Portal Space Systems

Develops rapid, solar-thermal propelled satellite buses

Principal Production Systems Architect

Manufacturing EngineeringUpdated on Oct 30

Full-timeBothell, WA, USAIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

Seven or more years of professional experience defining aerospace production systems, including manufacturing execution system implementation, manufacturing system design standards, and production process requirements.
Demonstrated expert experience with aerospace manufacturing processes.
Strong computer-aided design, product lifecycle management, and manufacturing execution system experience defining new and mature production system artifacts and interactions.
Experience with manufacturing process fundamentals and adjacent design and analysis principles as they relate to manufacturing requirements.

Responsibilities

Build a vision for the production system architecture that will serve as the foundation for how other teams interact with and support the production system.
Author command documentation for design standards, standard operating procedures, and process definitions.
Define requirements for manufacturing bill of materials structure and composition, including reconciliation with the engineering bill of materials.
Ensure system support for financial reporting tools, including clear audit trails and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Define how manufacturing engineering will interact with the product lifecycle management system and establish production configuration control.
Create manufacturing artifacts as a single source of truth for process and production requirements related to spacecraft hardware design.
Own the definition and application of design for excellence principles so hardware design meets performance targets and is producible.
Define best practices for manufacturing engineering use of computer-aided design software to facilitate development of production system hardware and processes.
Ensure simplicity in transferring manufacturing data between subsystems so engineers and technicians do not manually re-enter data already contextualized in the system.
Ensure automation connectors attached to the production system maintain consistent contextualization with order, batch, and serial numbers.
Define integration of ground support equipment design elements with the manufacturing execution system structure so build tools are linked to the build definition.
Develop and mentor early-career engineers in production system excellence.
Serve as the primary expert on geometric dimensioning and tolerancing per ASME Y14.5-2009, ensuring compliance, maintaining best practices, and mentoring others.

Desired Qualifications

Direct experience defining and executing production system tools and practices.
Experience owning and maintaining capital expenditure and operating expenditure budgets, as well as resource forecasting.
Understanding of financial reporting and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements related to manufacturing cost tracking and transitioning from development to production.
Experience defining spacecraft physical architecture and integrating propulsion, avionics, mechanisms, thermal hardware, payloads, harnessing, and other subsystems within a constrained vehicle envelope.
High proficiency with computer-aided design and product lifecycle management software; Siemens NX and Teamcenter experience is strongly preferred, especially with complex interfaces to production system elements and tooling.
Experience integrating Teamcenter with enterprise resource planning and owning manufacturing bill of materials development and reconciliation with an engineering bill of materials.
Experience with quality management systems accredited through AS9100 and other defense manufacturing regulations, such as material traceability and first article inspection.
Knowledge of spacecraft hardware design techniques, requirements, and validation principles, and knowledge of spacecraft material properties and specific processing requirements.
Experience with computer numerical control machines, robotics, and other production system automation.

About Portal

Portal Space Systems is on a mission to expand humanity’s freedom of movement in space. We’re building the spacecraft that makes that mission possible. From our Bothell, WA headquarters, we design vehicles with the maneuverability, resilience, and adaptability needed for the next era of orbital operations. Every system we build is in service of a simple idea: space should be more accessible, responsive, and capable. Joining Portal means stepping into a team that believes in bold engineering, fast iteration, and the power of small groups to change what’s possible. If you want your work to directly shape the future of in-space mobility, join us.

Position Summary

As a Principal Production Systems Architect, you will own the vision and implementation of a world class production system architecture that combines the flexibility and agility of a startup with the configuration control and design rigorof a mature aerospace OEM. Portal is built on its ability to innovate and ideate instantaneously in an environment that demands precision and surety. Ensuring that interactions between the PLM, ERP and MES systems are nimble, efficient and reliable will be a top priority.

This is a hands-on system development role requiring close collaboration with enterprise IT, design teams, manufacturing, integration, test, systems engineering, and suppliers. You will be expected to move quickly, make sound engineering decisions, and own the interaction of production control systems with design tools, technician interfaces, and manufacturing resource planning.

Responsibilities

Build a bold vision for the production system architecture that will be the foundation of how other teams interact with and support the production system itself.
Author command documentation for design standards, standard operating procedures, process definition.
Define requirements around MBOM structure and composition including reconciliation with the EBOM.
Ensure system support of financial reporting tools including clear audit trails and SOX compliance.
Define how manufacturing engineering will interact with the PLM system and what configuration control looks like for production.
Create manufacturing artifacts to act as a single source of truth for process and production requirements as they relate to space craft hardware design.
Own the definition and application of DFx principles ensuring that hardware design not only meets ambitious performance targets but is also producible in the real world.
Define best practices for manufacturing engineering usage of CAD software facilitate the development of production system hardware, processes and more.
You will ensure overall system simplicity in passing manufacturing data from one sub-system to another such that engineers and technicians will not have to manually input manufacturing data that is already contextualized in the system.
Ensure that automation connectors attached to the production system maintain consistent contextualization with order numbers, batch numbers, serial numbers and more.
Define a robust integration of GSE design elements with MES system structure so that the tools something is built with seamlessly tie into the rest of the build definition.
Develop and mentor early career engineers into the next generation of industry leading experts ensuring that future leaders have a sound footing production system excellence.
You will be Portal’s foremost expert on GD&T per ASME Y14.5-2009 ensuring engineering compliance with the standard, developing and maintaining best practices as well as being responsible for mentoring others on the practice.

Basic Qualifications

Seven + years of professional experience defining aerospace production systems including MES implementation, manufacturing system design standards and production process requirements.
Demonstrated expert experience of aerospace manufacturing processes.
Strong CAD, PLM and MES experience in defining new and mature production system artifacts and interactions.
Experience in manufacturing process fundamentals as well as adjacent design and analysis principles as they relate to manufacturing requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

Direct experience defining and executing production system tools and practices.
Experience owning and maintaining CAPEX and OPEX budgets as well as resource forecasting.
Understanding of financial reporting and SOX compliance requirements as they relate to manufacturing cost tracking and transitioning from development to production.
Experience defining spacecraft physical architecture and integrating propulsion, avionics, mechanisms, thermal hardware, payloads, harnessing, and other subsystems within a constrained vehicle envelope.
High proficiency with CAD and PLM software; Siemens NX and Teamcenter experience is strongly preferred, especially with complex interfaces to production system elements and tooling.
Experience with Teamcenter integration to ERP and ownership of MBOM development and reconciliation with an EBOM.
Experience with QMS systems accredited through AS9100 as well as other defense regulations around manufacturing such as material traceability and first article inspection.
Knowledge of spacecraft hardware design techniques, requirements and validation principles. Knowledge of spacecraft materials properties and specific processing requirements.
Experience with CNC machines, robotics and other production system automation.

Pay Range $165K to $230K

Compensation and Benefits:

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

At Portal, your base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company equity at an exciting time of company growth as well as potential bonuses. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage (premiums paid by Portal 100%), access to a 401(k)-retirement plan, paid parental leave, you may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 12 or more paid holidays per year as well as sick time.

ITAR Statement

This position may involve access to technical data and defense-related materials controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Eligibility to access ITAR-controlled items requires that candidates be U.S. persons, which includes U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other protected individuals as defined by U.S. law. Employment is contingent upon verification of ITAR eligibility and, where applicable, obtaining any required export authorization or license.

Equal Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

About the Company

Portal Space Systems

Develops rapid, solar-thermal propelled satellite buses

Portal Space Systems designs and builds spacecraft for in-space mobility, focusing on a solar thermal propulsion-driven satellite bus called the Supernova. The bus uses solar energy to heat a propellant, delivering higher thrust and efficiency to perform large orbital changes, such as transferring from LEO to GEO or to cislunar space. The team includes veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Kuiper, helping mature the technology and manufacturing process. The company has secured over $3 million in Department of Defense funding, signaling a government and defense market focus, and plans to begin production of the Supernova by the end of 2026 from its Bothell, Washington base. Its goal is to move satellites more quickly and flexibly through space, enabling expanded space logistics and orbital transfer capabilities while winning government contracts.

Company size: 51-200
Company stage: Series A
Total funding: $70.9M
Headquarters: Bothell, WA
Founded: 2021

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