Senior Manager, Engine Systems & Test
Relativity Space
At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.
Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.
About the Team:
The Propulsion team at Relativity is focused on developing and delivering highly performant and manufacturable engines for Terran R. Engineers are responsible for the entire lifecycle of their parts, from initial design through production to qualification and flight. The team fosters a culture of bottoms-up decision-making, free from technical gatekeeping, where ownership and accountability are key at all levels. But designing engines with a quarter million pounds of thrust is just the beginning. As the flight configuration enters qualification, the team is now exploring modifications for future engines, including thrust upgrades, new cycles, and design for mass production.
About the Role:
In this role, you will lead a team of ~20 engineers who own development of the Aeon engine series at the system level. The team’s work spans component & integrated system hotfire testing, thermofluids simulation, system-level architecture, requirements, and interfaces; and more. We collaborate closely with propulsion design engineers, our manufacturing team, our Stennis test team, and our Cape launch team to deliver engines that will successfully propel the Terran rocket to orbit. We strive for continuous improvement and support the development of our technical hardware and human teammates alike.
Your responsibilities will include the following:
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of propulsion development engineers, fostering a culture of growth & continuous improvement
- Solve a variety of technical problems across broad ranges of timeframe, scope, and complexity
- Collaborate with propulsion & vehicle design, manufacturing, software, and operations teams to ensure seamless integration between your team’s activities and overall vehicle development
- Oversee the planning, execution, and analysis of engine & component hotfire campaigns, as well as engine support of stage test & launch campaigns
- Oversee the system-level development of current and future engines (architecture, CONOPs, simulation, interfaces), including large upgrades such as engine cycle changes
- Set team priorities & allocate resources between different products or functions
- Drive improvements in processes, tools, and automation
- Identify and mitigate risks related to engine development, ensuring timely issue resolution and program success
- Scale the team’s bandwidth & abilities through recruiting & training to meet future engine & vehicle development needs
Work schedule & travel:
- This role is full-time onsite in Long Beach, CA, and requires an average of 15% travel to our test & launch sites
- This role may occasionally require weekend work for critical milestones
About you:
- Bachelor’s degree in a science, engineering, or technology field
- 8+ years of relevant experience in a complex engineering system development and/or test environment
• Including 2+ years of direct experience with liquid-propellant rocket engines
• Including 2+ years of direct experience leading teams of multidisciplinary engineers - Experience mentoring, managing complex interdisciplinary projects, supporting continuous improvement of the team around you and participating in growing your team
- Demonstrated engineering fundamentals in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics
- Demonstrated drive to deliver on tight schedules, especially when unconventional & creative solutions are necessary
At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.
Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.