Mission Manager (Senior/Principal)

Reflect Orbital • Hawthorne, CA

7d • $130,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Reflect Orbital is hiring a Senior or Principal Mission Manager to own the launch and regulatory execution required to get their spacecraft to orbit. This is a hands-on senior individual contributor role working across engineering, operations, legal, launch providers, regulators, and external partners. The Mission Manager will own mission schedules, launch-provider interfaces, regulatory submissions, technical deliverables, reviews, action items, and the hundreds of details that must come together on time for a successful mission. The core responsibility is to ensure Reflect never misses a launch or regulatory milestone due to late inputs, misunderstood requirements, or tasks lacking a clear owner.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in spacecraft mission management, launch integration, regulatory affairs, technical program management, satellite operations, or a similarly complex aerospace environment
• Demonstrated ownership of significant portions of the launch-provider integration or regulatory process for at least one spacecraft mission
• Understanding of how launch manifests, mission schedules, spacecraft interfaces, safety reviews, licensing, spectrum coordination, and launch-readiness reviews fit together
• Experience with FCC spacecraft licensing, experimental licensing, spectrum coordination, earth-station licensing, or similar regulatory processes
• Ability to turn a long, ambiguous external request into a complete list of internal actions, owners, dependencies, and deadlines
• Exceptional organization skills and ability to manage hundreds of details without losing sight of the mission’s critical path
• Clear writing and direct communication skills, comfortable representing the company with launch providers, regulators, attorneys, engineers, and executives
• Technical fluency to understand spacecraft requirements, review technical deliverables, and recognize when an answer is incomplete or inconsistent
• Ability to drive work across teams without relying on formal authority and comfort in following up until commitments are complete
• Ability to move quickly in ambiguous environments and build enough process to create reliability without slowing the company down
• Strong judgment and ability to know when to resolve an issue independently, when to pull in technical experts, and when to escalate a decision

Nice To Haves

• Exceptional individuals with highly unusual backgrounds
• Unconventional people for unique roles

Responsibilities

• Own mission execution from launch-opportunity selection through launch readiness, launch campaign, and handoff to on-orbit operations
• Serve as Reflect’s primary interface with launch providers, launch integrators, regulatory counsel, government agencies, and other mission partners
• Build and maintain the integrated mission schedule, including external deliverables, regulatory milestones, technical reviews, launch-provider deadlines, dependencies, risks, and internal owners
• Own FCC licensing and spectrum-coordination workflows in partnership with engineering and outside counsel, including applications, modifications, technical exhibits, responses, reporting, and other required submissions
• Translate launch-provider and regulatory requirements into clear internal deliverables, identify the correct owners, and drive inputs to completion
• Coordinate spacecraft data packages, interface documentation, safety materials, analyses, certifications, test evidence, and other launch-readiness deliverables
• Review submissions for accuracy, completeness, and consistency before they leave the company
• Run mission reviews, maintain action-item and decision logs, follow up relentlessly, and ensure commitments are closed on schedule
• Identify schedule, regulatory, and integration risks early; develop recovery plans and escalate decisions before they threaten the mission
• Maintain a clear source of truth for mission status so engineering and leadership always understand what is due, what is blocked, and what requires attention
• Build lightweight, repeatable systems that allow Reflect to manage an increasing number of spacecraft and launches without unnecessary process or bureaucracy
• Support launch-site and campaign activities when needed

Benefits

• Broad choice of medical/dental/vision coverage (Reflect covers 100% of each base-policy)
• Access to HSA, FSA, and 401K
• Unlimited paid time off (two-weeks per year encouraged)
• Healthy lunches provided daily

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed