Senior Manager, Astronaut Engagement

Senior Manager, Astronaut Engagement

Reporting to the Vice President, Astronaut Office & Experience, you will shape and deliver how Virgin Galactic engages with the Astronaut community—from initial onboarding through spaceflight and into the post-flight alumni community. This role sits at the intersection of strategy and execution, combining thoughtful engagement planning with hands-on delivery.

As part of the Astronaut Office & Experience team, you will help build a strong sense of community and confidence across a global group of customers preparing for spaceflight. You will own key engagement touchpoints, communications, and systems that support a consistent, high-quality experience while continuously evolving how we connect with and support our astronauts. Support the company strategy by holding yourself and one another accountable for getting the work done.

This role is based in our Tustin, California office, with potential travel to Spaceport America (New Mexico) and the SpaceShip Factory (Arizona).

Responsibilities

• Own the astronaut engagement journey – execute the astronaut engagement strategy, from the first step of welcoming them into the astronaut community, through spaceflight preparation and into the astronaut alumni community.
• Engage the astronaut community – build and foster strong individual relationships across the community, through focused in-person time and hosting events and experiences. Develop a deep understanding of motivations and inspirations, to inform the ongoing engagement strategy.
• Deliver multi-channel communications – design and execute communications that educate and enrich the community, tailored to individual backgrounds, interests, and engagement levels.
• Lead and execute onboarding into the pre-flight preparation journey – coordinate and deliver the engagement journey in the lead-up to spaceflight, ensuring each individual astronaut completes required tasks and feels informed, confident and supported as the astronaut crews become unified and ready for their mission.
• Manage engagement platforms and tools – serve as the primary stakeholder for the Astronaut Portal, ensuring it functions as the central hub for communication and engagement.
• Leverage data and insights – use CRM data and analytics to segment engagement levels, define success metrics, and tailor strategies accordingly.
• Partner cross-functionally – Work collaboratively to achieve goals and/or complete tasks, specifically working closely with CRM, Astronaut Office, Training, Medical, Security, and Commercial teams to align engagement priorities and deliver a cohesive customer journey.
• Support community-building initiatives and events – foster connection through ambassador networks and regional hubs, identifying meaningful engagement opportunities across key global locations.
• Contribute to forward planning – support the development of the engagement and communications calendar, ensuring a balanced, thoughtful, and scalable approach.
• Continuously improve the experience – identify opportunities to streamline systems, processes, and communications based on feedback and learnings.

Required Skills and Experience

• 10+ years of experience in a high-performing and high-volume premium membership/community, or customer-engagement environment.
• Proven experience of building and delivering effective customer engagement strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships and effectively manage individuals across a diverse, highly engaged global community.
• Exposure to senior executive leadership and high-net-worth customers.
• Strong written communication skills with the ability to convey complex information clearly and confidently.
• Communicate in a manner that is timely, respectful, and open to other ideas.
• Proven ability to think strategically while executing efficiently and pragmatically.
• Natural relationship-builder with strong interpersonal skills and a customer-first mindset.
• Experience working with CRM platforms and system integrations, including Salesforce; familiarity with mass-communication tools such as Marketing Cloud preferred.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to extract insights and translate them into action.
• Comfortable working independently and as part of a globally distributed team.
• Proactive, hands-on approach — no task too small, no challenge too complex.
• Willingness to work across time zones and outside standard office hours as needed.