Senior Project Manager, Antenna Systems
Full-Time 140000 - 210000 USD per-year-salaryJob Overview
The Antenna Systems Team owns its hardware end to end: RF electronics, structures, mechanisms, and their integration into the spacecraft. The work is interdisciplinary by nature, and a decision on one side routinely moves assumptions on the other. We are looking for a program manager who can operate comfortably in that environment.
This position will be based out of our Saratoga, CA (preferred) or Arlington, TX location.
The Antenna Systems Team owns its hardware end to end: RF electronics, structures, mechanisms, and their integration into the spacecraft. The work is interdisciplinary by nature, and a decision on one side routinely moves assumptions on the other. We are looking for a program manager who can operate comfortably in that environment.
This position will be based out of our Saratoga, CA (preferred) or Arlington, TX location.
What you will do:
- Own the integrated program schedule across RF, mechanical, and manufacturing workstreams, and keep it honest against reality on the floor
- Plan and run the gated lifecycle: SRR, PDR, CDR, qualification and acceptance reviews, with real entry/exit criteria, action tracking, and closure
- Maintain the risk register and drive mitigations to closure rather than letting them age
- Coordinate suppliers, contract manufacturers, and machine shops: quotes, lead times, quality escapes, and schedule recovery when a part slips
- Interface with systems engineering on requirements flow-down, verification planning, and interface control, so the program plan and the technical baseline stay in step
- Keep design, build, and test cycles short: unblock the team, sequence the work, and make sure prototypes and test articles show up when the engineers need them
You will drive the antenna system development program end to end, from early design through qualification and delivery. Concretely, that means:
You will work daily with RF, mechanical, and manufacturing engineers. You need enough technical depth to challenge an estimate, spot a risk before it appears in a status report, and make sensible trades without waiting for an engineer to translate. You do not need to design the hardware, but you need to understand what the designers are telling you and notice when two disciplines are quietly assuming different things.
What you bring to this role:
- 8+ years managing hardware development programs in aerospace or a comparable regulated industry
- Hands-on familiarity with RF and electronic systems: PCB development cycles, board bring-up, RF test campaigns and what makes them slip
- Hands-on familiarity with mechanical development: machining, tolerancing, prototyping workflows, and the practical lead times behind each
- A track record running gated program lifecycles with formal reviews, and the judgment to know when a gate is genuinely passed versus passed on paper
- Working knowledge of systems engineering practice: requirements flow-down, verification and validation planning, interface management
- Comfort in a fast prototyping environment where the plan changes weekly and the program manager is the one keeping it coherent
- Clear, direct communication up and down: engineers get context, leadership gets truth
Nice to have:
- Spacecraft or satellite payload experience, especially through a qualification campaign
- Familiarity with phased arrays or antenna hardware specifically
- Experience managing contract manufacturers and international suppliers
- Exposure to constellation-scale production thinking (design for rate, not just design for one)