Impulse Space

Senior Manufacturing Manager (Helios)

Posted 18 Days Ago

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Redondo Beach, CA, USA

In-Office

190K-230K Annually

Senior level

Aerospace • Software

The Role

Lead and grow a manufacturing team building Helios vehicles and tube systems. Oversee sheet metal, welding, assembly, propulsion and avionics integration, and tube value stream (bending, flaring, NDE, pressure testing). Set production targets, resolve build issues, develop and document manufacturing processes, ensure DFM and reliability, and support Mojave test site.

Summary Generated by Built In

As the Senior Manufacturing Manager (Helios), you will hire, manage, and mentor manufacturing engineers and technicians to support hardware builds for Impulse’s Helios vehicles and tube shop. You will support activities ranging from sheet metal fabrication, welding, drilling, mechanical assembly, propulsion and avionics integration, along with vehicle checkouts. In addition, you will own the entire tubes value stream including bending, flaring, OTW, NDE, and acceptance testing. You will work directly with leaders and individual contributors in other disciplines. This is an opportunity to contribute to all aspects of vehicle development.

Helios is Impulse's high-energy kick stage designed to deliver satellites & payloads to high-energy orbits, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Responsibilities

Hire and mentor manufacturing and integration engineers and technicians
Collaborate with design engineers and quality teams to ensure manufacturability, DFM compliance, and long-term reliability
Set daily and weekly production targets, backed by performance metrics
Provide day-to-day support for the production floor, resolving build issues, updating work instructions, and improving yields
Develop, document, and optimize manufacturing processes for hardware, integration, and checkouts
Establish and maintain high technical standards through specifications and training
Collaborate with our Mojave test site, periodically offering technical and bandwidth support

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
3+ years professional experience leading multi-level and multi-discipline teams
8+ years professional experience manufacturing structural aerospace hardware
Desire to improve team processes and train other team members
Ability to communicate technical challenges, explain rationale and/or resolve concerns

Preferred Skills and Experience

12+ years professional experience manufacturing structural aerospace hardware
Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
Technical expertise in pressurized structure applications (welding, pressure sealing, penetrations, cryogenic temperatures)
Technical expertise in avionics and propulsion integration and checkouts
Technical expertise in tubes manufacturing (alloy selection, design for manufacturing, bending, flaring, welding, NDE, pressure testing)
Experience managing both exempt and non-exempt employees
Experience manufacturing for space environments beyond LEO
Experience in a startup or agile development environment

Additional Information:
Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

About
Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.

Skills Required

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
3+ years professional experience leading multi-level and multi-discipline teams
8+ years professional experience manufacturing structural aerospace hardware
Desire to improve team processes and train other team members
Ability to communicate technical challenges, explain rationale and/or resolve concerns
12+ years professional experience manufacturing structural aerospace hardware
Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
Technical expertise in pressurized structure applications (welding, pressure sealing, penetrations, cryogenic temperatures)
Technical expertise in avionics and propulsion integration and checkouts
Technical expertise in tubes manufacturing (alloy selection, design for manufacturing, bending, flaring, welding, NDE, pressure testing)
Experience managing both exempt and non-exempt employees
Experience manufacturing for space environments beyond LEO
Experience in a startup or agile development environment