Engineering Manager, Propulsion Development and Test

Socket.dev; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

HRA/HSA options

PTO and paid holidays

401K

Parental Leave

Job summary

True Anomaly seeks an experienced Propulsion Development and Test Manager to own strategy, execution, and people behind our propulsion program. You will lead propulsion engineers, define development requirements, and steer trades on design options while maturing propulsion capabilities across campaigns.

You will strongly influence safety practices, schedule commitments, and cross‑functional collaboration with civil, mechanical, electrical, and safety teams to deliver ambitious propulsion

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Chemical Engineering.
• 10+ years propulsion/fluids engineering with at least 3 years in leadership.
• Experience leading propulsion test campaigns (hot-fire, cold-flow, pressure tests).
• Hands-on propulsion design, analysis, or test experience.
• Experience with hypergolic propellants and safety standards/regulatory reqs.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams, schedules, and budgets.
• Proven ability to build cohesive technical teams and mentor contributors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, able to present to leadership and external stakeholders.
• U.S. Citizenship required due to government contracts.

Responsibilities

• Directly supervise and develop a team of propulsion development engineers capable of writing requirements, designing, testing and delivering prototype hardware.
• Align propulsion development demand with team capabilities, schedules, and roadmaps.
• Set expectations, provide feedback, conduct performance reviews, and create development plans.
• Foster a culture of technical rigor, safety, accountability, and ownership.
• Address and resolve blockers, resource conflicts, and cross-functional issues.
• Build and execute a roadmap to evaluate propulsion systems, test plans, and hardware upgrades.
• Provide technical oversight for infrastructure trade studies and ensure they align with program needs and budget.
• Review and approve P&IDs, fabrication drawings, and material selections for test stands.
• Champion safety and regulatory coordination, including environmental compliance and permitting.
• Oversee facility design/construction issues and interface with civil, mechanical, electrical, and safety teams.
• Serve as a management-level champion for safety in all design/ops aspects.
• Oversee hardware procurement, fabrication oversight, installation, and commissioning; resolve nonconformances.

Skills

Team leadership

Propulsion systems

Project management

Safety & compliance

Communication

Hypergolic knowledge

Cross-functional coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical/Chemical Eng

Master's degree (preferred)

Job description

Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it.

OUR MISSION

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

OUR VALUES

• Be the offset.We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.
• What would it take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.
• It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.

YOUR MISSION

As Propulsion Development and Test Manager at True Anomaly, you will own the strategy, execution, and lead the people behind our propulsion development program. You will have the opportunity to build from the ground up. You will directly lead a team of propulsion development engineers responsible for defining our development requirements and completing trades on design options, maturing our propulsion capabilities and executing propulsion development test campaigns across our True Anomaly’s propulsion portfolio. This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who is equally comfortable jumping in and analyzing and driving technical decisions as they are developing and managing the people doing that work.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Leadership & People Management

• Directly supervise, including hiring and developing a team of propulsion development engineers, capable of writing requirements, designing, analyzing, testing and delivering prototype hardware on aggressive schedules.
• Align an influx of propulsion development demand with the capabilities, resources and schedules of your team. Collaborate on strategy, schedule commitments and roadmaps to develop propulsion capabilities and deliver product.
• Set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, conduct performance reviews, and create development plans that grow each team member's technical skills and career.
• Foster a team culture grounded in technical rigor, safety, accountability, and ownership.
• Address and resolve technical blockers, resource conflicts, and cross‑functional issues affecting your team.

Propulsion development products

• Build and execute a roadmap to evaluate our propulsion systems at component and system level. Spearhead plans to test early and often, buy down risk with smaller tests. Establish system level tests starting with commercial off the shelf GSE hardware, then swap parts out for more representative flight hardware, increasing fidelity over time.
• Integrate that propulsion test planning with a facility and GSE capability plan. What test capabilities are needed when? What practical limitations of test capability constrain the testing roadmaps.
• Provide technical oversight and approval authority for infrastructure trade studies; ensure trade study conclusions are well-supported and aligned with program needs and budget.
• Review and approve P&IDs, fabrication drawings, material selections, and vendor proposals for test stand hardware.
• Champion safety. Ensure hazard analyses, propellant handling procedures, and regulatory coordination activities are properly resourced and executed.
• Drive resolution of facility design and construction issues, interfacing with civil, mechanical, electrical, and safety teams as needed.
• Serve as a management‑level champion for safety in all aspects of design and operations. Ensure compliance with environmental regulations and permitting. Ensure hypergolic system designs comply with applicable OSHA, EPA, NFPA, and DoD standards.
• Oversee hardware procurement, fabrication oversight, installation, and commissioning activities; resolve nonconformances and design anomalies that require management or cross‑functional engagement.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Chemical Engineering.
• 10+ years of professional experience in propulsion and fluid systems engineering for aerospace, launch vehicle, or defense applications, with at least 3 years in a direct people management or influential leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience leading a team through the development and execution of propulsion test campaigns, including hot‑fire, cold‑flow, and pressure testing.
• Hands‑on background in propulsion or fluid system design, analysis, or test.
• Experience with hypergolic propellant systems, hazardous fluid operations, or high‑pressure propulsion ground systems, including familiarity with applicable safety standards and regulatory requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams, track schedule and budget performance, and surface risks proactively.
• Proven track record of building cohesive technical teams and developing individual contributors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical status and recommendations clearly to senior leadership and external stakeholders.
• U.S. Citizenship required due to government contracts.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Direct experience standing up or significantly expanding a propulsion test facility, including infrastructure planning, safety program development, and regulatory coordination.
• Familiarity with hypergolic propellant handling requirements for NTO, MMH, UDMH, or similar propellants, including material compatibility, PPE, and secondary containment.
• Familiarity with relevant standards: MIL-STD, AIAA propulsion test standards, NASA-STD-5012, ASME B31.3, NFPA 55, or equivalent.
• Experience scaling a propulsion team during a high‑growth or startup phase.
• Master's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Chemical Engineering.
• Active DoD security clearance (Secret or above), or ability to obtain one.

COMPENSATION

• Base Salary: $140,000 to $250,000
• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job‑related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Work Location—Primarily onsite at our GravityWorks factory in Centennial, CO, with regular travel (up to 20%) to our Long Beach, CA factory and vendor/test sites.
• Work environment—the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

True Anomaly is committed to equal employment opportunity on any basis protected by applicable state and federal laws. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us.