Mission Operations Manager II / III

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands‑on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

What does SciTec bring to the Firefly family?
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What does SciTec bring to the Firefly family?
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Peep our Elytra orbiter being assembled in the ...

Peep our Elytra orbiter being assembled in the ...

Start your week with another Manufacturing Minute! ...

Start your week with another Manufacturing Minute! ...

This World Space Week, remember to look up and ...

This World Space Week, remember to look up and ...

The engine powering Alpha`s first stage is truly ...

The engine powering Alpha`s first stage is truly ...

More cleanroom space. More spacecraft in ...

More cleanroom space. More spacecraft in ...

Our Values

Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Fireflies believe in perseverance, responsiveness, and mentoring others with a focus on inspiring a better future.

Accountability

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high-quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

• Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
• 3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• Mental health services
• Paid military leave

Space for Your Family

• 12 weeks paid maternity leave
• 4 weeks paid spouse leave
• $20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
• Dog friendly workplace

Space for Your Career

• $10k/year towards trade school or college
• Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills
• Employee-ownership with stock bonuses
• 4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
• $10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

Firefly is seeking an experienced Mission Manager to manage programs (i.e. payload integration, launch vehicle integration, customer mission integration, or other mission management activities for our spacecraft (lunar lander and/or orbital vehicle) program. This person ideally has systems, integration, test, and launch experience, specific to aerospace hardware. The successful candidate will leverage their advanced communication and relationship skills to interface with all engineering disciplines at Firefly involved in the development of spacecraft as well as with outside organizations like the FAA, USAF, NASA, NOAA, and a variety of commercial customers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as the primary engineering and programmatic interface between the Firefly engineering teams and NASA and other payload customers.
• Manage the development and coordination of the key mission performance and interface requirements.
• Build and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICD) for interfaces between the customer payload and spacecraft.
• Manage technical issues related to form, fit, and function of the payload(s), loads, dynamic environments, thermal, EMI/EMC, radiation, contamination, mass properties, mechanical interface, electrical interface, data interfaces, software APIs, and operations.
• Coordinate hardware and software related activities including fit checks, spacecraft integration, spacecraft acceptance testing, launch, and operations planning and execution for the full duration mission.
• Lead technical interchange meetings and design reviews with NASA and other customers. Some travel (<10%) may be required.
• Work closely with each engineering discipline within Firefly to help generate and evaluate acceptable analysis factors of safety and test plans that meet both Range requirements and Mission Assurance requirements.

Basic Qualification Mission Manager II

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or related field
• Experience integrating payloads or spacecraft
• 3+ years’ experience in the aerospace industry
• Experience working with an external aerospace customer or internal product team
• Basic working knowledge of aerospace qualification and acceptance testing defined by GEVS.
• Basic working knowledge of AFSPCMAN 91-710, MIL-STD-882, RCC-319-14 and NASA Standards 8719.13.
• Able to communicate effectively and clearly present technical approaches and findings to peers, management, and external customers.

Basic Qualification Mission Manager III

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or related field
• Experience integrating payloads or spacecraft
• 5+ years’ experience in the aerospace industry
• Experience working as the primary interface with an external aerospace customer or internal product team
• Advanced working knowledge of aerospace qualification and acceptance testing defined by GEVS.
• Advanced working knowledge of AFSPCMAN 91-710, MIL-STD-882, RCC-319-14 and NASA Standards 8719.13.
• Excellent communications skills (written and oral). Able to communicate effectively and clearly present technical approaches and findings to peers, management, and external customers.
• Experience integrating payloads onto spacecraft or spacecraft to launch vehicles
• Experience with deployment mechanisms or with robotics and actuators for spacecraft
• Experience working with vendors
• Experience in writing proposals and in business development
• Experience with risk management and change control

Primary Level Salary Range:

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

Firefly is seeking an experienced Mission Manager to manage programs (i.e. payload integration, launch vehicle integration, customer mission integration, or other mission management activities for our spacecraft (lunar lander and/or orbital vehicle) program. This person ideally has systems, integration, test, and launch experience, specific to aerospace hardware. The successful candidate will leverage their advanced communication and relationship skills to interface with all engineering disciplines at Firefly involved in the development of spacecraft as well as with outside organizations like the FAA, USAF, NASA, NOAA, and a variety of commercial customers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as the primary engineering and programmatic interface between the Firefly engineering teams and NASA and other payload customers.
• Manage the development and coordination of the key mission performance and interface requirements.
• Build and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICD) for interfaces between the customer payload and spacecraft.
• Manage technical issues related to form, fit, and function of the payload(s), loads, dynamic environments, thermal, EMI/EMC, radiation, contamination, mass properties, mechanical interface, electrical interface, data interfaces, software APIs, and operations.
• Coordinate hardware and software related activities including fit checks, spacecraft integration, spacecraft acceptance testing, launch, and operations planning and execution for the full duration mission.
• Lead technical interchange meetings and design reviews with NASA and other customers. Some travel (<10%) may be required.
• Work closely with each engineering discipline within Firefly to help generate and evaluate acceptable analysis factors of safety and test plans that meet both Range requirements and Mission Assurance requirements.

Basic Qualification Mission Manager II

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or related field
• Experience integrating payloads or spacecraft
• 3+ years’ experience in the aerospace industry
• Experience working with an external aerospace customer or internal product team
• Basic working knowledge of aerospace qualification and acceptance testing defined by GEVS.
• Basic working knowledge of AFSPCMAN 91-710, MIL-STD-882, RCC-319-14 and NASA Standards 8719.13.
• Able to communicate effectively and clearly present technical approaches and findings to peers, management, and external customers.

Basic Qualification Mission Manager III

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or related field
• Experience integrating payloads or spacecraft
• 5+ years’ experience in the aerospace industry
• Experience working as the primary interface with an external aerospace customer or internal product team
• Advanced working knowledge of aerospace qualification and acceptance testing defined by GEVS.
• Advanced working knowledge of AFSPCMAN 91-710, MIL-STD-882, RCC-319-14 and NASA Standards 8719.13.
• Excellent communications skills (written and oral). Able to communicate effectively and clearly present technical approaches and findings to peers, management, and external customers.
• Experience integrating payloads onto spacecraft or spacecraft to launch vehicles
• Experience with deployment mechanisms or with robotics and actuators for spacecraft
• Experience working with vendors
• Experience in writing proposals and in business development
• Experience with risk management and change control

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, relocation benefits, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.