Mechanical Engineering Manager

Black Sky is a real-time intelligence company. We own and operate the world's most advanced space-based intelligence platform and provide customers satellite imagery, automated analytics and high-frequency monitoring of strategic locations, economic assets and events from around the globe. Black Sky is trusted by the most demanding allied military and intelligence organizations and commercial companies to deliver foresight into critical matters that affect national security and the economy.

Black Sky's data enables governments and businesses to see, understand and anticipate change as it happens, giving them the ultimate strategic advantage so they can act quickly. Our global team works with cutting-edge technology to make a difference around the world and prides itself on being people-first, customer-focused and fun.

As the Manager of the Mechanical Design Engineering team, you will lead a group of talented space vehicle Mechanical Engineers responsible for the design of space vehicle systems, structures, mechanisms, components, and ground support equipment. You will define and maintain an effective design process that strikes the right balance of rigor, technical performance, and risk to meet challenging program objectives and schedules.

You will equip your team with the technical training, mentorship, tools, and resources to be successful. You will work across Black Sky programs to ensure each program has the appropriate level of design support. Through all these actions, you will be responsible for the technical quality and performance of mechanical designs at Black Sky.

In addition to these management responsibilities, you will contribute directly as a Design Engineer throughout the full program lifecycle of our satellite systems and components, from concept to production. You will develop initial concepts of satellite structures, system layouts, and support equipment based on requirements and objectives, then apply Black Sky best practices, mentorship from senior engineers, and your own skills and intuition to fully mature those concepts.

You will create CAD models, select materials, generate and maintain manufacturing documentation, and support production. You will interact with flight, prototype, and ground support hardware. You will do all this as part of a highly skilled multi-functional technical team focused on producing state-of-the-art satellites.

Responsibilities:

• Own the technical and schedule performance for a team of 4 - 8 Mechanical Design Engineers.
• Establish, maintain, and enforce design processes and guidelines that balance the criticality of spacecraft engineering with practicality and focus on our internal objectives, risk postures, and goals.
• Establish standards for the effective use of Creo CAD and Windchill PLM, ensuring consistent modeling, drawing, configuration management, and release practices.
• Grow and maintain the technical acumen of the design team in the area of satellite mechanical design by developing professional development plans, challenging job assignments, training, and mentorship that balance individual career goals with program demands.
• Manage team performance and alignment with regular reviews and goal setting.
• Answer the call for Mechanical Design Engineering support across Black Sky with staff assignments to programs, team task planning, workload prioritization and deconfliction; as well as recruiting and onboarding new hires and management of contract support.
• Ensure the Mechanical Design Engineering team follows company, department, and team processes.
• Partner closely with Black Sky Space Vehicle Engineering, Production, and Supply Chain teams to ensure Design Engineering products are fully and successfully implemented as intended, collect feedback for continued improvement, and address emergent needs.

Duties as a technical lead and individual contributor

• Lead moderate scale technical efforts involving internal and external collaboration and full program scope consideration, applying experience and engineering judgement to develop technical plans for your work and others that meet program requirements and schedule.
• Work within a multidisciplinary team to deliver space vehicle designs, production plans, and test strategies that support program cost, schedule, and quality goals.
• Design spacecraft mechanical structures, assemblies, and components with CAD software (Creo).
• Generate and maintain engineering and manufacturing documentation such as part drawings, assembly drawings, and…