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Salary: USD 134,300 - 201,350 / annual
Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior Program Manager II to lead the Space Sensing & Domain Awareness program, overseeing advanced optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensing payloads and optical systems. Based at Rocket Lab's Long Beach headquarters, you will serve as the program authority, owning the technical roadmap and strategic make/buy decisions from prototype through flight qualification and into scalable production.
Key responsibilities include:
• Lead the complete lifecycle of EO/IR sensing payloads and optical systems from concept through qualification, production, and flight operations, while building and developing a high-performing team.
• Manage multiple active programs simultaneously, making sound architectural decisions with Chief Engineers and navigating complex trade-offs in pointing stability, jitter, sensitivity, and revisit rates.
• Personally engage with the most program-threatening technical challenges alongside the team, diving deep into operational realities of tracking, warning, and surveillance missions.
• Develop team culture that encourages smart risk-taking, treats intelligent failures as learning opportunities, and coaches the next generation of program and team leaders.
• Manage high-stakes subcontracts and supplier relationships as strategic mission partners, protecting schedule and margin.
• Synchronize cross-functional teams across optics, electronics, software, and data chain; rapidly clear roadblocks to maintain speed and quality.
• Serve as primary point of contact for U.S. Government tracking, warning, and surveillance customers; partner with Business Development and Strategy on proposals and technical narratives defining next-generation space domain awareness.
Rocket Lab's Space Systems team has enabled over 1,700 missions, including interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing, and national security initiatives, working with NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.
REQUIREMENTS:
• Bachelor's degree in physics, mathematics, science, or other technical discipline
• 8+ years of aerospace program management experience
• Demonstrated track record of owning a technical program, product, or team end-to-end and delivering under real pressure (emphasis on shipped results, not years logged)
• Evidence of moving real hardware and software from prototype toward scalable, flight-ready production
• Understanding of EO/IR sensing, optical payloads, or focal plane arrays
• Experience identifying and neutralizing technical, schedule, or supply-chain risk before mission impact
• Active TS/SCI security clearance (required)
NICE-TO-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS:
• Proven playbook for transitioning low-volume prototypes into scalable production without sacrificing mission reliability
• Deep experience in National Security Space (NSS) or large sensing and tracking constellations
• Demonstrated success negotiating, capturing, and executing large U.S. Government contracts
• Master's degree in Engineering, Optics, or related field enabling peer-review of sensing roadmaps
• Fluency in Systems Engineering, trade studies, interface control, requirement integrity, and tools like Jira, Confluence, and ERP
• Multiple program cycles or 8+ years in aerospace/defense (emphasis on hardest things shipped)
