VP of Engineering & Lead Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

About us

We are EnduroSat! A fast-growing space scale-up at the forefront of satellite innovation, specializing in advanced software-flexible satellites for commercial, governmental, and scientific endeavors.

• This is more than a job, it’s a mission

  We are making space universally accessible and redefining what’s possible.

• We get things done

  We take ownership of what we do, and we work hard to make a difference.

• We are fearless

  Transparency is our only way forward. We dare to address and resolve issues head-on.

• We learn from our mistakes

  We deliver, take informed risks, and evolve to achieve our goals. We compare with the best version of ourselves.

What is the role? 

As our VP of Engineering & Lead Engineer, you will own the final technical delivery of EnduroSat US across hundreds of missions and the engineering organization that creates it. Systems engineering, mechanical, structural and FEA, thermal, software, and the other disciplines all report to you. You hold final technical authority on US programs: you decide what the system looks like, you sign off on the final architecture, and you are accountable when it does not work.

The engineering problem here is not clean-sheet design. Our satellites share a common platform, and the value we deliver is the last mile on top of it — the integration, and mission-specific design that turns a proven bus into a spacecraft that does a particular customer's job. You will assess whether our existing system design can meet a given mission, decide where it must change, and conceive adapted or new capability where it cannot. That takes deeper judgment than drawing from scratch, because every decision must survive contact with a platform, a schedule, and a supply chain that already exist.

You will be in front of customers regularly — large commercial, civil, and defense organizations whose engineering teams will test whether our answers hold up. You will shape mission concepts during capture, defend architectures at PDR and CDR, and make requirements less dumb. You need the depth to take final decisions yourself and exceptional focus to ignore the noise so a mission can achieve what it needs on time and on budget, not the perfect solution that never comes.

You will work as a peer to our VP of Mission & Programs, who owns delivery and the program relationship. You own what we build and whether it will work; they own getting it delivered and flown. You will also be in close contact with the European technological leadership who own the platform you are building on — keeping US and European engineering aligned on standards, architecture, and interfaces is part of this job, not an afterthought.
This role is based in Los Angeles and is primarily on-site, with travel to customers and to our European headquarters. You will report to C-level management.

Some of your daily tasks will include:

1. Technical authority — own what we build

• Hold final technical authority on US programs. You sign the architecture, you arbitrate when disciplines disagree, and you decide how to get a design to the next step.
• Assess our system designs deeply and honestly. Know where the platform meets a mission as it stands and where we are stretching it.
• Know the competitive landscape and how our systems and subsystems stack up in it.
• Own the systems engineering function end to end. Mission analysis, concept of operations, requirements decomposition, subsystem allocation, interface control, verification, and the trades that set the payload integration & design delta.
• Own the technical side of the milestone reviews. Mission & Programs runs the cadence; you are accountable to get us through the program milestones such as SRR, PDR, CDR, and TRR (internally or externally).
• Own technical risk. Identify it, quantify it, decide what is impactful, what should be tested or modified, and tell the program team what it costs.
• Set the engineering standard across disciplines — analysis rigor, margin policy, documentation, design review practice, the rules on when a model is good enough and the judgement when no one else can say.
• Feed on-orbit experience back into design. When Mission Operations finds a problem in flight, you decide what changes in the next build.

2. Customization and new capability — the last mile

• Conceive the technical answer for large customers who need something our platform does not do yet. A new payload interface, a different pointing regime, an unusual thermal or power envelope, a custom data path.
• Lead payload integration engineering. Mechanical, electrical, thermal, and data interfaces; accommodation studies; and the analysis that proves a customer's payload will survive and perform.
• Judge feasibility early and say so. During capture, you are the person who determines whether we can do what is being discussed, what it will take, and what we should decline.
• Separate the genuinely new from the merely unfamiliar. Reuse as much of the platform as possible where it’s suitable and expend engineering effort only when a mission demands it. 
• Build reusable capability rather than one-off solutions. A customization delivered once should become an option for the next customer, not a branch nobody else can maintain.
• Lead the technical conversation with customer engineering teams. Evaluate and negotiate technical proposals, push back on requirements that buy little and cost much, and understand the real end goal rather than the breakdown.

3. Build the US engineering organization

• We have a strong systems engineering core and several specialties in place, and the team needs to grow substantially across systems, mechanical and structural/FEA, thermal, and software. You will define the shape of that org and fill it.
• Grow systems engineering first. It is the function that lets everything else scale, and it is where the customer-facing technical work starts.
• Develop the teams and leaders within your organization. Give them real authority, hold them to the standard, and build the bench so technical decisions do not all route through you.
• Make the US and European engineering organizations work as one technically, while building operational independence in the US. Align on standards, tooling, interfaces, and architecture so a mission designed in the US can be built and flown on our existing platform without translation losses.
• Set up the engineering infrastructure a growing team needs — requirements and configuration management, analysis tooling, design review practice — sized for the team we are, not the one a prime would build, and never at the cost of pace.
• Partner with the VP of Mission & Programs on resourcing. Engineering capacity is the constraint on how many programs we can run, and the two of you own that trade-off together.

What do we look for? 

• MSc or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, or a BSc with equivalent depth demonstrated over a long career
• 12+ years in spacecraft design and development, including 5+ years leading engineering teams
• Deep, current technical depth. You have been a lead systems engineer, chief engineer, or subsystem lead on flight programs, and you can still do the work — run a trade, review an analysis, find the error in someone else's margin stack
• Spacecraft architecture ownership. You have owned the system design of a satellite through at least one full development cycle and seen it fly
• Working knowledge across the disciplines you will lead. Structures and FEA, thermal, power, ADCS, C&DH, comms, and flight software — enough to assess the work and challenge it, with genuine expertise in at least one
• Payload accommodation and integration experience. You have adapted a platform to a customer's payload and owned the interfaces, the analysis, and the result
• Demonstrated technical judgment under constraint. Experience designing within an existing platform, schedule, and supply chain rather than from a blank page
• Customer-facing technical experience. You have presented and defended architectures to a sophisticated customer's engineering team and negotiated requirements with them
• Proven hiring and team-building experience. You have grown an engineering team and can point to the people you brought in
• Excellent written and verbal communication. You can explain a technical decision to an engineer, a program director, and a customer executive, and each should understand it
• Willingness to travel to US and European locations
• Based in the Los Angeles area, or willing to relocate
• US Person status as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.62). This role requires access to export-controlled technical data

Nice to have:

• Satellite development experience — nanosat, ESPA-class, or large satellite — and a feel for the design trade space at that size and cost point
• Experience with a productized or platform-based spacecraft, where the engineering question is how much to change rather than what to build
• Constellation or multi-mission architecture experience
• Hands-on depth in structures and FEA, thermal analysis, or flight software, beyond managing those functions
• Experience with hosted payloads, rideshare accommodation, or unusual payload classes
• Both commercial and government program experience, including familiarity with government technical requirements and compliance
• Experience in a distributed or international engineering organization, especially US–Europe
• Familiarity with spacecraft environmental test campaigns (vibration, thermal vacuum, EMI/EMC)
• Working knowledge of ITAR/EAR
• UML/SysML and model-based systems engineering; Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence)
  
  
  

Why EnduroSat? 

• Fast-paced and delivery-focused culture

  We work with well-defined quarterly-based objectives that allow us to fast-track the progression of our work and improve as we go.

• Tough engineering challenges and hard-core R&D

  You will work on unique space technology and build next-gen innovations, mentored by world-recognized space experts.

• Constant learning and progression

  Own your personal growth through our career progression framework and educational programs.

• Chance to join our space educational program

  Meet international space experts and improve your knowledge and skillset through our hands-on educational program.

What do we offer?

• Health insurance coverage
• Matching 401k plan
• Generous team performance-based bonus
• Collaboration with EnduroSat offices in Europe

This role is based in Los Angeles area, at the center of the largest space and defense cluster in the United States — putting you within reach of our customers, launch providers, and partners across California. The position will be primarily on-site and in person at the office, with occasional travel to our headquarters in Europe. 

Salary range: $242,000 - $260,000 per year. The state of California requires listing salary details. The salary will likely be within this range although it may differ based on experience level or other factors.

At EnduroSat, we embrace diversity and strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with fairness and respect. We are committed to equal employment opportunities without discrimination against any employee or job applicant on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.  

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