Technical Program Manager - USG Space Relays

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. 

With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.

Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Technical Program Manager, USG Space Relays

Astranis is developing the next generation relay capability for the USG Government delivering Ka-band space-to-space relay services for Government users. As the Technical Program Manager for this Mission, you will work directly for the Astranis Director of USG Program Management and help lead the end-to-end technical execution of multi-spacecraft flight programs from concept maturation through spacecraft production, ground network deployment, launch, and on-orbit demonstration. This is a dynamic role that will require someone that will be both customer facing as well as engaged with the Astranis engineering teams to assure program excellence.

Role

• Drive technical baseline execution across all program phases
• Develop, baseline, and maintain the Integrated Master Schedule and track critical Technical Performance Metrics (TPMs) including RF link margins, spacecraft mass/power margins, latency, and pointing accuracy.
• Lead technical preparation, delivery, and closure for major customer milestone gates (System Design Reviews, Demonstration Readiness Review, and Demonstration Performance Validation Review) and manage formal Data Requirements Descriptions (DRDs).
• Own overarching systems engineering and technical baseline management for the mission. Decompose and flow down Government Service Requirements Document (SRD) specifications, mission CONOPS, and Ground Service Interface (GSI) boundaries into actionable segment- and unit-level requirements
• Lead the program-level verification and validation (V&V) strategy across space, ground, and operations segments. Manage compliance tracking against tailored Government environmental standards, coordinate pre-launch RF compatibility testing between flight-equivalent Astranis and Government systems, and drive the verification evidence required to achieve Authority to Connect (ATC)
• Partner with the Program Manager, Technical Director, and segment leads across Systems Engineering & Integration (SEIT), Space Segment, Ground Segment, and Mission Operations.
• Support Mission Operations through launch, direct GEO injection, on-orbit commissioning, live customer vehicle service scheduling , and execution of concurrent forward/return links during the 30-day measurement period.
• Drive continuous improvement across Astranis’s USG program management processes, toolsets, and digital collaboration environments, supporting team growth as the USG mission portfolio expands.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• 7+ years of technical program management, project management, or systems engineering leadership within aerospace, defense, or commercial space systems.
• Demonstrated track record leading requirements flow-down, ICD development, technical budget tracking, trade studies, and end-to-end V&V campaigns for complex spaceflight systems.
• Proven experience managing U.S. Government (NASA, DoW, or IC) spaceflight programs through formal review gates (SRR, PDR, CDR, DRR, ORR) and formal deliverable lifecycles (DRDs/CDRLs).
• Proven ability to drive cross-functional engineering teams in a rapid, agile, vertically integrated hardware development and manufacturing environment.
• Exceptional written and verbal presentation skills, with demonstrated experience presenting complex technical baseline trades, risk mitigations, and schedule critical paths to Government stakeholders.
• U.S. Citizenship is required (ITAR/EAR compliance). Active Secret/TS clearance and eligibility to obtain a TS/SCI Security Clearance;

Bonus

• Direct experience with NASA SCaN, TDRSS, CSP, NextSTEP programs, or NASA center processes (MSFC, GSFC), including familiarity with NASA-STD guidelines and tailored GEVS qualification.
• Domain understanding of space-to-space RF communications, bent-pipe or regenerative payloads, frequency planning, digital IF/SDR architectures, and dynamic link budget analysis.
• Experience with satellite ground station deployment, data transport, and automated service scheduling interfaces (APIs/GUIs).
• Direct background in spacecraft assembly, integration, environmental testing (TVAC, vibration, acoustic), launch vehicle integration, and on-orbit operations.
• Familiarity with NIST SP 800-53 security controls, CMMC, FedRAMP, Commercial Architecture Security Questionnaire (CASQ), or obtaining USG Authority to Connect (ATC).
• Advanced proficiency in schedule and resource management platforms (Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence, MS Project) and cost account management principles.

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