VP of Programs & Mission Operations

EnduroSat•Los Angeles, CA

4d•$180,000 - $240,000•Onsite

About The Position

EnduroSat is seeking a VP of Programs & Mission Operations to own the delivery, flight, and operation of its US missions. The role leads Program Management and Mission Operations and is accountable for the combined outcome: delivering a seamless Space Services experience to customers from contract award through the end of mission. The VP serves as the senior customer relationship owner and works in close partnership with the VP of Engineering & Chief Engineer, balancing customer needs with technical feasibility. An engineering background and the ability to understand technical documentation, follow design trades, and identify customer objectives beyond stated requirements are important. The role owns execution across the US program portfolio, including scope, schedule, cost, risk, delivery, program financial performance, milestone reviews, proposals, resource allocation, and the hiring and leadership of Program Managers. It also owns flight operations for the US fleet, including tasking, pass planning, commissioning, health monitoring, anomaly response, operational readiness, automation, customer-facing operational commitments, and the leadership and staffing of the mission operations team. As a customer and organizational leader, the VP manages senior commercial, civil, and defense customer relationships, change control, and the interface with Engineering. The role defines delivery processes for the US business, adapts practices from EnduroSat’s European teams as appropriate, and builds and develops the organization as the program portfolio grows. The position is based in the Los Angeles area and is primarily on-site and in person, with occasional travel to EnduroSat’s European headquarters and other US and European locations. Applicants must be US Persons as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.62), as the role requires access to export-controlled technical data. The stated salary range is $180,000–$225,000 per year; the posting notes that the salary may vary based on experience or other factors.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or a related engineering field.
12 or more years of experience in aerospace or space systems.
At least 5 years leading programs or operations, including experience leading managers rather than only individual contributors.
End-to-end spacecraft delivery experience: accountable for at least one program from contract award through launch and into on-orbit operations.
Experience being responsible for spacecraft in flight, including anomaly response and operational readiness.
Strong program management experience owning schedule, budget, and risk on complex hardware programs, with demonstrated outcomes in schedule, cost, and scope management.
Customer-facing experience directly owning a senior program relationship, negotiating scope, and delivering difficult news while maintaining the account.
Technical fluency sufficient to read requirements documents, follow design trades, and assess technical answers; deep design or R&D experience is not required.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain issues to engineering, program leadership, and finance audiences.
Experience managing significant complexity across programs and disciplines and making difficult trade-offs, including prioritization and risk decisions.
Sound judgment about which decisions to make directly, delegate to team leads, or refer to the Chief Engineer.
Willingness to travel to US and European locations.
Based in the Los Angeles area or willing to relocate.
US Person status as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.62); the role requires access to export-controlled technical data.
Critical thinking and problem-solving mindset.
Quick learner who is proactive and self-starting.
Team player with a positive attitude.
Comfort operating with a high degree of ownership in a fast-scaling environment.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or MBA.
Satellite program experience, including nanosat, ESPA-class, or large satellite programs, and understanding of cost and schedule realities at those scales.
Constellation or multi-mission operations experience, especially where automation and fleet-level tooling are important.
Experience with both commercial and government customers, including familiarity with government contract and compliance requirements.
Experience establishing a program or operations function at a startup or new site.
Experience in a distributed or international organization, especially US–Europe.
Familiarity with spacecraft environmental test campaigns such as vibration, thermal vacuum, and EMI/EMC, as well as launch integration.
Working knowledge of ITAR/EAR.
Familiarity with Atlassian tools such as Jira and Confluence, and standard scheduling tools.

Responsibilities

Own execution across the US program portfolio, including scope, schedule, cost, risk, and delivery from contract award through on-orbit operations.
Build, maintain, and defend realistic program schedules, including critical paths, dependencies, and ownership.
Identify program risks early, fund mitigation, and escalate issues before they become surprises.
Manage portfolio-level resource conflicts involving engineers, test chambers, and cleanroom time, and communicate and own allocation decisions.
Run milestone reviews and cadence, including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and launch readiness, and ensure reviews are prepared and closed with actionable items.
Support capture and proposals with deliverable baselines, schedules, and cost inputs that can be executed as committed.
Own program financial performance, including budgets, forecasts, actuals, variance, and margin.
Hire and lead Program Managers assigned to US programs.
Own flight operations for the US fleet, including tasking and scheduling, pass planning, payload commissioning, routine health monitoring, and end-of-life.
Set the on-call and escalation model, lead spacecraft anomaly response, and ensure findings inform procedures, scripts, and future builds through the Chief Engineer.
Set operational readiness standards, including written and rehearsed procedures, validated scripts, and rehearsals before launch.
Scale operations through systems and automation by translating operational learning into requirements for the SpaceOps mission control suite.
Own operational customer commitments such as tasking responsiveness, data latency, and reporting, and provide evidence of performance against them.
Lead the Spacecraft Mission Operations Lead and team, including staffing, shift coverage, certification, and a culture of problem ownership.
Own senior relationships with commercial, civil, and defense customers throughout program life, including status reporting, executive briefings, and difficult customer conversations.
Manage change control by identifying scope growth, pricing it, and routing it through the Chief Engineer before commitments are made.
Own the interface with Engineering, ensuring clean requirements handoffs, timely communication of technical decisions, and consistent answers to customers.
Define delivery processes for the US business, including reviews, gates, documentation standards, and handoffs appropriate to each mission.
Adapt practices from EnduroSat’s European teams to US customer, contract, and export-control requirements as appropriate.
Hire and develop the team, delegate meaningful authority, hold team members accountable for outcomes, and build organizational capacity as the program portfolio grows.