Staff Technical Program Manager, Vehicle Design

Relativity Space • Long Beach, CA

1d

About The Position

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us. About the Team: The Vehicle Engineering organization at Relativity Space encompasses vehicle design, dev, & build, as well as the analysis, software, CONOPs development, risk management, and customer and regulatory activities required for vehicle testing and launch operations. About the Role: We are seeking a Technical Program Manager – Vehicle Design to establish program management methodology for our design teams, coordinate with upstream and downstream partners to optimize for effectiveness and efficiency, and drive the tempo of launch vehicle design. This role will be critical in driving operational excellence across all vehicle engineering disciplines, standardizing programmatic best practices, and acting as a senior interface to leadership across Relativity Space. Success in this role will mean establishing and executing an efficient, predictable design process with smooth handoffs at upstream and downstream interfaces.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, mathematics, or related fields; aerospace, electrical, or mechanical engineering degree preferred
• 5+ years management or TPM experience of design teams, proven track record of success and strategic thinking while balancing conflicting priorities and goals
• 5+ years in a Program Management role leading a large cross-functional program, including hardware, software, and operations
• Demonstrated success leading large, cross-functional hardware teams from concept through delivery in fast-paced, high-ambiguity environments. Seamlessly able to switch between tactical execution and 30,000-ft perspective
• Proven ability to communicate with highly technical teams and helping bridge communication between technical and non-technical teams
• A systems mindset: identifying program dependencies, interfaces, risks and the impact of key technical and program decisions on other teams and at company level on hardware product development

Nice To Haves

• Experience with launch vehicles, propulsion systems, or aerospace hardware
• PMP, MBA, Master’s in engineering, science, mathematics or related fields, or equivalent experience preferred
• Proven ability and high confidence in presenting effectively to C-level executives and board of directors with clarity and strategic insight

Responsibilities

• Own schedule adherence, risk management, and reporting cadence across all Vehicle Engineering design efforts
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with engineering design execution, ensuring proactive problem resolution to identify risks coming down the pipeline
• Present program updates, risks, and strategic recommendations to the executive team
• Establish and maintain a culture of excellence in program execution in Vehicle Engineering design
• Collaborate with PMOs and department leaders across the company to integrate design schedules into a program level Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and use the IMS to understand true program critical path, escalate issues and decision points, and make recommendations on the best solutions to program issues
• Establish goals and metrics to monitor operational performance and increase the predictability and efficiency of engineering work
• Build the scoreboard for accountability for the engineering team
• Facilitate strong communication within departments and across the program to ensure transparent communication of program status to relevant stakeholders
• Establish, standardize, and continuously improve program management methodologies, tools, templates, and best practices across all Vehicle Engineering design efforts

Benefits

• Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees