Senior RF Systems Program Manager - High-Impact, TS/SCI

Telemetry Today LLC; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 134,000 - 236,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESPP

Medical plans

Dental & Vision

Paid time off

401(k) match

EV charging

Onsite gym

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, seeks a Senior Technical Program Manager II for Advanced RF Systems (TS/SCI) to own the technical roadmap from concept to production. You will lead RF payloads, transponders, SAR, and communications programs, with exposure to national security, civil, and commercial missions.

You will oversee architecture trade-offs, manage multiple active programs, and build a high-performance team while shaping supplier relationships and program strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in physics, math, science, or other technical discipline
• 8+ years of aerospace program management experience
• A demonstrated track record of owning a technical program, product, or team end to end and carrying it across the finish line under real pressure — we hire on what you've shipped, not years logged
• Evidence you've moved real hardware and software from prototype toward scalable, flight-ready production
• Understanding of the nuances of transponders, SAR, or advanced communication systems
• Experience identifying technical, schedule, or supply-chain risk and neutralizing it before it impacts the mission
• Active TS/SCI clearance

Responsibilities

• Command the Lifecycle: Build and lead the team that takes RF payloads, transponders, SAR, and communications systems from a “blank sheet” concept through qualification, high-rate production, and flight, and own the technical roadmap that grows the team's core capabilities.
• Lead the Team of Teams: Run multiple active programs at once, make sound architectural calls with Chief Engineers, navigate the hardest trade-offs in phased arrays, digital signal processing, and high-rate manufacturing, and personally dive into the most program-threatening problems alongside the team.
• Build the Bench: Grow a culture where strong people take smart, healthy risks and the best idea wins, no matter who it comes from, we back bold calls and treat an intelligent miss as the cost of moving fast and coach and develop the next generation of program and team leaders.
• Forge the Supply Chain: Manage high-stakes subcontracts and suppliers as strategic partners essential to the mission, protecting schedule and margin.
• Unblock Excellence: Synchronize cross-functional teams across hardware, software, and spectrum management and clear roadblocks quickly so the team keeps moving at speed and quality stays high.
• Influence the Future: Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned National Security, civil, and commercial customers, and partner with BD & Strategy on proposals and technical narratives that define the next generation of RF systems and payloads.

Skills

Aerospace program management

Technical leadership

System architecture decisions

Transponder/SAR/Comms know-how

Risk identification & mitigation

Active TS/SCI clearance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in physics, math, science, or other technical discipline

Tools

Jira

Confluence

ERP

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA, seeks a Senior Technical Program Manager II for Advanced RF Systems (TS/SCI) to own the technical roadmap from concept to production. You will lead RF payloads, transponders, SAR, and communications programs, with exposure to national security, civil, and commercial missions.

You will oversee architecture trade-offs, manage multiple active programs, and build a high-performance team while shaping supplier relationships and program strategy.