Principal Program Manager (TS/SCI)Active$164K

Rocket Lab
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The opportunity

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine.

What you'll do

  • Command the Lifecycle: Build and lead the team that takes highly maneuverable, time-critical mission platforms from a “blank sheet” concept through qualification, responsive production, and flight, and own the technical roadmap that grows the team's core capabilities.

  • Lead the Team of Teams: Run multiple active programs at once, make sound architectural calls with Chief Engineers, navigate the hardest trade-offs in closed-loop guidance and control, on-board autonomy, and propulsion, and personally dive into the most program-threatening problems alongside the team.

  • Build the Bench: Grow an engineering culture where strong people take smart, healthy risks and the best idea wins, no matter who it comes from and coach and develop the next generation of program and team leaders.

  • Own the P&L: Own the program P&L on a Firm Fixed Price basis: build accurate forecasts, hit revenue and margin milestones on time, prepare credible program and capital budgets, and make defensible Make/Buy decisions.

  • Forge the Supply Chain: Manage high-stakes subcontracts and suppliers as strategic partners essential to the mission, protecting schedule and margin.

  • Unblock Excellence: Synchronize cross-functional teams across hardware, software, GNC, and mission assurance and clear roadblocks quickly so the team keeps moving at speed and quality stays high.

What they're looking for

  • Influence the Future: Serve as the primary point of contact for assigned U.S. Government national security customers, and partner with BD & Strategy on proposals and technical narratives that define the next generation of national security mission systems.
  • Bachelor’s degree in physics, math, science, or other technical discipline
  • + years of experience in the aerospace/space industry
  • + years of technical program management experience