Propulsion Technical Program Manager
South Park Commons is a community and early-stage venture firm that helps talented founders and technologists move from an idea (-1) to a company (0). It runs a no-cost, no-equity residency program for ideation and exploration, and provides $1M to $10M in funding for founders ready to build venture-scale companies.
About South Park Commons
South Park Commons operates a talent-dense community of technical founders, researchers, and domain experts who test ideas, find collaborators, and build conviction on what to build and how to build it. Its offering spans two stages: a six-month Residency with no cost or equity focused on ideation and exploration, and Funding of $1M to $10M for members ready to build venture-scale companies. Beyond capital, SPC provides learning forums on frontier topics (embodied AI, reinforcement learning, energy-efficient computing, AI in biotech), live programming with industry leaders, partner collaboration from a team of former founders and operators, social scaffolding to counter the isolation of early company building, and up to $1M in credits and perks from partners like Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft, GCP, and AWS. SPC has spaces in San Francisco, New York, and Bengaluru, and its community has produced companies such as Render, Luma Labs, Pilot, Comun, Anthropic, Unit21, and Profound.
Skills
About the Role
You'll lead the delivery of propulsion systems from development through production and flight, managing cost, schedule, and technical performance across programs for U.S. Government and Commercial customers. As a key member of the Mission Engineering team, you'll collaborate closely with propulsion, avionics, GNC, systems, manufacturing/production, supply chain, and business teams. You'll be accountable for getting propulsion hardware built, qualified, and integrated onto spacecraft at an aggressive cadence, turning complex technical and logistical requirements into organized roadmaps, schedules, and budgets that you track throughout the product and program lifecycle. This role is based in San Jose with a hybrid schedule of three days per week in-office.
Requirements
- B.S. in an engineering discipline (M.S. preferred), or equivalent technical experience
- 6+ years of relevant experience in engineering and/or technical program management
- Demonstrated track record of delivering complex hardware programs through production, including hardware/software/firmware integration
- Propulsion experience strongly preferred (development, qualification, or production)
- Experience managing programs with multiple subcontractors and a complex critical-path supply chain
- Ability to instantiate and manage integrated master schedules and budgets
- Comfort working on complex multidisciplinary projects in a fast-paced, aggressive-timeline environment
- Excellent analytical and interpersonal skills
- Systems engineering and inter-discipline technical trade study experience is a plus
Responsibilities
- Lead a multidisciplinary propulsion production effort, driving day-to-day execution across design, build, test, qualification, and integration
- Own the transition from development to rate/serial production, establishing schedules, processes, and manufacturing readiness
- Coordinate hardware/software and firmware integration to deliver a complete functioning propulsion subsystem
- Engage stakeholders to plan and coordinate resources, tooling, and long-lead procurements
- Manage a complex critical-path supply chain and subcontractors for propulsion components
- Synchronize a diverse technical team by establishing tools, practices, and processes
- Participate in technical discussions and work with engineers on scoping, schedules, trades, and solutions
- Track and report program metrics on schedule, resource, cost, risk, and technical performance; identify and retire risks
- Serve as the face of the company to customers, subcontractors, and suppliers, and support business development
Benefits
- Equity compensation
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401k retirement plan
- Short & long term disability and life insurance
- Three weeks paid vacation for new employees
- 12 paid holidays
- Unlimited sick time
- Paid parental leave