Launch Operations Director — Space Vehicle Campaigns

Firefly Aerospace; Vandenberg Village (CA); On-site; USD 195,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Relocation benefits

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a highly skilled Launch Operations Leader to shepherd our fast-paced Vandenberg Launch Operations and Facilities team through each launch cycle.

You will lead multi-disciplinary teams, coordinate with program management, and ensure all procedures, documentation and tools are updated for vehicle or site upgrades. Strong communication and budgeting skills are essential for success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering and operations teams.
• 5+ years in aerospace leadership across complex systems.
• Proficient with MS Excel, MS Project, MS Visio; strong communication.

Responsibilities

• Direct launch campaigns from pre-vehicle arrival to on-pad launch operations.
• Lead daily meetings for vehicle and pad campaigns to ensure work is on track.
• Manage pad maintenance team to maximize pad availability and reduce costs.
• Identify opportunities to reduce launch campaign durations and scope.
• Work with vehicle and operations teams to update procedures and tools for upgrades.
• Develop weekly operating rhythm to keep maintenance and updates on track.
• Coordinate with Program Managers to develop the Integrated Master Schedule for flight operations.
• Lead schedule reviews with leadership showing progress and metrics.
• Develop budgets to meet launch cadences and upgrades.
• Participate in hiring for launch operations and facilities teams.
• Coordinate with Safety Teams to ensure deliverables and reviews.
• Ensure documentation and contracts are in place for each campaign.

Skills

Leadership

Aerospace leadership

Communication

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Project Engineering/Aircraft Operations

Tools

MS Excel

MS Project

MS Visio

Confluence

Jira

Job description

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a highly skilled Launch Operations Leader to shepherd our fast-paced Vandenberg Launch Operations and Facilities team through each launch cycle.

You will lead multi-disciplinary teams, coordinate with program management, and ensure all procedures, documentation and tools are updated for vehicle or site upgrades. Strong communication and budgeting skills are essential for success.