VP Vehicle Engineering — Orbital Return Systems

Outpost Space; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 275,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary $275k–$325k

Annual performance bonuses

Equity

Health insurance

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Paid time off + 9 holidays

401(k) with company match

Lunch stipend

Snacks, coffee & tea

Pet-friendly office

Company events

Job summary

Outpost Space seeks a VP Vehicle Engineering to own the vision, execution, and culture of Carryall and Airdrop programs. Lead architecture, set technical direction, and scale the engineering org for rapid, reliable vehicle delivery.

Reporting to the CTO, you will be the top technical authority across all vehicles, drive design and flight readiness, and engage with executives, customers, and government partners to advance space logistics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or higher in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering.
• 10+ years' experience spanning the full life cycle of space vehicle development.
• Operational technical authority on a complete vehicle program from architecture through flight and anomaly resolution.
• Track record scaling multidisciplinary engineering orgs of 50+ through Directors and Principal ICs.
• Deep fluency across mass, power, GNC, structural loads, and thermal environments.
• Experience bridging R&D and manufacturing (DFM, travelers, acceptance criteria, LRIP).

Responsibilities

• Full accountability for schedule, technical performance, and budget across Carryall and Airdrop; call the hard scope, risks schedule and make/buy trade-offs.
• Hire, develop, and manage engineering leaders across all vehicle disciplines; set the standard for technical excellence, ownership, and pace.
• Own architecture implementation, interface control, and, performance envelopes; enforce design standards, margin policy, and flight readiness criteria; chair PDR, CDR, TRR, and CoFR reviews.
• Own Material Review Board / Failure Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action System rigor, oversee test planning and execution.
• Establish DFM, QMS, configuration management, and acceptance criteria to move Carryall and Airdrop from development into LRIP and fleet-scale production.
• Own make/buy and supplier strategy across propulsion, avionics, TPS, and recovery subsystems.
• Represent vehicle engineering to the CEO, Board, customers, and government stakeholders; align execution with Programs, BD, and Operations.

Skills

Experience leading vehicle programs

Technical authority

Scale engineering orgs

Systems fluency

Manufacturing integration

R&D to manufacturing

Education

Bachelor's or higher in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering

Job description

Outpost Space seeks a VP Vehicle Engineering to own the vision, execution, and culture of Carryall and Airdrop programs. Lead architecture, set technical direction, and scale the engineering org for rapid, reliable vehicle delivery.

Reporting to the CTO, you will be the top technical authority across all vehicles, drive design and flight readiness, and engage with executives, customers, and government partners to advance space logistics.