Chief Engineer (Spacecraft)

• As a Chief Engineer (Spacecraft) at Impulse, you will be the technical leader responsible for the vision, execution, and mission success of a spacecraft product line
• This role owns the system architecture and technical direction from early concept development through launch and on-orbit operations
• The ideal candidate combines deep spacecraft engineering expertise with exceptional leadership, systems thinking, and execution in fast-paced development environments
• As Chief Engineer, you will partner closely with engineering, manufacturing, test, mission operations, and executive leadership to drive technical decisions, manage program risk, and ensure delivery of highly reliable space systems
• Own the spacecraft system architecture and technical baseline across the full program lifecycle
• Lead cross-functional technical trade studies and major design decisions to optimize performance, reliability, manufacturability, schedule, and cost
• Maintain deep understanding of all spacecraft subsystems, interfaces, operational concepts, and mission objectives
• Drive the program technical roadmap in partnership with subsystem leads and subject matter experts while balancing performance, reliability, schedule, risk, and cost
• Establish and uphold a high standard of engineering rigor, technical discipline, and configuration control throughout development and operations
• Identify technical, operational, and programmatic risks early and develop mitigation strategies to ensure mission success
• Define and oversee vehicle-level readiness and certification processes, including major design reviews, test readiness reviews, and mission readiness activities
• Serve as the primary technical authority for the program with customers, government stakeholders, launch providers, and external partners
• Lead resolution of major anomalies and technical issues, driving root cause investigations and corrective actions through closure
• Champion continuous improvement across vehicle design, production, testing, operations, and organizational processes

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision: Enjoy the best medical, dental and optical coverage money can buy. We’ve got you and your family covered for all eventualities
• Company Ownership: You’ll be contributing to Impulse’s success, so you deserve to share in it. All full-time employees receive a meaningful equity allocation
• Flexible PTO Policy: We believe in work-life harmony more so than “balance”. When you are happy & fulfilled outside of work, you will be more productive when you’re in it. We offer generous PTO accrual to our full-time employees

Preferred experience

• Proven track record of managing hardware programs through the full lifecycle
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Aerospace, or related field
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD TS/SCI or TS/SAP security clearance
• Excellent leadership, communication, and decision-making skills in fast-moving technical environments
• 10+ years of demonstrated experience in the spacecraft domain
• 5+ years of demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams or managing large-scale technical programs
• 12+ years’ of experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams or managing large-scale technical programs
• Direct experience serving as Chief Engineer, Deputy Chief Engineer, System Lead, or equivalent technical authority for a spacecraft
• Strong understanding of spacecraft subsystem interactions and vehicle-level architecture development
• Deep hands-on familiarity with spacecraft integration, environmental testing, launch campaigns, mission operations, and anomaly resolution
• Active TS/SCI security clearance
• Demonstrated experience scaling engineering organizations and development processes within rapidly growing aerospace companies
• Intimate knowledge of U.S. Department of Defense standards and requirements