 3 to TRL 6 hardware during this phase.
• Collaborate directly with the CEO on design requirements and design optimization across performance, mass, and manufacturability.
• Personally own and execute engineering work in your area of depth (e.g., electrical, thermal, fluid systems, or general aerospace engineering) until the team has fully grown.
• Mentor, train, and develop onboarded engineers, raising the technical bar across the team.
• Establish and enforce engineering processes, documentation standards, design reviews, and best practices appropriate for flight hardware.
• Instill structure, efficiency, and sound engineering discipline throughout the company.
• Foster a culture of calm competence - rigorous, low-drama execution under startup pace and pressure.
• Plan and drive test, integration, and flight qualification campaigns.
• Work hands-on within an EAR/ITAR-regulated environment and help maintain compliance in day-to-day engineering practice.

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of relevant experience in the space industry.
• Prior space startup experience taking hardware from the drawing board to a finished, tested, flight-qualified product operating in space with constrained budgets, timelines, and resources.
• Deep hands-on expertise in one or more of: electrical engineering, thermal engineering, fluid systems engineering, or general aerospace engineering.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and grow engineering teams
• Demonstrated ability to produce flight hardware as a hands-on individual contributor.
• Track record of establishing engineering processes, discipline, and best practices in a growing organization.
• Familiarity with working in an EAR/ITAR-regulated environment.
• U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident (required for compliance with U.S. export control regulations).

Highly Desired

• Direct experience with electric propulsion systems (e.g., Hall-effect, ion, or other EP technologies).
• Experience leading flight qualification, environmental test, and acceptance test campaigns.
• Experience scaling hardware from prototype to production.
• Advanced degree in engineering or a related technical field.

Compensation & Benefits

Title, salary, and equity balanced commensurate with experience. (~$100-$200k, ~0.5%-2%, either Director or VP title, depending on specifically relevant experience and aptitude.)

Benefits including health, dental, and vision insurance, unlimited flexible PTO, 401k with 5% company match, and parental leave (6 months fully paid for childbearing parent, 3 mon