Engineering Manager Mechanical (Space Based Interceptors)

YOUR MISSION

We are seeking a Manager of Space Based Interceptor & Hypersonic Mechanical Engineering to build lead and develop a high-performing team of 6–10 mechanical engineers working across our interceptor kill vehicle and hypersonic flight vehicle programs. This is a people leadership role that also maintains your connection to the work through executing scope. In partnership with other mangers you will co-own organizational health department best practices standard processes requirements technical direction hiring and career development for a team spanning entry-level through staff engineers designing and developing flight hardware that must perform flawlessly in extreme thermal aerodynamic and high-g environments. You will partner closely with systems engineering program management aerodynamics thermal GN&C and propulsion teams to ensure the mechanical engineering function delivers flight-ready hardware with speed precision and quality across all active programs. If you are a seasoned missile defense or hypersonic mechanical engineer ready to lead a team doing some of the most consequential flight vehicle design work in the defense industry this is your mission. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build lead and develop a team of 6–10 Mechanical Engineers across interceptor kill vehicle and hypersonic flight vehicle programs at the GravityWorks facility. 
• Own all people management responsibilities: hiring onboarding performance management compensation reviews career development planning and succession planning; partner with recruiting to define roles calibrate experience levels and close top engineering talent. 
• Set clear performance expectations and individual development plans for each team member; identify and develop future technical leads and staff engineers; foster an inclusive high-trust team culture grounded in True Anomaly's values of relentless ownership intellectual curiosity and first-principles thinking. 
• Serve as the engineering authority and escalation point for space based interceptor and hypersonic mechanical design decisions across all active programs — spanning flight vehicle structures GN&C and seeker packaging TPS design and propulsion integration; develop and maintain mechanical engineering standards design practices GD&T conventions and CAD model management disciplines across the team. 
• Establish design review cadence perform technical checker duties on high-criticality deliverables and ensure quality and completeness of the team's mechanical design packages; chair or oversee formal vehicle design reviews (SRR PDR CDR TRR FRR) and drive closure of technical risks RFIs and action items. 
• Interface directly with program managers chief engineers and customer stakeholders on mechanical status risk and schedule; drive DFM culture into upstream hardware design organizations and establish formal cross-functional touchpoints. 
• Lead resource planning and capacity management across concurrent programs; collaborate with systems engineering aerodynamics thermal GN&C and propulsion teams to ensure cross-discipline integration and system-level compliance and flag resourcing gaps to leadership. 
• Champion continuous improvement in mechanical design efficiency drawing and model quality and hardware delivery cycle time; support proposal efforts and new program captures in partnership with program management and business development. 
• Maintain working-level technical oversight of flight vehicle mechanical design including: primary and secondary structural design and margin compliance GN&C hardware and seeker packaging TPS design and qualification propulsion subsystem mechanical integration mass properties management and ICD ownership; develop and approve qualification and acceptance test plans witness testing and resolve anomalies and non-conformances. 

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering Aerospace Engineering or a related engineering discipline; graduate degree strongly preferred. 
• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in mechanical design with the majority spent on missile defense hypersonic vehicle or high-performance flight system programs; at least 3 years in a formal people management role or equivalent experience leading mentoring and technically directing a team of engineers; demonstrated success hiring developing and retaining engineering talent across multiple experience levels (entry through staff). 
• Clear understanding of product life cycles and program execution; proven track record managing a complex mechanical design portfolio across multiple concurrent flight vehicle programs from concept through test or flight certification including ownership of technical risk schedule and cross-subsystem integration. 
• Demonstrated expertise in flight vehicle structural design for high-dynamic-pressure thermally coupled and high-g flight environments; extensive hands-on experience with GN&C hardware and seeker packaging architecture including precision optical or RF sensor integration vibration isolation and EMI management within kill vehicle or interceptor envelopes. 
• Deep experience with TPS design and high-temperature materials — ablative ceramic and composite systems — and ownership of TPS qualification approaches for hypersonic or re-entry applications; proven experience leading mechanical integration of propulsion subsystems including solid rocket motor interfaces DACS packaging and TVC structural design. 
• Expert-level proficiency in NX (Siemens) and/or SolidWorks including complex multi-subsystem vehicle assemblies and configuration management; mastery of GD&T principles with experience defining and enforcing drawing standards across a team or organization; strong familiarity with relevant defense and aerospace standards (e.g. MIL-SPEC MIL-STD-810 MIL-STD-1540 AIAA S-110) and their application to design analysis and test. 
• Strong cross-functional leadership and executive-level communication skills; ability to influence program management systems engineering aerodynamics thermal GN&C and propulsion organizations without direct authority and to present complex technical topics to senior leadership customers and government stakeholders. 
• U.S. citizenship required; ability to obtain or maintain an active Secret clearance required. TS/SCI eligibility required for certain program assignments. 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Direct management experience leading mechanical engineering teams of 5 or more engineers in a missile defense or defense aerospace environment; prior experience building team processes role ladders and engineering standards from the ground up at a high-growth defense or aerospace company. 
• Prior experience as a lead mechanical engineer or chief engineer on a missile defense or hypersonic program with ownership of vehicle-level mechanical architecture and cross-subsystem integration across multiple programs delivered to flight test or operational fielding. 
• Deep experience with kill vehicle or hit-to-kill interceptor hardware including ultra-mass-constrained structures precision seeker alignment under vibration and thermal loading and flight-critical deployment or divert mechanism design; experience with hypersonic aeroshell design including TPS panel integration structural joint design under aeroheating and ablative material qualification. 
• Background in spacecraft or satellite mechanical design with the ability to apply space environment principles — precision mechanisms electronics packaging launch load structures — as cross-domain technical leverage on missile defense and hypersonic programs. 
• Familiarity with structural analysis and FEA methods (e.g. NASTRAN Ansys); ability to guide and review analysis performed by the broader team. 
• Experience supporting business development proposal writing and new program captures in missile defense or hypersonic domains including DARPA MDA or Air Force Research Laboratory programs. 
• Active Secret or TS/SCI clearance. 

COMPENSATION

• Base Salary: $155000-$225000
• Equity + Benefits including Health Dental Vision HRA/HSA options PTO and paid holidays 401K Parental Leave 

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills education location and experience. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to maintain or obtain TS//SCI clearance
  
• Work Location—this role will be onsite at either our Centennial CO or Long Beach CA location with travel to other sites as needed.
• Work environment—the work environment; temperature noise level inside or outside or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands—the physical demands of the job including bending sitting lifting and driving.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled. To submit your application please follow the directions below. #LI-Onsite

What We Do

Space was once the quietest place in the universe. Now it's crowded contested and confrontational.  We are True Anomaly: the only defense company focused exclusively on space defense. Founded in 2022 by ex-U.S. Space Force members True Anomaly designs and builds advanced systems for space superiority: agile and powerful spacecraft platforms mission software engineered for unmatched command and control and payloads tailored for precision sensing and effects.    True Anomaly is headquartered in Centennial CO with regional offices in Colorado Springs CO Long Beach CA and Washington D.C.  We are hiring and seeking exceptional talent to join True Anomaly from any technical industry or background to bring unique talents perspective and solutions. If you embrace complexity lead instead of follow showcase integrity over ego take ownership for outcomes and measure success by impact we want to hear from you.

Why Work With Us

True Anomaly exists to enable a secure stable and sustainable space environment for the US its allies and partners. We design and build spacecraft and software solutions for space superiority. If you are ready to contribute to the future of space defense we’d love to hear from you.

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