Space Operations Center Manager

KBR Careers; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 177,000 - 217,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Relocation benefits

Sign-on bonus

Incentives

Job summary

KBR seeks a Space Operations Center Manager for the Virginia area to lead 24/7 mission monitoring and cross-team integration for critical national security missions. This contingent role requires TS/SCI with a poly and strong leadership across operators, analysts, and technical specialists.

Primary duties include incident response, C3 oversight, and executive-level reporting to senior leadership. Excellent communication is essential to coordinate with partners and deliver timely mission health

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI with Poly required.
• Extensive experience in space enterprise operations, systems integration, dependencies and data flows.
• Strong communication skills (oral and written).

Responsibilities

• Monitor satellite and ground system status and detect mission impacts.
• Lead incident response and coordinate with engineering, security, and intel partners.
• Oversee C3 reporting, alerts, and executive communications.
• Lead a 24/7 operations workforce of operators, analysts and tech specialists.
• Provide senior leadership with accurate operational summaries and incident reports.

Skills

Strong oral and written communications

Education

Master’s Degree in a space-related field

Bachelor’s Degree in a related field

No Degree with 14+ years of experience

Job description

Title: Space Operations Center Manager Belong. Connect. Grow. with KBR! KBR’s National Security Solutions team provides high-end engineering and advanced technology solutions to our customers in the intelligence and national security communities. In this position, your work will have a profound impact on the country’s most critical role – protecting our national security.

Why Join Us? Innovative Projects: KBR’s work is at the forefront of engineering, logistics, operations, science, program management, mission IT and cybersecurity solutions. Collaborative Environment: Be part of a dynamic team that thrives on collaboration and innovation, fostering a supportive and intellectually stimulating workplace. Impactful Work: Your contributions will be pivotal in designing and optimizing defense systems that ensure national security and shape the future of space defense.

This is a contingent position based upon contract award KBR is seeking a highly motivated and career-oriented Space Operations Center Manager to join our team. As the Space Operations Center Manager, you will direct operations and integration activities at the Space Operations Center to synchronize contractor efforts across all technical requirements and do so in coordination with the manager of the partner Space Operations Center.

Primary Responsibilities:

Mission Monitoring & Real-Time Operations

• Maintain continuous oversight of satellite and ground system operational status.
• Ensure timely detection of mission impacts, anomalies, or system degradations.
• Coordinate immediate triage and direct the response to mission-impacting events.

Incident & Crisis Management

• Serve as first-line operational authority during system incidents
• Lead incident response teams and coordinate with engineering, security, and intel partners.
• Provide operational recommendations to senior leadership during time-sensitive events.

Command, Control, & Communications (C3) Oversight

• Ensure reliable communications flow between organization, mission partners, and national intelligence customers.
• Validate reporting, alerts, and operational updates are accurate and timely.
• Oversee operational message traffic, executive notifications, and situational reporting.

Leadership & Workforce Management

• Lead a 24/7 operations shift workforce consisting of operators, analysts, and technical specialists.
• Train, certify, and evaluate operations personnel for mission readiness.
• Establish performance standards, workflow processes, and knowledge management practices.

Coordination with mission partners Reporting & Executive Communication

• Provide senior leadership with accurate, timely operational summaries and incident reports.
• Deliver briefs, mission health updates, and significant activity summaries.
• Ensure reporting supports national-level situational awareness.

Required Qualifications:

Master’s Degree plus 11 years of relevant space domain awareness / operations experience with demonstrated expertise or bachelor’s degree with 12 years of relevant experience with demonstrated experience with demonstrated expertise or No Degree with 14 years of relevant experience with demonstrated experience with demonstrated expertise 2 years relevant operations floor experience 7 years combined experience in space enterprise operations, including working knowledge of systems integration, dependencies and data flows Active TS/SCI with Poly required to be considered Familiarity with DOD satellite operations Be able to perform contract tasks independently and lead teams Strong oral and written communications skills

Basic Compensation: $177,300 - $216,600 This range is for the Virginia area only The offered rate will be based on the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities and/or experience and in consideration of internal parity.

• KBR may offer bonuses, commissions, or other forms of compensation to certain job titles or levels, per internal policy or contractual designation.
• Additional compensation may be in the form of sign on bonus, relocation benefits, short-term incentives, long-term incentives, or discretionary payments for exceptional performance.

Belong, Connect and Grow at KBR At KBR, we are passionate about our people and our Zero Harm culture. These inform all that we do and are at the heart of our commitment to, and ongoing journey toward being a People First company. That commitment is central to our team’s philosophy and fosters an environment where everyone can Belong, Connect and Grow. We Deliver – Together. KBR is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

KBR — Delivering Solutions, Changing the World.

KBR brings together the best and brightest to deliver science, technology and engineering solutions that help governments and companies around the world accomplish their most critical missions and objectives. In everything we do, we are guided by our ONE KBR Values: We Value Our People – We create diverse, inclusive environments in which each person can feel safe, respected and valued, and where everyone has opportunities to grow and reach their full potential. We Deliver – We are uncompromising in our commitment to deliver innovative, high-quality, technology-led solutions for our customers and exceptional, sustainable value for all our stakeholders. We Are People of Integrity – We value honesty, trust, courage, fairness, prudence and tenacity. We believe doing what’s right for the planet, the communities where we work, and our people is good for business. We Empower – We empower our people with a shared purpose, the right tools and the supportive culture they need to be proactive decision-makers, to be adaptive to change, and to succeed. We Are a Team of Teams – We have a will to succeed, but we value the achievements of our team of teams over individual accomplishments. Our collective focus makes us a better, stronger, more effective company. We have also embedded environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles in every business operation and corporate function. Not only are we committed to operating safely, sustainably and equitably, but we are also committed to using our capabilities and expertise to help our customers accomplish their sustainability goals. Worldwide, KBR employs a diverse workforce approximately 29,000 people strong, with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in 40 countries. At KBR, We Deliver.