Senior Program Lead, Laser Communications

Rocket Lab Corporation; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 167,000 - 259,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grant

Employee stock purchase program

Comprehensive medical plans

Dental and vision coverage

Paid vacation and holidays

401(k) with company match

Merchandise discounts

Job summary

Rocket Lab Corporation in Long Beach, CA, is seeking a Senior Program Manager II for laser communications to champion customer outcomes from award through on-orbit checkout. You will align engineering, production, and product teams to meet schedule, cost, and performance commitments while navigating ITAR constraints.

You will lead multiple concurrent programs, manage risk with suppliers, and mentor future program leaders in a fast-paced space environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or Math.
• 8+ years in space, aerospace, or photonics hardware programs.
• Track record leading hardware programs to delivery under pressure.
• US Person status required; ability to obtain security clearance preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead terminal programs from award through qualification, production at rate, delivery, and on-orbit checkout.
• Run multiple concurrent customer programs with engineers on performance, SWaP, and qualification.
• Own program delivery profiles and manage risk with Operations and Product teams.
• Partner with Supply Chain to manage critical suppliers as strategic partners.
• Own startup, baselining, reviews, and export controls across US/Europe sites.
• Be the trusted customer contact through reviews, acceptance, and delivery.

Skills

Technical depth

Customer delivery

Production delivery

Program financials

Systems & toolchain fluency

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or Math

Tools

Jira

Confluence

ERP/MRP

Job description

Rocket Lab Corporation in Long Beach, CA, is seeking a Senior Program Manager II for laser communications to champion customer outcomes from award through on-orbit checkout. You will align engineering, production, and product teams to meet schedule, cost, and performance commitments while navigating ITAR constraints.

You will lead multiple concurrent programs, manage risk with suppliers, and mentor future program leaders in a fast-paced space environment.