The Payload Processing Technology Manager will lead the deployment, operation, maintenance, and improvement of electrical ground support equipment utilized throughout the Payload Processing Facility located in Merritt Island, Florida as well as French Guiana. This individual will work closely with and manage engineering and manufacturing teams that integrate Kuiper satellites with dispenser and launch vehicle hardware.
The Payload Processing Technology Manager is a technical leader of the team, providing guidance on many aspects including but not limited to ground support equipment within the payload processing facilities, testing requirements, facility and equipment planning, integration and test application implementation and improvement, design for manufacturability, and project management.
The ideal candidate is comfortable in a highly technical setting and leads collaboration with other departments to reach the best solution to any problem and is able to technically challenge assumptions and requirements of these departments including avionics, networking, and harnessing.
Additionally, a Payload Processing Technology Manager is expected to set objectives for the team overall, not only identifying the right long term strategies but implementing them on their assemblies and responsibilities, leading by example first and then by instruction. They'll have extensive experience in space hardware integration and test as well as associated ground support equipment.
Key job responsibilities
• Lead a team of engineers and technicians to support multiple processing facilities and launch sites
• Maintain budget and staffing plans for the payload processing technology team
• Establish and maintain standards for the production and maintenance of electrical ground support hardware and associated software/networks
• Assist in planning new facilities for storage, processing, and launch preparation of satellites and other flight hardware
• Direct the maintenance, calibration, and upgrade of instrumentation racks, vehicle power supplies, harnesses, and miscellaneous ground support equipment
• Coordinate cable harness shop operations including work orders, procurement, new harness builds, and existing cable harness diagnosis and repair
• Interface with internal and external stakeholders to establish power and telecom to facilities and work cells
• Ensuring that all work scope is carried out in a safe manner by authoring/reviewing job hazard analyses and ensuring team training compliance
• Must be willing and able to perform extended travel up to 25% annually, either domestically or internationally as business needs demand
• Able to obtain and maintain a US Passport & must meet customs entry requirements to include but not limited to: Yellow Fever vaccine and other immunization requirements as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Able to pass Kennedy Space Center background checks
A day in the life
The Payload Processing Technology Manager will spend significant amounts of time collaborating with engineering, quality, and manufacturing to deliver and maintain support equipment required to test satellite/dispensers and perform hardware integration.
They will be the front line lead to deliver their value stream, implementing engineering best practices in a safe and repeatable manner, implementing efficiency improvements and reducing non-conformances.
We are a fast-paced, data-driven team, and work with leaders in multiple technology areas to deliver the best product for our customers. We hold each other to relentlessly high standards, and constantly look for ways to improve the product's performance, quality and cost. We are excited about the technical challenges, which motivates us rather than discourages us.
We want individuals who are ready for this challenge and want to reach beyond what is possible today.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience leading engineering development or operations teams (lead engineer, test director, supervisor, manager, etc.)
- Experience with project management of technical projects
- Strong organizational, analytical, root cause analysis and problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication and leadership skills
- Able to obtain and maintain a US Passport and Must meet customs entry requirements to include but not limited to: Yellow Fever vaccine and other immunization requirements as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Able to pass Kennedy Space Center background checks
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in electrical engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, or information technology.
- 2+ years of experience as a manager or supervisor of engineering teams in an aerospace environment
- 2+ years of experience with electrical ground support equipment development, test, and day to day operations
- Familiarity with common avionics interface protocols, cable harnesses, instrumentation racks, breakout boxes, and programmable power supplies
- Understanding of TCP/IP networking and network physical layer hardware (fiber optic, Ethernet, switches, firewalls, out of band management, etc)
- Experience with corporate procurement processes and contracts
- Demonstrated history of managing workflows and production line support (Jira tickets, work orders, on-call rotation management, etc.)
- Implementation of AWS services and permissions
- Knowledge of NFPA 70 National Electric Code
