Full-Time
Technical Program Manager
USG Space Relays
Astranis
501-1,000 employees
GEO satellites delivering bandwidth-as-a-service
Compensation Overview
$145k - $185k/yr
No H1B Sponsorship
San Francisco, CA, USA
In Person
US Citizenship, US Top Secret Clearance Required
Bachelor's
 Project & Program Management (1) |
|---|
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- A Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related technical discipline is required.
- At least 7 years of technical program management, project management, or systems engineering leadership experience within aerospace, defense, or commercial space systems is required.
- Demonstrated experience leading requirements flow-down, interface control document development, technical budget tracking, trade studies, and end-to-end verification and validation campaigns for complex spaceflight systems is required.
- Experience managing U.S. Government spaceflight programs through formal review gates and formal deliverable lifecycles is required.
- The ability to drive cross-functional engineering teams in a rapid, agile, vertically integrated hardware development and manufacturing environment is required.
- Experience presenting complex technical baseline trades, risk mitigations, and schedule critical paths to Government stakeholders is required.
- U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, or refugee/asylee status is required for U.S. Government space technology export compliance.
- Active Secret or Top Secret clearance and eligibility to obtain a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance are required.
- Drive technical baseline execution across all program phases.
- Develop, baseline, and maintain the Integrated Master Schedule and track Technical Performance Metrics, including radio-frequency link margins, spacecraft mass and power margins, latency, and pointing accuracy.
- Lead technical preparation, delivery, and closure for major customer milestone gates, including System Design Reviews, Demonstration Readiness Reviews, and Demonstration Performance Validation Reviews, and manage formal Data Requirements Descriptions.
- Own systems engineering and technical baseline management for the mission.
- Decompose and flow down Government Service Requirements Document specifications, mission concept of operations, and Ground Service Interface boundaries into segment- and unit-level requirements.
- Lead the program-level verification and validation strategy across space, ground, and operations segments.
- Manage compliance tracking against tailored Government environmental standards, coordinate pre-launch radio-frequency compatibility testing between flight-equivalent Astranis and Government systems, and drive verification evidence required to achieve Authority to Connect.
- Partner with the Program Manager, Technical Director, and segment leads across Systems Engineering and Integration, Space Segment, Ground Segment, and Mission Operations.
- Support Mission Operations through launch, direct geostationary-orbit injection, on-orbit commissioning, live customer vehicle service scheduling, and execution of concurrent forward and return links during the 30-day measurement period.
- Drive continuous improvement across U.S. Government program management processes, toolsets, and digital collaboration environments.
- Direct experience with NASA SCaN, TDRSS, CSP, NextSTEP programs, or NASA center processes, including familiarity with NASA-STD guidelines and tailored GEVS qualification.
- Understanding of space-to-space radio-frequency communications, bent-pipe or regenerative payloads, frequency planning, digital intermediate-frequency/software-defined-radio architectures, and dynamic link budget analysis.
- Experience with satellite ground station deployment, data transport, and automated service scheduling interfaces, including application programming interfaces and graphical user interfaces.
- Background in spacecraft assembly, integration, environmental testing such as thermal vacuum, vibration, and acoustic testing, launch vehicle integration, and on-orbit operations.
- Familiarity with NIST SP 800-53 security controls, CMMC, FedRAMP, Commercial Architecture Security Questionnaire, or obtaining U.S. Government Authority to Connect.
- Advanced proficiency with schedule and resource management platforms including Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence, and Microsoft Project, plus cost account management principles.
Astranis builds and operates small, low-cost satellites in geostationary orbit to provide bandwidth-as-a-service for global connectivity. Its satellites carry telecom payloads that deliver internet capacity to customers, including commercial entities and government agencies, via turnkey services that simplify procurement and reduce costs. Customers buy bandwidth and use Astranis’ satellite capacity to reach previously unserved regions, rather than building and managing their own satellites. The company differentiates itself by owning the design, manufacturing, and operation of its GEO satellites, enabling cost-efficient, turnkey connectivity solutions for markets that traditional providers overlook. The goal is to close the digital divide by bringing affordable internet access to billions of people worldwide and to build a large, sustainable market for satellite-based connectivity.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
Series E
Total Funding
$1.2B
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2015
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Astranis raised $450 million in May 2026, funding production expansion and government programs.
- Chunghwa Telecom partnership advances Taiwan’s first dedicated MicroGEO satellite, targeting 2026 bandwidth service.
- Perceptor opens U.S. defense and GEO security demand beyond communications revenue.
What critics are saying
- Thaicom 9 slipped to 2027 after Astranis component anomalies hit five satellites.
- Arcturus suffered a vendor SADA failure, delaying Alaska service and exposing supply-chain fragility.
- A repeated component defect can trigger ITU deadline loss, contract penalties, and customer defections.
What makes Astranis unique
- Astranis’s MicroGEO platform enabled Perceptor, a GEO surveillance satellite, on August 13, 2026.
- Astranis vertically integrates manufacturing, with 70% of Omega components built in-house.
- Astranis combines bandwidth, sovereign connectivity, and defense missions on one production line.
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Benefits
An equity stake in the company.
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Unlimited vacation days.
Healthy, delicious, free lunch catered in every day.
Complementary OneMedical membership.
Great office chairs, stand-up desks, and a machine shop.
Reimbursement to spend on commuting from outside SF
Generous, fully-paid parental leave.
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 0%1 year growth
↓ -2%2 year growth
↑ 0%New private 'Perceptor' probes will keep an eye on satellites high above Earth. Published 3 hours ago "There are blind spots that will be used against us if not eliminated." Satellites high above Earth may soon have fewer places to hide. San Francisco-based company Astranis announced today (Aug. 13) that it's developing a line of spacecraft called Perceptor, which will keep an eye on satellite activity in geostationary orbit (GEO). GEO lies 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth, an altitude at which orbital speed matches our planet's rotational velocity. It's therefore a popular destination for communications, weather and reconnaissance spacecraft - and, increasingly, an arena for off-Earth spying, as space powers seek to keep tabs on their competitors' activities. SpaceX launches secret US spy satellite - nails landing in Florida A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the NROL-95 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 30, 2026. Credit: SpaceX 0 seconds of 8 minutes, 59 seconds Volume 0% Astranis currently operates five satellites in this distant orbital realm, which "support the U.S. military, bring connectivity to remote areas and provide critical capabilities like GPS," according to the company's website. It plans to leverage and extend this expertise with Perceptor, helping the U.S. government and other potential customers learn more about what's happening high above our heads. The new line will be based on Astranis' "MicroGEO" satellite platform, so named because it's smaller than typical GEO craft. "Astranis provides mission-critical infrastructure for strategic higher orbits. What we found is our means to detect and respond to emerging threats to this infrastructure are sorely lacking," John Gedmark, Astranis' CEO and co-founder, said in a statement today. "There are blind spots that will be used against us if not eliminated," he added. "With Perceptor, we're meeting the increasing demand for security in GEO with our proven on-orbit platform and ability to produce at scale." Perceptor spacecraft will sport a variety of sensors, which will allow them to take the measure of other satellites and their broader GEO surroundings. "Multi-angle flybys can assess spacecraft capabilities, help troubleshoot anomalies on friendly spacecraft, and provide additional eyes in a domain where awareness has historically been limited," Astranis' statement reads. Each Perceptor will also be highly maneuverable, using electric propulsion "to traverse the full GEO arc, repositioning dozens of times over its mission lifetime," company representatives added. The statement does not provide a target timeline for the first Perceptor missions. But the need for such a capability already exists, as the activities of certain Russian and Chinese satellites show. In 2020, for example, officials with the U.S. Space Force announced that two Russian spacecraft got within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of an American spy satellite, behavior the branch's then-chief described as "unusual and disturbing." And, in 2023, experts announced that China's TJS-3 GEO spacecraft had taken close looks at USA 233 and USA 298, both of which are thought to be Space Force spy satellites. Spaceflight and Tech Editor Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
Astranis unveils perceptor, an SDA product for GEO. Thursday August 13, 2026 Waxing Crescent Payload in your inbox. In-depth research, exclusive data, and expert analysis on the business and policy of space. Get ahead of the competition.
Swiss satellite maker SWISSto12 secures $70M Series C for multiorbit push. July 16, 2026 * SWISSto12 raised $70 million in a Series C round just days after securing $84.8 million from ESA member states, bringing together private and government funding simultaneously. * The Renens-based satellite company reached positive EBITDA in 2026, earned $140 million in revenue in 2025, and has grown at a 110% annual rate since 2022. This level of profitability is unusual for a space hardware startup at this point. * The company now has over $500 million in signed contracts, seven HummingSat GEO deals with operators like SES and Viasat, and more than 2,000 HummingLink payloads already in orbit. Most space hardware startups raise money because they are losing money, but SWISSto12 raised $70 million in a Series C round while staying profitable. The company did not name the individual investors or disclose its post-money valuation, but confirmed that both new and returning investors participated. The Renens-based satellite and payload maker confirmed it reached positive EBITDA in 2026, had $140 million in revenue in 2025, and grew at a 110% annual rate since 2022. SWISSto12 was founded in 2011 as a spin-off from Switzerland's EPFL by Emile de Rijk. It is headquartered in Renens near Lausanne, with additional offices in the US and EMEA. The company employs approximately 224 people. What SWISSto12 builds. SWISSto12 has two main products: HummingSat, a small geostationary satellite that is about one-tenth the size of regular GEO satellites, and HummingLink, which are multi-orbit payloads and antennas placed on other companies' satellites in LEO, MEO, and GEO. Both products use the company's patented 3D-printing process for RF hardware, making them lighter and faster to produce than traditional parts. For example, a HummingSat can be launched alongside a bigger satellite, so operators can add regional capacity without needing a full satellite bus. This strategy has appealed to established operators instead of trying to replace them. SWISSto12 has signed seven HummingSat contracts, including deals with SES and Viasat, which are markets usually dominated by big companies like Boeing, Airbus, or Thales Alenia Space. The closest direct competitor is Astranis, a US company that makes similar small GEO satellites and has raised about $1.2 billion so far, including a $300 million Series E and a $155 million debt round. Astranis mainly works with US government and defence contracts, while SWISSto12 focuses on commercial telecom operators and European government programs. This makes SWISSto12 more similar to its Finnish competitor, ReOrbit, which also targets European government and defence markets. A sovereign and private capital combination. The Series C round came after SWISSto12 recently received $84.8 million from ESA member states, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, and Canada, through the HummingSat ARTES partnership project. Together, these two rounds brought in over $150 million in new capital in just one month. This pattern, with government support followed soon after by a private funding round, is also seen elsewhere in the European space sector. For example, ICEYE is seeking a valuation above €2.4 billion as demand for satellite intelligence grows. The new funding will help the company increase its manufacturing and integration capacity to keep up with rising demand from both commercial and government customers. This includes HummingLink's multi-orbit payloads and the HummingSat line. Over 2,000 HummingLink units are already in use on missions in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Fredrik Gustavsson, SWISSto12's chief financial and strategy officer, says, "The financial picture at SWISSto12 is robust and primed for global growth. $140 million in revenue for 2025, more than $500 million in customer contracts, and a 110% compound annual growth rate since 2022. These are the signals of an agile business, deploying capital efficiently, and operating at scale in a fast-growing industry. This Series C accelerates us further to meet strong demand from a space, satellite and telecommunications market that's evolving and growing at pace." De Rijk emphasises the breadth of the company's offerings: "In this expanding market, our solutions across payload and satellite lines are creating significant new opportunities for customers. Our products are supporting exciting new customer missions - from direct-to-device connectivity to media broadcasting, intersatellite data relays or sovereign communications infrastructure - many of which span multiple orbits." Why the market matters. The multi-orbit satellite communications market that SWISSto12 is targeting was worth $7.8 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to $31.6 billion by 2035, with a 14.8% annual growth rate. Most of this growth comes from government and defence buyers who want reliable communications that do not depend on just one orbit or operator. It is still unclear if offering any payload, any platform, any orbit gives SWISSto12 a real edge or is just a way to cover its bases. GEO order volumes have dropped across the industry as LEO constellations take over more broadband and maritime contracts. SWISSto12 is working on both the shrinking GEO replacement market and the growing multi-orbit defence market. In the end, whether this two-pronged approach beats better-funded, defence-focused rivals like Astranis may matter more than the fundraising itself.
Astranis secures $450 million in equity, debt to expand small GEO satellite production Astranis secures $450 million in equity, debt to expand small GEO satellite production
Chunghwa Telecom has entered a partnership with Astranis to create a geostationary satellite specifically designed for Taiwan.