Senior Program Manager I - Laser Communications

Rocket Lab•Long Beach, CA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Rocket Lab is hiring a Senior Program Manager I to lead customer-facing optical communication terminal programs from its global headquarters in Long Beach, California. The role owns customer outcomes and program delivery, including customer relationships, delivery commitments and schedules, milestone and acceptance reviews, risk management, and overall program health. The manager works with the Product team on product configuration, pricing, and customer needs, and coordinates across engineering, production, supply chain, business development, and teams at U.S. and European sites. The position leads multiple concurrent programs from award through qualification, rate production, delivery, and on-orbit checkout, covering current-generation terminals and next-generation variants. It also involves managing technical and production risks, supplier relationships, program finances, program lifecycle reviews, export-control obligations, customer acceptance, and closeout. The role is expected to champion customers, mentor colleagues, and help develop future program leaders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Physics, or Math.
Working understanding of free-space optical or RF communications, including link budgets, pointing, acquisition and tracking, modems and coding, and space or airborne environmental qualification.
At least 5 years of experience in space, aerospace, or photonics hardware programs, including multiple full program cycles.
Track record leading a complex hardware program through delivery, including customer management, schedule, risk, and acceptance.
Evidence of moving hardware from prototype through qualification to rate-production delivery to customers.
Experience managing program cost, estimate at completion (EAC), and customer contract changes in partnership with finance and product teams on a program of meaningful scale.
Experience delivering hardware at rate to a demanding customer and maintaining customer trust through a difficult situation, such as a schedule slip, test failure, or contract change.
U.S. Person status required for ITAR/EAR compliance.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with optical inter-satellite links or optical ground or airborne terminals.
A proven approach to moving low-volume, hand-built optical or electro-optical hardware into high-rate production without sacrificing reliability.
Experience delivering to large commercial or defense constellation programs.
Experience as the primary customer interface for constellation operators or satellite primes, from kickoff through acceptance.
Experience leading program work across geographically dispersed sites, including export-control and dual-use compliance.
Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Optics/Photonics, Physics, or a related field.
Systems engineering experience, including trade studies, interface control, and requirement integrity, and familiarity with Jira, Confluence, and ERP/MRP tools.
Experience using AI tools in day-to-day program management, including schedule and risk analysis, status reporting, and customer communications.
Ability to obtain a security clearance.

Responsibilities

Lead terminal programs from award through qualification, production at rate, delivery, and on-orbit checkout across current-generation production and next-generation variants.
Manage program plans and deliver on schedule, technical performance, and customer commitments.
Run multiple concurrent customer programs and work with Chief Engineers on link performance, data rate, SWaP, environmental qualification, and optical terminal interoperability.
Own program delivery profiles and identify and resolve yield, supplier, and test-capacity risks with Operations and the Product team.
Partner with Supply Chain to manage critical suppliers and keep customer deliveries on schedule.
Own program startup and baselining, milestone and qualification reviews, export and ITAR obligations with Trade Compliance, customer acceptance, and closeout across U.S. and European sites.
Serve as the trusted customer point of contact through milestone reviews, interoperability campaigns, acceptance, and delivery.
Partner with Business Development and Strategy on proposals and with the Product team on pricing and configuration, incorporating customer needs into decisions.
Mentor colleagues, set high standards for customer engagement, and help develop future program leaders.

Benefits

Company stock as part of total compensation.
Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount on company stock.
Medical plans, including HMO, PPO, and a zero-cost HDHP option with a significant company HSA contribution.
Dental and vision coverage.
Paid vacation and sick time.
11 paid holidays.
Flexible spending and dependent care accounts.
Paid parental leave.
Disability and life insurance.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Subsidized EV charging.
Onsite fitness centers where available.
Discounted gym memberships.
Complimentary snacks and beverages.
50% employee discount on the company merchandise store.
Other employee discounts.