Position OverviewParallax Space is seeking an exceptional Head of Engineering to lead the company's technical organization, engineering execution, and product development strategy as we scale from early product development into repeatable flight systems and production execution.
This leader will be responsible for building and managing a world-class multidisciplinary engineering organization spanning systems engineering, mechanical, electrical, avionics, software, test, and mission hardware development. The role requires both strategic technical leadership and hands-on execution discipline, ensuring Parallax delivers mission-ready systems with the speed, reliability, and manufacturability required for commercial and national security space customers.
The Head of Engineering will serve as a foundational executive leader, shaping technical direction, scaling engineering processes, recruiting top-tier talent, and driving engineering excellence across every stage of the product lifecycle - from architecture and development through qualification, flight readiness, and production transition.
This is a high-ownership leadership role for a builder who thrives in fast-moving environments and understands how to balance engineering rigor with startup execution speed.
Key ResponsibilitiesEngineering Leadership & Organizational Development- Lead and scale all engineering disciplines including systems engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, avionics, software, test, integration, and mission hardware development.
- Build and develop a high-performing engineering organization capable of rapid product development and mission execution.
- Define organizational structure, hiring plans, capability roadmaps, and technical leadership responsibilities.
- Recruit, mentor, and retain top engineering talent.
- Establish a culture of ownership, technical accountability, urgency, and continuous improvement.
- Develop engineering career progression, leadership development, and performance expectations.
Technical Strategy & Product Leadership- Define and maintain the technical roadmap aligned with company growth strategy, customer demand, and product expansion.
- Drive architecture decisions across spacecraft systems, hosted payloads, mission hardware, and enabling technologies.
- Ensure engineering efforts align with product strategy, recurring production objectives, and business priorities.
- Lead major technical trade studies, architecture reviews, and strategic design decisions.
- Balance performance, manufacturability, reliability, schedule, and cost in engineering decision-making.
- Partner with executive leadership on long-range technical planning and capability investment.
Engineering Execution & Product Delivery- Drive engineering execution across all active programs, internal product development efforts, and customer deliverables.
- Ensure disciplined execution from concept development through design, build, integration, testing, qualification, and flight readiness.
- Establish clear engineering ownership, execution cadence, milestone accountability, and technical reporting.
- Lead engineering participation in PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR, qualification reviews, and mission readiness activities.
- Remove technical and organizational obstacles impacting schedule or product delivery.
- Support rapid issue resolution across development and mission execution efforts.
Engineering Operations & Process Excellence- Build scalable engineering operating systems, workflows, and execution infrastructure.
- Establish standards for requirements management, configuration control, engineering documentation, release management, and technical change control.
- Drive implementation of integrated engineering tools supporting product lifecycle execution.
- Improve engineering planning, work prioritization, and cross-functional coordination.
- Develop repeatable engineering processes that support both rapid development and scalable production.
- Ensure strong design-for-manufacturing and design-for-test discipline across programs.
Quality, Reliability & Mission Assurance- Own engineering quality and technical mission success.
- Establish robust engineering review, validation, verification, and failure analysis processes.
- Drive root cause investigations and corrective action implementation.
- Ensure products meet reliability, environmental, qualification, and customer performance requirements.
- Support mission assurance rigor appropriate for high-reliability aerospace systems.
- Partner with manufacturing and operations to ensure smooth transition from engineering into production execution.
Cross-Functional Execution- Partner closely with program management, manufacturing, supply chain, business operations, and mission execution teams.
- Align engineering deliverables with company schedules, customer milestones, and financial constraints.
- Support supply chain technical decisions, make/buy strategies, vendor qualification, and production readiness.
- Collaborate with business operations and program leadership on resource planning and execution forecasting.
- Support enterprise operational scalability through disciplined technical execution.
Customer, Mission & Business Development Support- Participate in customer technical engagements, proposal development, design reviews, and strategic technical discussions.
- Support capture efforts with technical solution development and customer-facing credibility.
- Represent Parallax engineering capability to commercial, civil, and national security customers.
- Contribute technical leadership to new business pursuits, mission planning, and product roadmap expansion.
QualificationsRequired Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical field.
- 12+ years of engineering experience in aerospace, defense, spacecraft, launch, or other high-reliability hardware environments.
- 5+ years of engineering leadership experience managing multidisciplinary technical teams.
- Proven track record delivering complex hardware systems from concept through qualification, deployment, or flight.
- Deep understanding of systems engineering principles and full product lifecycle execution.
- Demonstrated experience building scalable engineering organizations and technical processes.
- Strong technical judgment across multidisciplinary hardware development.
- Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, high-accountability startup environments.
- Excellent communication, leadership, and organizational execution skills.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications- Direct experience with spacecraft, satellites, hosted payloads, launch systems, or mission hardware.
- Experience scaling engineering organizations in venture-backed or high-growth aerospace companies.
- Experience supporting DoD, IC, NASA, SDA, or national security space programs.
- Familiarity with FAR/DFARS contracting environments.
- Experience in manufacturing transition and production scale-up.
- Familiarity with configuration-controlled aerospace development environments.
- Understanding of mission assurance and aerospace quality frameworks.
- Familiarity with export-controlled programs and ITAR/EAR compliance.
- Advanced technical degree (MS or PhD).
Core Competencies- Technical Leadership
- Ownership
- Strategic Thinking
- Execution Bias
- Systems Thinking
- Organizational Leadership
- Decision Making
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Accountability
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Talent Development
Why Join Parallax SpaceJoin a team building critical infrastructure for the future of space. At Parallax Space, you will work on real hardware, real missions, and meaningful national-scale challenges alongside a high-performing team of engineers, operators, and builders.
