About This Role

Varda supports a wide range of customers from pharmaceutical companies creating new products in microgravity, to government agencies testing new capabilities through hypersonic flight. As a member of the mission management team, you will be responsible for ensuring we deliver on our promises. As a Senior Mission Manager, you will be the primary technical and programmatic interface for our customers and will shepherd missions from cradle to grave - from before a contract is signed, through development, integration, launch, operations, and recovery of our customer's flown assets. You will work cross functionally throughout the company to unblock issues for a particular customer or mission and to align resources needed to meet mission objectives.

You will coordinate with Varda personnel to deliver through all phases of mission planning, integration, testing, and verification.

This is a full-time, exempt position located in our El Segundo headquarters.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical and programmatic point of contact for our customers, helping to resolve issues, negotiate requirements and contract changes, communicate status and risks, and ensure a positive outcome for all parties.
• Lead programmatic execution of customer missions from prior to contract signature through development, integration, launch, operations, and recovery of our customer's flown assets.
• Collaborate across the company (e.g. engineering, regulatory, sales, payloads) to understand status and changes that may impact customer success and work to mitigate issues.
• Lead major customer reviews and deliverables, coordinating cross functionally to plan for, develop and deliver high quality materials and briefings.
• Support or lead, depending on the customer, development and verification of technical interface control documents
• Support our Sales team with proposal efforts to ensure new projects are appropriately scoped and aligned with strategic company vision, and that contracts are well-defined and executable.

Basic Qualifications

• Must possess and be able to maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance
• Bachelor's degree or higher in an engineering or science discipline
• 7+ years of Program or Project Management experience
• Experience with US Government contracts and program execution
• Experience with spacecraft mission design, development, integration and test, launch and/or operations.
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Excellent negotiation, conflict resolution and leadership skills
• Willingness to travel up to 25% of the time
• U.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S. to conform with U.S. Government space technology export regulations under ITAR.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Master's degree in an engineering field
• 8+ years of experience working with government, NASA, or commercial launch contract
• Experience with spacecraft mission design, development, integration and test, launch and/or operations.
• Experience with US Government contracts
• Full spacecraft mission project lifecycle experience (cradle-to-grave)

Pay Range

• Salary range: $160,000 - $200,000/per year.
• This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA
• Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
• You will be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards
• Offer compensation also includes the ability to purchase company stock through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan