Staff Technical Program Manager (Hardware)

Job description

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us. About the Team: The Vehicle Engineering organization at Relativity Space owns the Terran R launch vehicle across its full life cycle - from design through build, qualification, and flight - along with the analysis, software, CONOPs development, risk management, and customer-facing and regulatory activities needed to operate Terran R successfully. About the Role: We are seeking a Staff Technical Program Manager to manage cross-functional program execution across a product lifecycle from early design through to flight. We are looking for someone who is comfortable operating between the 10,000 ft. view of the program and zooming in to solve a critical bottleneck. In this role, they will collaborate with technical leaders, manufacturing and ops counterparts, and other program managers to ensure successful execution of top line business objectives, often translating ambiguous long-term ideas into a set of clear trade-offs and priorities. They will analyze problems and drive recommendations that balance the needs of technical teams and the business, anchoring back to data. They will actively own and manage schedules, identify & mitigate programmatic risk, and drive communication across functional teams. A strong desire to build agile, fit for purpose processes from scratch, get your hands dirty, and influence a wide range of technical and operational teams are foundational to success in this role. Execution Strategy & Risk Management Translate long-term business objectives and priorities into a clear execution plan for your area of ownership Build and own the schedule, deriving it from real requirements, resources, and dependencies & ensuring alignment with key company milestones Identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with program execution, ensuring proactive resolution of issues coming down the pipeline Identify resource gaps and coordinate cross-functional planning for resource allocation, including headcount, budget, and workspace needs Develop ways of working and cadences between teams to ensure efficient execution, collaboration, and alignment Communicate program updates, risks, and trade-offs to senior management and cross-functional stakeholders, grounded in data, deciphering signal from noise, and driving decision making when required Identify and drive to resolve future programmatic risks, keeping line of sight to 12mo+ strategic initiatives that are critical for business milestones Cross-Functional and Strategic Leadership Collaborate with PMOs and department leaders to integrate workstream schedules into the program-level Integrated Master Schedule (IMS), and use the IMS to understand true program critical path, dependencies, and decision points Work with functional partners to align priorities when there are competing needs. Drive improvements to department-level program management tooling to continually improve program efficiency and operational excellence Coordinate efforts across key bodies of work over development lifecycle, including design release, engineering trades, handoffs between teams, and operational burndown ahead of key milestones. Incorporate new capabilities leveraging automation and AI, when available Lead by influence and collaborate with technical owners (engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, test, and launch) to establish a plan & empower strong functional ownership Process Improvement & Team Growth Spearhead the creation and continual refinement of effective, lightweight program management processes, tools, and templates that improve efficiency and cross-team collaboration Establish ways of working and ownership model to that ensure programmatic lessons learned are being incorporated each design, build, test, launch cycle Build trust, credibility, and buy-in with functional team & program stakeholders to implement processes effectively Goal Tracking & Reporting Establish goals and metrics to monitor program performance and increase the predictability and efficiency of engineering work Monitor and report on progress toward organizational goals, objectives, and milestones, presenting an objective and clear path forward Facilitate strong communication within departments and across the program to ensure transparency in program status & maintain culture of high ownership About You: Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, mathematics, or a related field; aerospace, electrical, or mechanical engineering degree preferred 7+ years leading a complex program. This can include work in a program management role or a technical role where you were leading a large complex technical hardware program. Experience spanning software and operations preferred Demonstrated success supporting cross-functional hardware teams from concept through delivery in fast-paced, high-ambiguity environments Able to move fluidly between tactical execution and big-picture perspective Track record of solving ambiguous problems, developing processes and tools from scratch. Able to work scrappy whilst building sustainable longterm processes Proven ability to communicate with highly technical teams and bridge communication between technical and non-technical audiences A systems mindset: able to identify program dependencies, interfaces, and risks, and understand the impact of technical and program decisions on other teams and at the company level Nice to haves but not required: Hands-on experience with launch vehicles, propulsion systems, or aerospace hardware PMP, MBA, Master's in engineering, science, mathematics, or related field, or equivalent experience Strong executive presence, with the ability to drive clarity and action across all levels of the company Technical leadership experience, proven track record of success and strategic thinking while balancing conflicting priorities and goals At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here. Hiring Range: $152,000 — $228,000 USD We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at accommodations@relativityspace.com . Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.