About This RoleAs Director of Mission Management, you will build and lead the function that sits at the heart of Varda's commercial and national security business: the team responsible for bringing every mission from contract signature through on-orbit operations and reentry recovery. You will own the full customer program management lifecycle, lead a growing team of Mission Managers, Contracts Managers, and National Security Specialists and serve as the senior escalation point for all programmatic and contractual matters across the portfolio.
This is an operator role. You will be in the details - driving manifest planning, navigating classified program requirements, enforcing statement-of-work discipline, and ensuring Varda delivers on every commitment to every customer. You will also be a builder, developing the processes, team structure, and cross-functional relationships that allow Mission Management to scale as our launch cadence grows.
This role reports to senior leadership and partners closely with Engineering, Sales, Regulatory, and Legal. Import/export compliance and national security security operations also fall within the Mission Management organization.
What You'll DoMission Portfolio Leadership- Own Varda's manifest, defining what missions Varda will fly each year by deconflicting priorities across internal pharma objectives; existing testbed customer requirements; engineering roadmaps; business development efforts; and launch and landing site availability.
- Lead a team of mission managers through end-to-end programmatic execution across Varda's full testbed customer mission portfolio - commercial (US and international), civil, and national security - from pre-contract scoping through reentry and recovery.
- Serve as the senior customer interface for key accounts; manage escalations, negotiate contract modifications, and maintain trust with government and commercial program offices.
- Chair major customer milestone reviews; hold Mission Managers accountable for the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of all deliverables and payment milestones.
Contracts & Program Execution- Maintain deep fluency in all active contracts -negotiations, change orders, task orders, terms and conditions, and Contracts Officer inquiries - and enforce rigorous statement-of-work discipline across the team, especially given the Firm-Fixed Price nature of Varda's contracts.
- Partner with the Contracts Managers and Mission Managers (direct reports) on proposal development, RFP/RFI responses, and contract negotiations; ensure all new business is scoped accurately and executably.
- Oversee import/export compliance (ITAR/EAR) across the company's technology portfolio; escalate risks and coordinate with legal and regulatory counsel as needed.
- Identify, manage, and communicate program risk; develop and track mitigation plans, and communicate risk posture clearly to leadership and customers.
- Maintain relationships with government program offices, contracting officers, and CORs; serve as the senior programmatic point of contact for all customers.
National Security & Classified Programs- Lead program execution for classified national security customers; understand and operate within the requirements of classified program environments.
- Partner with the Program, Industrial, and Personnel Security functions (reporting to Varda's Security lead, a direct report) to ensure facility-clearance compliance, SCIF ownership, program protection plan development and implementation, and personnel clearance management support mission requirements and timelines.
- Maintain relationships with government customer security professionals; serve as the senior programmatic point of contact for classified accounts.
- Grow security function to include all aspects of physical security across all of Varda's sites - from LA to Huntsville to DC and beyond.
Team Leadership & Organizational Development- Hire, develop, and lead a team of Mission Managers, Contracts Managers, and Security Professionals; set clear expectations, coach performance, and build a culture of ownership and delivery.
- Define and implement scalable mission management processes - templates, review cadences, risk frameworks, and communication standards - that support a rapidly growing flight manifest.
- Partner with Sales to support business development, ensure new opportunities are structured and contractually sound, and represent Mission Management in capture strategy discussions.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Regulatory, Payload, and Finance to resolve issues, align resources, and maintain mission velocity.
What You BringRequired- 12+ years of experience in program or mission management in aerospace or defense, with significant time in a people leadership role.
- Deep experience executing government contracts - especially firm fixed-price- including statement-of-work development, contract administration, and change management.
- Demonstrated experience managing classified national security programs.
- Strong technical depth and first principles thinking: ability to engage credibly with engineers on systems, integration, and mission design questions.
- Experience with ITAR/EAR compliance in a space or defense hardware context.
- Track record of leading and developing high-performing teams in a fast-paced environment.
- S. citizenship required (ITAR).
- Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering, physics, or a related technical discipline.
Preferred- Active Top Secret clearance strongly preferred (TS/SCI preferred).
- Experience at a new-space company (SpaceX, Millennium, Rocket Lab, or similar) with direct responsibility for commercial and/or national security launch mission management.
- Background in spacecraft mission design, integration and test, launch campaign, or on-orbit operations.
- Familiarity with reentry vehicle programs, hosted payloads, or in-space manufacturing missions.
- Experience supporting or leading business development and proposal efforts, including cost volume development for FFP programs.
Why Varda- You'll lead a function that is central to Varda's success - every dollar of revenue flows through Mission Management.
- You'll work alongside a team of operators who have flown real missions and hold high standards; your peers will make you better.
- The orbital economy is still being built. You'll help define what best-in-class mission management looks like for a new class of space company.
Compensation & Location- Salary Range: Senior: $185,640 - $251,160/per year
- This role is on-sitein El Segundo, CA
- Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
- You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash award
- Competitive compensation, equity, and benefits commensurate with a senior leadership role at a well-funded, high-growth aerospace startup
ITAR RequirementsVarda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our policy is to only hire "U.S. persons" who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.
"US person" means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum).
