Engineering Manager, Missile Defense Mechanical

True Anomaly•Long Beach, CA

18h•Onsite

About The Position

A new space race has begun. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build innovative technology that solves the next generation of engineering, manufacturing, and operational challenges for space security and sustainability. OUR MISSION The peaceful use of space is essential for continued prosperity on Earth—from communications and finance to navigation and logistics. True Anomaly builds innovative technology at the intersection of spacecraft, software, and AI to enhance the capabilities of the U.S., its allies, and commercial partners. We safeguard global security by ensuring space access and sustainability for all. OUR VALUES Be the offset. We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity What would it take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together YOUR MISSION We are seeking a Manager of Missile Defense & Hypersonic Mechanical Engineering to build, lead, and develop a high-performing team of 6–10 mechanical engineers working across our interceptor, kill vehicle, and hypersonic flight vehicle programs. This is a people leadership role that also maintains your connection to the work through executing scope. In partnership with other mangers you will co-own organizational health, department best practices, standard processes, requirements, technical direction, hiring, and career development for a team spanning entry-level through staff engineers designing and developing flight hardware that must perform flawlessly in extreme thermal, aerodynamic, and high-g environments. You will partner closely with systems engineering, program management, aerodynamics, thermal, GN&C, and propulsion teams to ensure the mechanical engineering function delivers flight-ready hardware with speed, precision, and quality across all active programs. If you are a seasoned missile defense or hypersonic mechanical engineer ready to lead a team doing some of the most consequential flight vehicle design work in the defense industry, this is your mission.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline; graduate degree strongly preferred.
Minimum 10 years of professional experience in mechanical design, with the majority spent on missile defense, hypersonic vehicle, or high-performance flight system programs; at least 3 years in a formal people management role or equivalent experience leading, mentoring, and technically directing a team of engineers; demonstrated success hiring, developing, and retaining engineering talent across multiple experience levels (entry through staff).
Clear understanding of product life cycles and program execution; proven track record managing a complex mechanical design portfolio across multiple concurrent flight vehicle programs from concept through test or flight certification, including ownership of technical risk, schedule, and cross-subsystem integration.
Demonstrated expertise in flight vehicle structural design for high-dynamic-pressure, thermally coupled, and high-g flight environments; extensive hands-on experience with GN&C hardware and seeker packaging architecture, including precision optical or RF sensor integration, vibration isolation, and EMI management within kill vehicle or interceptor envelopes.
Deep experience with TPS design and high-temperature materials — ablative, ceramic, and composite systems — and ownership of TPS qualification approaches for hypersonic or re-entry applications; proven experience leading mechanical integration of propulsion subsystems including solid rocket motor interfaces, DACS packaging, and TVC structural design.
Expert-level proficiency in NX (Siemens) and/or SolidWorks, including complex multi-subsystem vehicle assemblies and configuration management; mastery of GD&T principles with experience defining and enforcing drawing standards across a team or organization; strong familiarity with relevant defense and aerospace standards (e.g., MIL-SPEC, MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-1540, AIAA S-110) and their application to design, analysis, and test.
Strong cross-functional leadership and executive-level communication skills; ability to influence program management, systems engineering, aerodynamics, thermal, GN&C, and propulsion organizations without direct authority, and to present complex technical topics to senior leadership, customers, and government stakeholders.
U.S. citizenship required; ability to obtain or maintain an active Secret clearance required. TS/SCI eligibility required for certain program assignments.

Nice To Haves

Direct management experience leading mechanical engineering teams of 5 or more engineers in a missile defense or defense aerospace environment; prior experience building team processes, role ladders, and engineering standards from the ground up at a high-growth defense or aerospace company.
Prior experience as a lead mechanical engineer or chief engineer on a missile defense or hypersonic program, with ownership of vehicle-level mechanical architecture and cross-subsystem integration across multiple programs delivered to flight test or operational fielding.
Deep experience with kill vehicle or hit-to-kill interceptor hardware, including ultra-mass-constrained structures, precision seeker alignment under vibration and thermal loading, and flight-critical deployment or divert mechanism design; experience with hypersonic aeroshell design including TPS panel integration, structural joint design under aeroheating, and ablative material qualification.
Background in spacecraft or satellite mechanical design, with the ability to apply space environment principles — precision mechanisms, electronics packaging, launch load structures — as cross-domain technical leverage on missile defense and hypersonic programs.
Familiarity with structural analysis and FEA methods (e.g., NASTRAN, Ansys); ability to guide and review analysis performed by the broader team.
Experience supporting business development, proposal writing, and new program captures in missile defense or hypersonic domains, including DARPA, MDA, or Air Force Research Laboratory programs.
Active Secret or TS/SCI clearance.

Responsibilities

Build, lead, and develop a team of 6–10 Mechanical Engineers across interceptor, kill vehicle, and hypersonic flight vehicle programs at the GravityWorks facility.
Own all people management responsibilities: hiring, onboarding, performance management, compensation reviews, career development planning, and succession planning; partner with recruiting to define roles, calibrate experience levels, and close top engineering talent.
Set clear performance expectations and individual development plans for each team member; identify and develop future technical leads and staff engineers; foster an inclusive, high-trust team culture grounded in True Anomaly's values of relentless ownership, intellectual curiosity, and first-principles thinking.
Serve as the engineering authority and escalation point for missile defense and hypersonic mechanical design decisions across all active programs — spanning flight vehicle structures, GN&C and seeker packaging, TPS design, and propulsion integration; develop and maintain mechanical engineering standards, design practices, GD&T conventions, and CAD model management disciplines across the team.
Establish design review cadence, perform technical checker duties on high-criticality deliverables, and ensure quality and completeness of the team's mechanical design packages; chair or oversee formal vehicle design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR) and drive closure of technical risks, RFIs, and action items.
Interface directly with program managers, chief engineers, and customer stakeholders on mechanical status, risk, and schedule; drive DFM culture into upstream hardware design organizations and establish formal cross-functional touchpoints.
Lead resource planning and capacity management across concurrent programs; collaborate with systems engineering, aerodynamics, thermal, GN&C, and propulsion teams to ensure cross-discipline integration and system-level compliance, and flag resourcing gaps to leadership.
Champion continuous improvement in mechanical design efficiency, drawing and model quality, and hardware delivery cycle time; support proposal efforts and new program captures in partnership with program management and business development.
Maintain working-level technical oversight of flight vehicle mechanical design including: primary and secondary structural design and margin compliance, GN&C hardware and seeker packaging, TPS design and qualification, propulsion subsystem mechanical integration, mass properties management, and ICD ownership; develop and approve qualification and acceptance test plans, witness testing, and resolve anomalies and non-conformances.