Please review the job details below.Intuitive Machines - West is currently seeking a courageous, innovative, multi-skilled Director of High-Rate AIT Production to join our spacecraft production team in Palo Alto, CA.
Your Project: Intuitive Machines is a world leader in high-power spacecraft, having delivered some of the largest and highest-power spacecraft in the world. We are now looking to take this legacy of excellence to the next level, architecting a high-volume production line to build a large number of advanced spacecraft.
In this role, you will architect and implement a high-volume assembly, integration, and test (AIT) production line for these next-generation vehicles. You will be responsible for transforming our AIT operations from low-rate to high-rate production, establishing scalable processes and organizational capabilities to support our ambitious production targets. The scope includes complete spacecraft AIT from component receipt through final acceptance testing, encompassing electrical systems integration, solar array integration with the spacecraft bus, battery integration, advanced thermal solutions, and comprehensive environmental testing at production scale.
A critical aspect of this role is developing an efficient, right-sized test program-one that provides high confidence the vehicles will perform as designed while eliminating non-value-added test activities that add cost and schedule without commensurate risk reduction. You will apply rigorous engineering judgment to distinguish between essential verification activities and legacy testing practices that may not be necessary for production-rate vehicles.
We are looking for leaders to bravely challenge conventional AIT approaches and establish production-rate processes for these advanced systems. You will play an essential role in applying design-for-manufacturing/design-for-test (DFM/DFT) principles to develop AIT specifications and manufacturing plans suitable for volume production. Additionally, you will represent AIT capabilities during customer proposal efforts, providing technical credibility and instilling confidence in our ability to execute high-volume production of complex spacecraft.
Your Career: We're very serious about professional development and continuing education at Intuitive Machines - West. We offer our team members the opportunity to define their own career trajectory. You will work with your manager to set goals and design a development plan to advance your career. This unique opportunity is a high-visibility role critical to our company's leadership position in spacecraft manufacturing.
What We Offer: Time for dedicated professional development, conference attendance, industry training, peer group collaboration, as well as paid certifications and education reimbursement.
Who you will work with: You will report to the VP of Spacecraft Production and Operations and collaborate closely with Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain teams. You will lead a team of AIT production engineers and technicians while partnering with design engineering to ensure producibility of our spacecraft systems. You will also engage directly with potential customers during proposal phases to communicate our production and test capabilities.
Your responsibilities: - Design end-to-end AIT production flow optimized for high-volume throughput
- Develop capacity models, takt time analysis, and process flow requirements for production-rate AIT
- Define capital equipment strategy including test equipment, handling systems, and tooling
- Establish scalable AIT work instructions, process controls, and quality gates
- Lead development of an efficient, risk-informed test program that ensures vehicle performance confidence while eliminating non-value-added testing
- Oversee spacecraft-level integration of solar arrays, batteries, and other major subsystems with the spacecraft bus
- Implement manufacturing execution systems (MES) tailored to provide assembly process documentation and production tracking for volume spacecraft production
- Define requirements for low-cost mechanical and electrical assembly, integration and test equipment, and production tooling
- Lead Voice of Manufacturing inputs to spacecraft design to ensure producibility at scale
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives leveraging lean manufacturing principles
- Build and mentor AIT production engineering team
- Represent AIT production capabilities to potential customers during proposal efforts, providing technical credibility on execution readiness
- Support business development with AIT cost models and production capacity commitments
How you will be evaluated:
Your performance will be measured against AIT production readiness milestones, test program efficiency metrics, production ramp targets, quality metrics, and cost per unit objectives.
What we look for in team members:
As a team member at Intuitive Machines - West, we expect you to demonstrate honesty, integrity, innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to excellence.
Minimum Qualifications: - Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and be willing and able to obtain U.S. Government security clearance
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related technical field. Four additional years of experience may be substituted for a degree
- Minimum of 15 years related aerospace manufacturing/AIT experience
- Minimum of 7 years leadership experience in production or manufacturing engineering
- Experience working cross-functionally within a company and/or with external partners and contractors
- Proven track record scaling aerospace production operations
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally
Preferred Qualifications: - Experience with volume production of spacecraft or complex aerospace systems
- Direct experience developing and implementing a spacecraft AIT production line
- Experience with large spacecraft systems (solar array integration, battery integration, high-voltage testing)
- Demonstrated experience developing efficient, risk-based test programs that balance verification rigor with schedule/cost efficiency
- Understanding of spacecraft environmental testing at production scale (thermal vacuum, vibration, EMI/EMC)
- Prior history as an AIT engineer, process engineer, or industrial engineer for aerospace products
- Experience with sustaining engineering processes such as Change Approval, NPI, breakpointing
- Advanced degree in a technical field
- Lean/Six Sigma certification
- Experience with AS9100 quality systems
- Capital project management experience (multi-million dollar equipment investments)
- Experience taking spacecraft products into production, including progressive design iterations to reduce delivered cost
- Demonstrated experience applying system engineering practices to AIT operations
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience engaging directly with customers in technical/proposal settings
- Experience working directly with customers in the commercial space industry
- Ability to work independently with a high degree of organization and attention to detail
In support of pay transparency at Lanteris Space Systems, we disclose salary ranges on all U.S. job postings. The successful candidate's starting pay will fall within the salary range provided below and is determined based on job-related factors, including, but not limited to, the experience, qualifications, knowledge, skills, geographic work location, and market conditions. Candidates with the minimum necessary experience, qualifications, knowledge, and skillsets for the position should not expect to receive the upper end of the pay range.
• The base pay for this position within California is: $178,000.00 - $296,000.00 annually.
For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range.
We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, health and welfare insurance, and 401(k) to eligible employees. More information on our benefits will be shared with candidates as they move forward in the recruitment process.
Additionally, this position is incentive eligible with a target based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results achieved; the specific incentive plan and target amount will be determined based on the role and breadth of contributions.
The application window is three days from the date the job is posted and will remain posted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire. If the job is reposted regardless of reason, it will remain posted three days from the date the job is reposted and will remain reposted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire.
The date of posting can be found on the Lanteris Space Systems Career page at the top of each job posting.
To apply, submit your application via the Lanteris Space Systems Career page.
