Spacecraft Mission Execution Manager

Firefly Aerospace; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace seeks an experienced Manager, Spacecraft Mission Execution to lead a team responsible for executing customer missions across Firefly spacecraft programs, including lunar landers and orbital vehicles. This role emphasizes strong people leadership, technical judgment, and programmatic oversight.

The successful candidate will mentor Mission Managers, drive risk and requirements management, and coordinate with NASA/DoD and commercial customers to ensure milestones from formulation

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or related field required.
• 12+ years in aerospace, spacecraft, launch vehicles, payload integration, systems engineering, or mission operations.
• Experience managing spacecraft missions across lifecycle: formulation, design, integration and test, launch, flight operations.
• Proven leadership of technical personnel, coaching, performance management, career development.
• Experience interfacing with NASA, DoD, or government customers at senior levels.
• Strong understanding of mission integration, requirements management, verification, and test across missions.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop a team of Mission Managers across Firefly spacecraft programs.
• Provide technical and programmatic leadership, mentorship, and escalation support.
• Assign Mission Managers to programs based on complexity and opportunities.
• Drive accountability for successful execution of commitments, milestones, and technical deliverables.
• Maintain visibility of portfolio and manage requirements, interfaces, risks, and schedules.
• Support mission reviews and engage with customers and partners on high-level decisions.
• Collaborate with engineering, program management, ATLO, operations, and contracts to drive execution.

Skills

Aerospace leadership

Mission management

Systems engineering

Customer interface

Team development

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or related field

Master’s degree in aerospace engineering, systems engineering, or related field

Job description

Firefly Aerospace seeks an experienced Manager, Spacecraft Mission Execution to lead a team responsible for executing customer missions across Firefly spacecraft programs, including lunar landers and orbital vehicles. This role emphasizes strong people leadership, technical judgment, and programmatic oversight.

The successful candidate will mentor Mission Managers, drive risk and requirements management, and coordinate with NASA/DoD and commercial customers to ensure milestones from formulation