Rocket Lab USA
Director, Space Vehicle Design
East Long Beach, Los Angeles County · Director · full-time
No sponsorship$195k-$240kDetected 90 days ago
Supply ChainPerformance ManagementSiemens NXGD&TAvionicsMechanical DesignLeadershipCommunicationMentoring
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odds of building a lasting career here
56Sponsors, lottery-bound
Cap-exempt (no lottery)0
Sponsors this role72
Entry-level history0
PERM / green-card track0
Lottery odds (Level IV)94
Fits your clock70
Sponsors, but it's cap-subject — you still face the weighted lottery (~61% per draw at Level IV). Good if you win; have a cap-exempt backup on your list.
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About the role
- You will also need to communicate your technical strategy and work cross-functionally on projects with almost every other engineering team.
- Our ideal candidate is someone with a strong mechanical, structural, and thermal engineering background who has previously led spacecraft development programs.
- They will have successfully led engineering teams through challenging projects and will be comfortable working in a fast-paced development environment.
Responsibilities
- Work directly with the Space Systems Chief Engineer in technical decision-making processes and guide technical development across the Space Vehicle Design team
- Perform functional management duties with team leads, including 1-on-1s, performance reviews, and supporting their career development
- Work closely with engineers, test engineers, and production to iterate through design concepts, with a focus on design-for-manufacture and design-for-integration
- Develop and maintain design and analysis standards, documentation templates, test specifications, and other processes for the SVD team
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering
- U.S. citizenship is required, due to program requirements
- 12+ years of engineering experience
- 3+ years of experience as a team lead or manager
- Expertise in Siemens NX and Teamcenter
- Expertise in CAD, drafting, and GD&T
- Experience in spacecraft structural dynamics in one or more of the following areas: environments and loads, random vibration, sine vibration, acoustic, and modal testing and/or analysis
Nice to have
- Master's or PhD in aerospace or mechanical engineering
- or other technical discipline
- Comfortable executing on aggressive deadlines within a high-pressure environment
- Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
- Previous experience leading a large and multi-disciplinary team (20+ engineers)
- This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.
- We're on a mission to unlock the potential of space to improve life on Earth, but that's not an easy task.
- It takes hard work, determination, relentless innovation, teamwork, grit, and an unwavering commitment to achieving what others often deem impossible.
Compensation
- $195k-$240k
Visa & Work Authorization
- citizenship is required, due to program requirements
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This listing is sourced directly from Rocket Lab USA's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.