Propulsion IPT Program Lead in Houston, Texas - #73625 | VanderHouwen

Description

Job Id: 73625

Propulsion IPT Program Lead
Our client is seeking a Propulsion IPT Program Lead to take full ownership of a spacecraft propulsion subsystem from the first requirements through flight readiness. This is a high-visibility leadership role for a hands-on propulsion expert with strong systems engineering and program management skills. You will guide engineers, suppliers, and executives toward one integrated plan in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

This role is on-site in Houston, Texas.

Propulsion IPT Program Lead Responsibilities

• Own the propulsion program from concept through design, qualification, acceptance, and flight readiness, with full accountability for scope, deliverables, schedule, and budget.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for program leadership, executives, and government and commercial customers, reporting on technical progress, cost, schedule, risks, and key decisions.
• Lead and mentor sub-team leads and cross-functional engineers across engine, feed system, and test, setting team priorities, removing roadblocks, and keeping work moving at a steady pace.
• Establish and manage the propulsion technical baseline, including requirements flow-down, interface control with related subsystems, verification planning, and configuration management.
• Guide the propulsion system through major design and readiness reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and qualification and acceptance reviews), making sure all entrance and exit criteria are met.
• Develop and maintain the integrated schedule, budget, and estimate at completion, and track cost and schedule performance throughout the program.
• Manage risk, safety, and hazard integration, and drive anomaly and issue closure through data-driven decisions and propulsion review boards.
• Lead system-level trade studies that weigh proven heritage designs against new development in terms of performance, safety, cost, schedule, and risk.
• Oversee major suppliers and subcontractors, including statements of work, deliverables, performance, and verification evidence.
• Partner with functional managers in a matrixed environment to negotiate staffing, test facility access, and competing priorities across programs.
• Contribute to proposals, cost estimates, and new business capture for future propulsion efforts.

Propulsion IPT Program Lead Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in spacecraft or launch vehicle propulsion development, systems engineering, or project engineering, including leading integrated product teams or multidisciplinary technical teams.
• Proven track record delivering space propulsion hardware, such as engines, thrusters, and feed and pressurization systems, through qualification, acceptance, and flight.
• Strong command of bipropellant propulsion fundamentals, including combustion, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and heat transfer.
• Advanced systems engineering expertise in requirements management, interface control, verification planning, configuration management, and risk management.
• Program management skills in integrated scheduling, budgeting, estimate at completion, and earned value management, using tools such as Microsoft Project or Primavera.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence in a matrixed organization without direct authority.
• Experience leading major milestone reviews and working with NASA, DoD, or commercial customers.
• Experience managing suppliers and subcontractors on cost, schedule, technical, and verification deliverables.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with high emotional intelligence, a strong sense of ownership, and a results-driven mindset.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, able to complete a U.S. government background investigation, and willing to work evenings and weekends as needed to meet critical milestones.

Preferred:

• Advanced degree in a technical discipline.
• Familiarity with human-rated spaceflight safety and hazard processes, oxygen compatibility, and pressure system requirements.
• Success delivering in ambiguous, fast-moving environments with an adaptable, entrepreneurial mindset.

Salary: $170K-$200K/year. (DOE)

Benefits
Benefits are available to eligible full-time employees and include coverage for medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long term disability, and matching 401k.

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