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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 oversee the manufacturing and delivery of satellite propulsion systems. You will build and lead a team of propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and aerospace welders, and work hands-on with flight hardware to ensure mission success.

Responsibilities

  • Lead, hire, and manage a team of propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and welders.
  • Create and enforce quality standards and processes. Evaluate non-conformances, determine root cause, and develop corrective action plans.
  • Manage day-to-day manufacturing activities, including work assignment and tracking across disciplines.
  • Establish and reinforce a culture of safety and quality in the workplace.
  • Evaluate proposed designs for manufacturability and integration; collaborate with design engineering to support factory output growth to 24 vehicles per year.
  • Create, maintain, and communicate detailed schedules; identify and acquire resources as needed.
  • Own internal and external manufacturing processes, including vendor management and ROI analysis for insourcing decisions.
  • Develop new processes and tooling to support assembly of new hardware and continuous improvement of existing processes.
  • Work hands-on with flight hardware alongside your team.

Requirements

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

Bonus Experience

  • Direct management of engineers, technicians, or welders.
  • Fluid and gas system component design.
  • Low thrust monopropellant, green monopropellant, or electric propulsion systems.
  • Spacecraft fueling and launch operations.
  • AFSPCMAN 91-710 and Range Safety documentation.

Compensation and Benefits

Base salary: $145,000-$190,000 USD.

Total rewards include equity (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.