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Team Lead - Propulsion Manufacturing Verified today

Astranis · San Francisco, CA · Propulsion · first seen 2026-09-26
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About the Role

As Propulsion Manufacturing Team Lead you will be responsible for the manufacturing and delivery of propulsion systems for Astranis satellites. You will lead and build a team of propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and aerospace welders.

Your Responsibilities

  • Lead a team of propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and welders; hire and manage 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 propulsion manufacturing activities, 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; work closely with design engineering teams on 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 stakeholders are aware of tasks and deadlines
  • Own both internal and external manufacturing processes, including vendor management and ROI analysis on insourcing
  • Develop new processes and tooling to support manufacturing and assembly of new hardware designs, and 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 and 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 Experience

  • 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

Compensation and Benefits

Base salary: $145,000 to $190,000 USD

Compensation package includes equity via incentive stock options, company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, or refugee/asylee status required to comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations.