Structures & Mechanisms IPT Program Lead

Our client, a fast-growing commercial space company building next-generation orbital infrastructure, is seeking a Structures & Mechanisms IPT Program Lead to take full ownership of its structures and mechanisms portfolio. You will drive delivery from early requirements through design, qualification, and flight readiness. This is a high-visibility leadership role for someone who combines hands-on aerospace hardware expertise with strong program management and the presence to align engineers, suppliers, and executives around one integrated plan.

This role is on-site in Houston, Texas.

Structures & Mechanisms IPT Program Lead Responsibilities

• Own the overall success of the structures and mechanisms program, including scope, requirements, deliverables, schedule, and budget, from concept through qualification, acceptance, and flight readiness.
• Act as the single point of accountability and primary contact for program leadership, executives, and customers, including government agencies, providing clear updates on technical progress, cost, schedule, and risk.
• Lead and mentor cross-functional engineering teams, setting priorities, establishing team rhythms, and clearing obstacles to keep work moving.
• Define and maintain the technical baseline, including requirements flow-down, interface control with adjacent subsystems, verification strategy, and configuration management.
• Guide the program through major design and readiness milestones (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and qualification and acceptance reviews), making sure entrance and exit criteria are met.
• Partner with functional managers in a matrixed environment to negotiate staffing, technical approach, test facility access, and competing program priorities.
• Manage suppliers and subcontractors, including statements of work, deliverables, cost and schedule performance, and verification data.
• Build and maintain the integrated schedule, budget, and estimate at completion, and track cost and schedule performance against plan.
• Lead risk and opportunity management, safety and hazard integration, and anomaly and issue closure, driving timely, data-driven decisions.
• Run system-level trade studies that weigh proven heritage designs against new development across performance, safety, cost, schedule, and risk.
• Support proposal development, basis-of-estimate preparation, and new business capture for current and future efforts.

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in spacecraft or launch vehicle structures and mechanisms development, systems engineering, or project engineering, including leading integrated product teams or multidisciplinary technical teams.
• Proven track record delivering space hardware through the full lifecycle, from design through qualification, acceptance, and flight or operation.
• Deep technical expertise in structural analysis, mechanism design, loads, materials, and environmental testing.
• Expert systems engineering skills, including requirements management, interface control, verification planning, configuration management, and risk management.
• Strong program management skills, including integrated scheduling, budgeting, estimate at completion, and earned value management, using tools such as Microsoft Project or Primavera.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence without direct authority in a matrixed organization.
• Experience leading major milestone reviews and working with NASA, DoD, or commercial customers.
• Experience managing suppliers and subcontractors on cost, schedule, technical, and verification deliverables.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and executive-presence skills, with a sense of urgency and ownership in fast-moving environments.
• Ability to complete a U.S. government background investigation. U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required, and the role may involve export-controlled information.
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends as needed to meet critical project milestones.

Preferred:

• Advanced degree in a technical discipline.
• Familiarity with human-rated spaceflight safety and hazard processes and pressure system requirements.
• Track record of delivering in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.