Lead a team of propulsion manufacturing engineers and technicians to build satellite propulsion systems at Astranis.
Posted by employer 2 years ago
First seen on Joblaze 1 month ago
Last verified on the company career page 5 days ago
What you'll build
- Lead a team of propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and welders
- Create and enforce quality standards and processes
- Manage day-to-day activities of propulsion manufacturing
- Evaluate proposed designs for manufacturability and integration
- Develop new processes and tooling for manufacturing
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering
- 5+ years of professional experience in a hardware manufacturing or production environment
- Demonstrated ability to manage a lab and/or production facilities
- Proven leadership through project management and people management experience
- Hands-on experience working with fluid or gas feed systems
Nice to have
- Direct management experience of engineers, technicians, and/or welders
- Experience with fluid and gas system component design
- Specific experience with low thrust monopropellant and electric propulsion systems
- Experience in spacecraft fueling and launch operations
- Familiarity with AFSPCMAN 91-710 and other Range Safety documentation
Practical constraints
- U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required
Requirements
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Education
- Bachelor's degree
- Visa
- No sponsorship (stated in posting)
Benefits
Joblaze summary
The Team Lead for Propulsion Manufacturing at Astranis oversees the production of satellite propulsion systems, managing a team of engineers, technicians, and welders. This role requires expertise in aerospace or mechanical engineering, with a focus on quality assurance, process improvement, and hands-on involvement with hardware. Ideal candidates have significant experience in hardware manufacturing and demonstrated leadership skills, particularly in a production environment. Astranis emphasizes a culture of safety and quality, aiming to enhance its manufacturing capabilities as it scales operations.
Joblaze insights
- Listed about a month ago — first seen on Joblaze September 27, 2026. Last confirmed on Astranis's careers page November 10, 2026.
- Salary band is above the typical range for comparable tech roles (median ~$130,000).
- Starts above 44% of 212 comparable lead other roles in United States we track (median $150,000 across 74 companies).
Quick facts
- Is the Team Lead - Propulsion Manufacturing role remote?
- No — this is an on-site role in San Francisco .
- What's the salary range?
- Astranis lists $145,000–$190,000 for this role.
- How much experience is required?
- At least 5 years of relevant experience for this Team Lead - Propulsion Manufacturing role.
- Where is the role based?
- Astranis is hiring for this position in San Francisco .
- What seniority level is this role?
- Astranis targets lead candidates for this position.
- Is this full-time or contract?
- Full-time for this Team Lead - Propulsion Manufacturing role at Astranis.
From the original posting
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.
Team Lead - Propulsion Manufacturing
As our Propulsion Manufacturing Team Lead you will be responsible for the manufacturing and delivery of our propulsion systems. You will lead, and continue building, a team of world class propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and aerospace welders.
Role
- Lead a team of Propulsion manufacturing engineers, technicians, and welders to build satellite propulsion systems, including hiring and managing direct reports.
- Create and enforce quality standards and processes to ensure proper verification of unit-level and system-level hardware. Evaluate non-conformances to determine root cause and create corrective action plans and system improvements.
- Manage day-to-day activities of propulsion manufacturing, including creating processes for assigning and tracking work across a multi-disciplinary team.
- Create and enforce a culture of safety and quality throughout the workplace.
- Evaluate proposed designs for manufacturability and integration, and work closely with design engineering teams to new designs and processes to enable factory output growth targets up to 24 vehicles per year.
- Create, maintain and communicate detailed schedules, ensuring your team and other stakeholders are aware of tasks and deadlines, including resource identification and acquisition.
- Own both internal and external manufacturing processes, including vendor management and ROI analysis on insourcing any processes.
- Develop new processes and tooling to support the manufacturing and assembly of new hardware designs, as well as continuous improvement of existing processes.
- Work hands-on with flight hardware alongside your team to ensure mission success.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering.
- 5+ years of professional experience in a hardware manufacturing or production environment (aerospace preferred).
- Demonstrated ability to manage a lab and/or production facilities, equipment, and operations.
- Proven leadership through project management, mentorship, and people management experience.
- Hands-on experience working with fluid or gas feed systems.
- Experience with 3D CAD software, including navigating complex assemblies and designing basic fixturing.
- Ability to use ERP/MES systems for creating procedures, tracking hardware ad builds, and enforcing quality processes.
- Strong communication (written and verbal), organizational skills, and attention to detail.
- Strong mechanical systems engineering intuition and critical thinking. Comfort with ambiguity and turning high-level requirements into clear design/test objectives.
Bonus
- Direct management experience of engineers, technicians, and/or welders.
- Experience with fluid and gas system component design.
- Specific experience with low thrust monopropellant, green monopropellant, and electric propulsion systems
- Experience in spacecraft fueling and launch operations.
- Familiarity with AFSPCMAN 91-710 and other Range Safety documentation and requirements.
Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.
Astranis SMS Terms of Service
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