The Senior Manager, Bus Mechanical Engineering is responsible for the mechanical realization of the Amazon Leo satellite bus across its full lifecycle - from architecture and design through qualification, production, and launch operations.

This role leads multiple mechanical verticals, including bus structures, avionics mechanical, harness engineering, launch support, and vehicle design, and ensures they operate as an integrated system. The Senior Manager provides single-threaded ownership for mechanical tradeoffs, interface management, and execution across concurrent vehicle configurations, balancing technical rigor, producibility, schedule, and mission risk.

This role manages frontline engineering managers, partners closely with peer electrical, thermal, and production organizations, and serves as the primary mechanical authority in system-level decision forums.

Key job responsibilities

- Lead and develop a manager-of-managers organization spanning structures, avionics mechanical, harnessing, launch support, and vehicle design

- Own mechanical architecture, integration strategy, and cross-vertical trade decisions at the satellite bus level

- Serve as the single mechanical interface to peer electrical, thermal, structural analysis, manufacturing, NPI, and production organizations

- Ensure mechanical designs scale effectively into qualification and high-rate production with consistent quality and configuration control

- Own mechanical readiness across development, production, integration, transport, and launch operations

- Resolve complex, high-judgment technical and organizational tradeoffs with lasting vehicle and program impact

- Establish integration standards, escalation paths, and decision frameworks to reduce late-stage risk and execution churn

- Drive headcount planning, skill mix, and long-range staffing strategy across multiple job families

- Represent bus mechanical engineering in senior leadership reviews, system forums, and milestone readiness assessments

A day in the life

In this role, you balance system-level decision making with organizational leadership. Your day may include reviewing cross-discipline tradeoffs with electrical and thermal peers, aligning managers on priorities across multiple vehicle configurations, and resolving integration or production issues that span teams. You participate in system and readiness reviews, guide escalation on high-risk mechanical decisions, and partner with production and launch teams to ensure execution remains aligned with mission goals. Throughout the day, you coach managers, set technical direction, and ensure the organization is operating as a cohesive, execution-focused system.

About the team

The Bus Mechanical Engineering team is responsible for translating satellite architecture into a qualified, producible, and launch-ready vehicle. The organization spans structures, avionics mechanical, harnessing, launch support, and vehicle design, working closely with electrical, thermal, manufacturing, and operations partners. The team operates in a fast-paced environment with multiple vehicle variants in parallel, emphasizing strong integration, disciplined decision-making, and ownership of outcomes. Collaboration, accountability, and a focus on mission success are core to how the team works.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or an equivalent field

- 10+ years of hardware engineering experience

- 5+ years of people management, managing engineers experience

- Demonstrated experience owning mechanical system integration across multiple subsystems (e.g., structures, avionics packaging, harnessing, launch or operational interfaces)

- Proven track record of leading hardware through full lifecycle phases, including design, qualification, production, and operational readiness

- Experience making high-judgment technical and organizational decisions with program-level impact on cost, schedule, and mission risk

- Strong cross-functional leadership experience, partnering with electrical, thermal, manufacturing, quality, and operations organizations

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Master's degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, material science, physics or equivalent

- Experience supporting high-rate production of complex hardware systems with multiple concurrent configurations or block upgrades

- Experience leading manager-of-managers organizations in a technical environment

- Background in launch vehicle integration, satellite deployment systems, or launch operations

- Familiarity with structural, dynamic, and environmental qualification standards for space hardware

- Experience operating in large, matrixed engineering organizations with multiple peer senior stakeholders

- Demonstrated ability to scale engineering organizations through growth, change, or rapid program evolution

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, REDMOND - 179,700.00 - 243,100.00 USD annually