About Varda
The environment of space hold the potential to craft products that profoundly enhance life on Earth. Varda is at the forefront of this endeavor, harnessing the unique environment of low earth orbit to produce these innovations and reintroduce them to our world. Our mission transcends mere exploration; we're expanding the economic horizons of humanity.At Varda, you'll be positioned at the nexus of ambition and expertise. Our seasoned team, with its rich legacy in aerospace and technology, has honed its skills in the corridors of industry giants.
Here, your contributions will be both cherished and critiqued by leaders who, with a wealth of experience behind them, are now devoted to the realm of extraterrestrial manufacturing.While our aspirations soar high, our path is grounded in technical pragmatism and operational viability. Our conceptual operations are crystalline material processing and reentry, backed by years of research and development anchored in the International Space Station's, and commercial space sectors expansive achievements.Join Varda, and work to finally create a bustling in-space ecosystem.
About This Role
As the Senior Program Manager at Varda, you will have the opportunity to lead the engineering effort of our flight program to enable on-orbit manufacturing. As a member of our team, you will serve as a core point of contact for all internal engineering disciplines, subcontractors, regulators, and customers. The program manager excels across a breadth of functions including systems engineering, requirements verification, supply chain, business development, vehicle integration, and project management.
Responsibilities
- Responsible for reporting the vehicle status and critical path items to the team at Varda
- Leads the vehicle build schedule, launch site planning, and confirming payloads meet customer requirements
- Manage a fleet of vehicles through the entirety of their design-build-test-fly process
- Vehicle will be both in build and in flight operations
- Be able identify and clear road blocks from the vehicle build process
- Drive the vehicle build while being mindful of cost, schedule, and risk
- Leads program reviews, organize technical reviews
- Maintains a consistent interface with Varda engineering, operations, and sales teams
- Keeps team aware of new opportunities pull-in schedules
- Travel as needed for customer and supplier meetings (~25%)
- Cutting scope on projects
Basic Qualifications
- 5+ years’ experience as a project or program manager
- U.S. Person status is required as this position needs to access export-controlled data.
- Experience interfacing with engineering teams, production teams, and customer deliverables
- Familiarity with program/project management best practices
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
- Desire to work in a technically complex and fast-moving environment
Bachelor's degree in an engineering, math, or physics related discipline
5+ years of professional experience in a technical aerospace manufacturing
Preferred Skills And Experience
- Able to laugh in the lifeboats
- Willing to work extended hours and weekends when necessary
- Experience developing and presenting the vehicle status to drive decision making
- Deep understanding of interdisciplinary engineering fundamentals and dependencies
Pay Range
- Sr. Program Manager: $135,000 - $185,000 per year
- On site role located in El Segundo, CA
ITAR Requirements
Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. At present, some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than “U.S. Persons” as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our current policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.
“US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)
Learn more about the ITAR here.
Benefits
- Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field to working by your side
- Working in El Segundo, CA - an awesome Southern California beach city with quick access to entertainment and outdoor activities
- Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth
- 401(k) matching
- Unlimited PTO
- Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
- Lunch and snacks provided on site every day. Dinners provided twice a week.
- Maternity / Paternity leave
Varda Space Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, martial status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.
E-Verify Statement
Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.E-Verify Notice Right To Work NoticeRead moreRead more
