Senior Manager, Data Engineering

Senior Manager, Data Engineering

True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures space. True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

Your Mission

True Anomaly does not have a central data platform today. Data lives in disconnected systems: PLM, ERP, project management, source control, and documentation tools, with no warehouse, no unified data model, and no programmatic access layer. As Senior Manager of Data Engineering, you will build this capability from scratch: the platform, the pipelines, the team, and the operating model. Your first priority is enabling the AI Platform Engineering team, which depends on a reliable data foundation to deliver on the company's top strategic priority. Beyond AI, the data platform will serve engineering, programs, manufacturing, and business operations across the company. This is a player-coach role. You will be writing code and making architecture decisions on day one while simultaneously hiring and developing a high-performing team.

Responsibilities

• Build the data engineering function from zero: design the data platform architecture, stand up the initial infrastructure, and start delivering value before the team is fully hired
• Hire and lead a team of 5 data engineers, recruiting top-tier technical talent who thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
• Design and build the company's data warehouse, unified data model, and pipeline infrastructure, connecting systems like PLM (Teamcenter), ERP (NetSuite), Jira, Git, and Confluence into a single reliable data layer
• Partner closely with the AI Platform Engineering team to provide the data infrastructure they need as a critical-path dependency for the company's AI strategy
• Serve as the technical authority for data architecture decisions during the team's formative period: technology selection, data modeling patterns, pipeline design, and the foundational choices the rest of the team will build on
• Work across the company to understand data needs from engineering, programs, manufacturing, and business operations, and translate those into a platform that serves all of them

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, data infrastructure, or related fields, with 3+ years building and leading data engineering teams
• Strong hands-on skills in modern data stack technologies: data warehousing (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, or similar), ETL/ELT pipelines, data modeling, and orchestration tools (Airflow, Dagster, or similar)
• Experience building data platforms from scratch, not just maintaining or extending existing ones
• Track record of hiring and developing high-performing engineering teams in fast-paced environments
• Ability to work across the full stack of data engineering: from source system connectivity and pipeline reliability to data modeling and serving layer design
• Strong communication skills and comfort working with stakeholders across technical and non-technical functions to understand requirements and set priorities

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience in aerospace, defense, or manufacturing environments where data spans engineering tools (PLM, MBSE, CAD/CAM) and enterprise systems (ERP, project management)
• Background working with AI/ML teams as a data platform provider, with an understanding of what those teams need from the data layer
• Experience connecting complex, heterogeneous source systems with different schemas, update cadences, and access patterns
• Familiarity with data governance and data quality practices, and experience building organizational trust in data products
• Prior experience at a company poised for aggressive growth where the data platform had to scale ahead of demand
• Active U.S. security clearance at any level

Compensation

• Base Salary: Long Beach - $165,000 to $230,000, Denver - $160,000 to $220,000, SF Bay Area - $185,000 to $250,000
• Equity + Benefits: including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education and experience.

Additional Requirements

• U.S. citizenship required; clearance eligibility required; active clearance at any level preferred
• Work Location: this role will be fully onsite at our facilities in Centennial, CO, Long Beach, CA, or SF Bay Area, CA
• Work environment: is in a standard office, working at a desk or in a production factory.
• Physical demands: may include frequent standing, sitting, walking, bending, and lifting or carrying items up to 20lbs.

This position will be open until it is successfully filled.