Prototype Operations Manager — Space Systems

Blue Origin; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Origin is seeking an experienced people manager to lead a small team of technicians in day-to-day prototyping operations. This role blends operations with relationship-building, requiring effective shop-floor leadership and strong administrative oversight of a skilled fabrication team.

You will supervise 9 technicians, prioritize work, coach skill development, ensure safety, and maintain strong collaboration with internal engineering customers to deliver high-quality prototypes on schedule.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in hands-on fabrication, manufacturing, or prototyping.
• 2+ years direct people management or team lead experience.
• Demonstrated experience in mechanical prototyping, composite fabrication, or soft goods manufacturing.
• Strong organizational and workload management skills.
• Excellent communication with shop floor technicians and engineering stakeholders.
• Experience with material/tooling procurement and vendor coordination.

Responsibilities

• Assign and prioritize daily/weekly work across 9 technicians based on customer demand and team capacity.
• Conduct yearly performance reviews and ongoing feedback/coaching.
• Support team development, training, and skill-building in prototyping disciplines.
• Foster a safe, collaborative, and high-performing shop culture.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for internal engineering customers.
• Translating customer requirements into actionable work assignments.
• Provide status updates, manage expectations, and escalation schedule or technical conflicts as needed.
• Collaborate with customers to scope new prototyping requests and define deliverables.
• Manage material and tooling procurement to support active and upcoming builds.
• Maintain shop readiness including inventory, equipment availability, and consumables.
• Track and manage budget associated with materials and tooling purchases.
• Identify and resolve day-to-day operational blockers.

Skills

Team management

Prototyping

Fabrication

Project coordination

Communication

Job description

Blue Origin is seeking an experienced people manager to lead a small team of technicians in day-to-day prototyping operations. This role blends operations with relationship-building, requiring effective shop-floor leadership and strong administrative oversight of a skilled fabrication team.

You will supervise 9 technicians, prioritize work, coach skill development, ensure safety, and maintain strong collaboration with internal engineering customers to deliver high-quality prototypes on schedule.