5+ years in reliability, design assurance, or systems engineering for high-consequence hardware
2+ years in a management or team-lead role
Experience with FMEA/FMECA and fault tree analysis
Familiarity with extreme environments affecting lunar hardware
Responsibilities
Lead the reliability engineering program across multiple disciplines
Build and manage a team of reliability and design assurance engineers
Architect design standards and test methodologies
Champion the design process and set criteria for new hardware
Own change and risk reviews, translating technical risks into actionable decisions
Develop specialized analysis tools and reliability checklists
Mentor engineers on reliability methods and capture lessons learned
Benefits
Join a team of top engineers in planetary exploration
Equity ownership in the company
Comprehensive health benefits including mental health support
401(k) plan with company match
Flexible PTO and parental leave
Weekly lunch stipend and complimentary snacks
Monthly social hour with food and drinks
Full Job Description
Design Reliability Engineering Manager
Department: Chief Engineering
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Hawthorne, California
Compensation: $175,000 - $220,000 / year
Description
CLV-1 is the first human-capable lunar rover since 1972. It will carry Artemis IV astronauts across the lunar South Pole, one of the harshest environments humans have ever worked in. There is no service center. It must work. As the Design Reliability Engineering Manager, you will ensure CLV-1's systems survive the mission. You will work across disciplines to build reliability into the design itself, identifying and mitigating failures before they arise.
What you'll do:
Lead reliability engineering end-to-end: define and own the reliability program across avionics, mechanisms, power, thermal, and structures for current and future rover programs
Build and manage a team of reliability and design assurance engineers, setting hiring priorities, technical standards, and growth paths as the company scales
Architect Astrolab's design standards and test methodologies
Champion the Astrolab design process and set design criteria, requirements, and verification approaches for new hardware
Own change and risk reviews, translating technical risk and impact into decisions the team can act on
Become the person the organization trusts to translate technical risk into clear, confident decisions
Build the processes that ensure designs meet standards, reviews are comprehensive, changes are implemented, and risks are mitigated
Flow reliability requirements down to hardware: margins, screening levels, derating guidelines
Mentor engineers on reliability methods and analysis techniques
Capture lessons learned and drive continuous improvements to strengthen standards and processes
What you'll bring:
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in a science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) related field
5+ years in reliability, design assurance, or systems engineering for spaceflight, aerospace, or other high-consequence hardware (defense, nuclear, medical devices considered)
2+ years in a people-management or team-lead role
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with FMEA/FMECA, fault tree analysis, reliability prediction (MIL-HDBK-217 or physics-of-failure methods), and worst-case analysis.
Experience with the environments that break lunar hardware: extreme thermal cycling, vacuum outgassing, radiation (SEU/SEL/TID), regolith/dust contamination, and launch/landing shock and vibration loads.
Experience designing, integrating, testing, or operating space vehicles or other large, complex systems
Experience standing up a reliability function at a growth-stage company.
Experience creating engineering standards, review templates, or technical guidance frameworks
Experience with manufacturing processes, materials selection, and hardware qualification pathways
Experience with fracture control, human-rated hardware standards, or similar reliability frameworks
Benefits and Perks
Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
Equity ownership in the company
Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
401(k) plan with company match
Flexible PTO and parental leave
Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks
