Job Description
Job Summary:
Teledyne Brown Engineering is seeking a Payload Planning Manager (PPM) Team Lead to join our management team in Huntsville, AL. This role combines technical leadership with direct personnel and operational management.
The PPM Team Lead manages a senior planning team of 10-15 employees supporting International Space Station (ISS) payload operations for NASA and international partners. The ideal candidate will oversee end-to-end planning integration across all mission phases while maintaining an active PPM certification.
Detailed Description:
Team Management & Leadership
•Manage daily tasking, workload allocations, and cross-team integration for a 10-15 member payload planning team.
•Execute administrative leadership duties, including approving timecards and travel requests, conducting annual performance reviews, and interfacing with Human Resources.
•Oversee recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and certification.
•Lead succession planning, targeted mentoring, and cross-training strategies to address workforce continuity and preserve critical technical expertise.
•Provide clear technical direction, delegate tasking effectively, and foster professional development across a diverse team.
Technical Integration & Mission Execution
•Maintain active PPM certification and support nominal Short Term Plan (STP) operational rotations.
• Direct planning integration for ISS payload activities across Weekly Lookahead Plans (WLPs), Short Term Plans (STPs), and visiting vehicle operations.
•Manage concurrent Increment Lead and Visiting Vehicle planning assignments supporting SpaceX Dragon, Northrop Grumman Cygnus, and Commercial Crew missions.
•Analyze organizational processes to streamline planning operations and optimize resources under shifting budget constraints and operational demands.
Customer & Stakeholder Interface
•Represent NASA payload planning in agency and international partner (IP) control boards, providing operational assessments and mission briefings.
•Serve as the primary PPM interface to the NASA customer management, delivering technical summaries, weekly status reports, and key operational metrics.
•Participate in management forums to guide long-range planning strategy and report high-level operational status to executive leadership.
Requirements:
Education & Experience
- Experience: Minimum of 3+ years of direct experience supporting Payload Operations Integration (POI) is required.
- Certification: An active Flight Controller or Mission Support certification is required.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related technical discipline is strongly preferred
.
Required Knowledge & Skills
- Deep technical understanding of Payload Operations Integration (POI) internal discipline interfaces, Payload Developers (PDs), and International Partners (IPs).
- Demonstrated leadership ability to manage, mentor, and align a multidisciplinary team.
- Strong interpersonal communication, presentation, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Assertive decision-making with a forward-thinking, strategic mindset.
- Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and a proven ability to assign and meet critical deadlines under dynamic operational constraints.
