Full-Time

Head of Programs

Posted on 7/15/2024

Loft Federal

Loft Federal

11-50 employees

Mission-as-a-service smallsat launch and management

Compensation Overview

$195k - $298k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Golden, CO, USA

In Person

US Top Secret Clearance, UK Top Secret Clearance Required

Category
Operations & Logistics (2)
,
Requirements
  • Active DoD Secret clearance is required.
  • The ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance is required.
  • Fifteen or more years of managing large and/or complex software and hardware programs, supporting both the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense.
  • Demonstrated experience in Program Leadership of Non-traditional small satellite missions.
  • Demonstrated experience in small satellite assembly, integration, and test campaigns.
  • Prior experience delivering a spacecraft to orbit and/or space-qualified hardware to a customer.
  • Excellent relationship-building and team leadership skills.
  • Demonstrated experience as a technical specialist on specific spacecraft subsystems as well as system-level experience.
  • Knowledge of how to use MS Project and the entire MS Office suite, Confluence, Smartsheet, Slack, Dropbox.
  • Experience working/managing projects with US Government/DOD Customers.
Responsibilities
  • Manage satellite missions, leading program managers and supporting other teams on strategy, budget, and schedule performance.
  • Assess program risks and implement process alterations and improvements.
  • Oversee purchase order management, policy and procedure compliance, contract negotiations, and program budgets.
  • Manage relationships with existing clients and vendors.
  • Monitor and status of active programs ensuring contract objectives are fulfilled and complex issues are resolved.
  • Help improve team performance by holding retrospectives and facilitating or recommending process changes.
  • Monitor project schedule commitments and direct appropriate personnel to manage impacts or change(s).
  • Lead and support where needed additional business development, and other program support activities.
  • Serve as a member on the Leadership Team providing the "voice of the program and customer" to all facets of company management.
Desired Qualifications
  • Preference will be given to candidates with a DoD or Intelligence Community Top Secret background investigation with at least 3 years of eligibility remaining or CE status; and SCI eligibility with current experience in SCI programs, other control systems, and/or Special Access Programs.

Loft Federal provides mission-as-a-service for small satellite missions to the U.S. national security space community. It handles the entire process of getting a payload to orbit, offering regularly scheduled missions so clients can focus on their data rather than the launch. The company uses pre-procured satellite buses and proprietary plug-and-play software and hardware to quickly integrate and launch payloads, delivering missions in months instead of years. This makes Loft Federal different from competitors by targeting government payloads with a turnkey, cost-effective, and predictable path to space, backed by a streamlined operations model rather than standalone launch services. The overall goal is to give government and defense organizations reliable, timely access to space for their data-gathering payloads.

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Golden, Colorado

Founded

2022

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Ball partnered with Loft Federal for SDA NExT 10-satellite testbed launched 2024.
  • FOCI mitigation with U.S. citizens ensures DoD compliance for security missions.
  • Pre-procured buses deliver payloads to orbit in months, not years.

What critics are saying

  • DoD halts contracts due to Loft Orbital's foreign ownership under CFIUS 2025 rules.
  • Ball internalizes smallsat production post-2025, excluding Loft from SDA deals.
  • SDA Tranche 3 awards to Lockheed, Rocket Lab exclude Loft's single-bus model.

What makes Loft Federal unique

  • Loft Federal offers plug-and-play mission-as-a-service for national security smallsat missions.
  • Proprietary Payload Hub enables quick integration using standardized buses from LeoStella.
  • Cockpit software provides web-based payload control for streamlined operations.

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Company News

Global Risk Community
Apr 8th, 2025
global optical satellite imaging market

In April 2023, Ball Corporation partnered with Loft Federal and Microsoft for the Space Development Agency's NExT contract, involving an experimental testbed of 10 satellites scheduled for launch in 2024.

Nasdaq
Apr 3rd, 2024
Volume Production Begins for Mynaric's Flagship Space Laser Terminal - CONDOR Mk3

Mynaric was also selected by Loft Federal to supply the CONDOR Mk3 terminals to NExT - the SDA's Experimental Testbed.

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