Team Lead - Propulsion Manufacturing

Astranis; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Healthcare

Disability insurance

Life insurance

401(k) retirement planning

Flexible PTO

On-site meals

Job summary

Astranis seeks a Team Lead for Propulsion Manufacturing to guide a world-class team of propulsion engineers, technicians, and welders. You will drive the manufacture and delivery of satellite propulsion systems, establishing quality, safety, and scalable processes on a fast-growing production line.

You will collaborate with design and manufacturing teams to enable output growth, manage schedules, and optimize workflows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering, 5+ years in hardware manufacturing or production (aerospace preferred).
• Proven leadership via project management, mentorship and people management.
• Hands-on experience with fluid or gas feed systems and CAD design.
• Experience using ERP/MES systems to create procedures and track builds.
• Strong communication and organizational skills; detail oriented.
• Solid systems engineering intuition and ability to translate high-level requirements into design objectives.

Responsibilities

• Lead propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and welders, including hiring and mentoring direct reports.
• Create and enforce quality standards and processes; investigate non-conformances and implement corrective actions.
• Manage day-to-day propulsion manufacturing operations and cross-functional task tracking.
• Foster a safety- and quality-first culture across the shop floor.
• Assess manufacturability of designs with engineering teams to scale outputs up to 24 vehicles/year.
• Develop schedules and communicate deadlines, including resource planning and acquisition.
• Own internal/external manufacturing processes and vendor management; analyze insourcing ROI.
• Develop new processes and tooling; improve existing manufacturing for new hardware designs.
• Work hands-on with flight hardware to ensure mission success.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

People management

Fluid/gas feed systems

3D CAD

ERP/MES systems

Communication

Systems engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering

Tools

ERP/MES software

Job description

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military.

With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.

Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Team Lead - Propulsion Manufacturing

As our Propulsion Manufacturing Team Lead you will be responsible for the manufacturing and delivery of our propulsion systems. You will lead, and continue building, a team of world class propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and aerospace welders.

Role

• Lead a team of Propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and welders to build satellite propulsion systems, including hiring and managing direct reports.
• Create and enforce quality standards and processes to ensure proper verification of unit-level and system-level hardware. Evaluate non-conformances to determine root cause and create corrective action plans and system improvements.
• Manage day-to-day activities of propulsion manufacturing, including creating processes for assigning and tracking work across a multi-disciplinary team.
• Create and enforce a culture of safety and quality throughout the workplace.
• Evaluate proposed designs for manufacturability and integration, and work closely with design engineering teams to new designs and processes to enable factory output growth targets up to 24 vehicles per year.
• Create, maintain and communicate detailed schedules, ensuring your team and other stakeholders are aware of tasks and deadlines, including resource identification and acquisition.
• Own both internal and external manufacturing processes, including vendor management and ROI analysis on insourcing any processes.
• Develop new processes and tooling to support the manufacturing and assembly of new hardware designs, as well as continuous improvement of existing processes.
• Work hands-on with flight hardware alongside your team to ensure mission success.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering.
• 5+ years of professional experience in a hardware manufacturing or production environment (aerospace preferred).
• Demonstrated ability to manage a lab and/or production facilities, equipment, and operations.
• Proven leadership through project management, mentorship, and people management experience.
• Hands-on experience working with fluid or gas feed systems.
• Experience with 3D CAD software, including navigating complex assemblies and designing basic fixturing.
• Ability to use ERP/MES systems for creating procedures, tracking hardware ad builds, and enforcing quality processes.
• Strong communication (written and verbal), organizational skills, and attention to detail.
• Strong mechanical systems engineering intuition and critical thinking. Comfort with ambiguity and turning high-level requirements into clear design/test objectives.

Bonus

• Direct management experience of engineers, technicians, and/or welders.
• Experience with fluid and gas system component design.
• Specific experience with low thrust monopropellant, green monopropellant, and electric propulsion systems
• Experience in spacecraft fueling and launch operations.
• Familiarity with AFSPCMAN 91-710 and other Range Safety documentation and requirements.

What we offer:

All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.

Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.

$145,000 - $190,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and products are built for everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, or background. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we invite all people to join our team and bring their unique perspectives to make us stronger.