Manager - Lunar Valves Team

Application close date:
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

This role is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Moon landers and related products. To further Blue Origin's mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth, we are building sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface.

As the leader of a dedicated team of Valve engineers, you will contribute to the definition, development, and delivery of spacecraft valve components. You should be comfortable working in a fast-paced and often uncertain environment, contributing to innovative solutions, while demonstrating personal leadership, technical competence, and attention to detail. You should also feel comfortable leading programs with multiple stakeholders and customers, including Blue Origin’s vehicle teams (MK2, Transporter, and more) and be comfortable leading a team comprised of multiple backgrounds and disciplines that are in multiple geographic locations.

In this role you will play a pivotal part in the programmatic aspects of project delivery as the single threaded leader for delivering all aspects of your assigned scope. You will manage project execution, ensuring scrappy and cost-effective execution while maintaining a tight grip on all project deliverables needed to meet program objectives. Identifying and mitigating risks are critical tasks, and you'll need to effectively communicate these to leadership and your team.

To be successful in this role, it is critical that you have a deep knowledge of aerospace component design (especially valves) that are used in deep space vehicle systems.

You will be responsible for the people management aspect of your team, covering the full employee lifecycle from hiring and development to stringent & thoughtful performance management. Hiring the right talent, fostering their growth, and ensuring they are well-coached is essential for maintaining a high-functioning team. You'll be actively engaged in creating a positive and productive team culture that adheres to all required HR processes and policies.

• Product Delivery: Manage your project scope by ensuring scrappy and cost-effective execution while maintaining a tight grip on the project deliverables needed to meet program objectives.
• Risk and Opportunity Management: Identify and manage technical and programmatic risks/opportunities, including technical, scope (cost and schedule), asset and safety risks. Develop mitigation plans and collaborate with peers and program leaders to drive outcomes to program acceptable levels.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Coordinate and partner with Enterprise functions such as Operations and Supply Chain to drive product cost and meet delivery objectives.
• Team Execution Tracking: Track and manage team execution, and both unit product cost/life cycle cost.
• Data Framework: Create the framework used to develop and drive collection of project data and use this data to inform and monitor key project metrics.

• Oversee the full lifecycle of your employees including talent acquisition, employee development, and performance management.
• Foster an environment of continuous growth and learning, ensuring compliance with HR processes and policies.

• Engage with the team on technical decisions regarding valve design, development, build, and test.
• Develop and oversee the technical plan, ensuring it aligns to both negotiated customer requirements and internal design criteria.
• Own the overall lifecycle of your assigned product scope from development through qualification/rate production and successful cost-optimized commercial flight operations.
• Manage interdisciplinary engineering tasks for overall…