Staff Technical Program Manager

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

About The Position

Relativity Space is seeking a Staff Technical Program Manager to manage cross-functional program execution across a product lifecycle from early design through to flight. This role requires someone comfortable operating at both a high-level strategic view and a detailed tactical level, capable of solving critical bottlenecks. The individual will collaborate with technical leaders, manufacturing and operations counterparts, and other program managers to ensure successful execution of business objectives. This involves translating ambiguous long-term ideas into clear trade-offs and priorities, analyzing problems, and driving data-backed recommendations that balance technical and business needs. Key responsibilities include owning and managing schedules, identifying and mitigating programmatic risks, and driving cross-functional communication. A strong desire to build agile, fit-for-purpose processes from scratch, get hands-on, and influence diverse teams is essential for success.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, mathematics, or a related field; aerospace, electrical, or mechanical engineering degree preferred.
7+ years leading a complex program. This can include work in a program management role or a technical role where you were leading a large complex technical hardware program.
Experience spanning software and operations preferred.
Demonstrated success supporting cross-functional hardware teams from concept through delivery in fast-paced, high-ambiguity environments.
Able to move fluidly between tactical execution and big-picture perspective.
Track record of solving ambiguous problems, developing processes and tools from scratch.
Able to work scrappy whilst building sustainable longterm processes.
Proven ability to communicate with highly technical teams and bridge communication between technical and non-technical audiences.
A systems mindset: able to identify program dependencies, interfaces, and risks, and understand the impact of technical and program decisions on other teams and at the company level.

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with launch vehicles, propulsion systems, or aerospace hardware.
PMP, MBA, Master's in engineering, science, mathematics, or related field, or equivalent experience.
Strong executive presence, with the ability to drive clarity and action across all levels of the company.
Technical leadership experience, proven track record of success and strategic thinking while balancing conflicting priorities and goals.

Responsibilities

Translate long-term business objectives and priorities into a clear execution plan for your area of ownership.
Build and own the schedule, deriving it from real requirements, resources, and dependencies & ensuring alignment with key company milestones.
Identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with program execution, ensuring proactive resolution of issues coming down the pipeline.
Identify resource gaps and coordinate cross-functional planning for resource allocation, including headcount, budget, and workspace needs.
Develop ways of working and cadences between teams to ensure efficient execution, collaboration, and alignment.
Communicate program updates, risks, and trade-offs to senior management and cross-functional stakeholders, grounded in data, deciphering signal from noise, and driving decision making when required.
Identify and drive to resolve future programmatic risks, keeping line of sight to 12mo+ strategic initiatives that are critical for business milestones.
Collaborate with PMOs and department leaders to integrate workstream schedules into the program-level Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), and use the IMS to understand true program critical path, dependencies, and decision points.
Work with functional partners to align priorities when there are competing needs.
Drive improvements to department-level program management tooling to continually improve program efficiency and operational excellence.
Coordinate efforts across key bodies of work over development lifecycle, including design release, engineering trades, handoffs between teams, and operational burndown ahead of key milestones.
Incorporate new capabilities leveraging automation and AI, when available.
Lead by influence and collaborate with technical owners (engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, test, and launch) to establish a plan & empower strong functional ownership.
Spearhead the creation and continual refinement of effective, lightweight program management processes, tools, and templates that improve efficiency and cross-team collaboration.
Establish ways of working and ownership model to that ensure programmatic lessons learned are being incorporated each design, build, test, launch cycle.
Build trust, credibility, and buy-in with functional team & program stakeholders to implement processes effectively.
Establish goals and metrics to monitor program performance and increase the predictability and efficiency of engineering work.
Monitor and report on progress toward organizational goals, objectives, and milestones, presenting an objective and clear path forward.
Facilitate strong communication within departments and across the program to ensure transparency in program status & maintain culture of high ownership.