Outpost · 5 hours ago
Director of Vehicle Engineering
Los Angeles, California
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$190K/yr - $240K/yr
12+ years expOutpostspace is pioneering Earth return logistics for space, building vehicles that can return payloads from orbit safely and precisely. The Director of Vehicle Engineering will be the technical authority and operational leader for the Carryall orbital return vehicle and the Airdrop precision delivery system, overseeing the entire vehicle lifecycle and leading a multi-disciplinary team.
Advanced MaterialsAerospaceLogisticsManufacturing
No H1B
Security Clearance RequiredU.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Vehicle Technical Authority: Own the vehicle architecture, interfaces, and performance budgets (mass, power, thermal, GNC). You are the final sign-off on technical trades, margin policy, and flight readiness
Lifecycle Ownership: Drive the program from CDR, Integration, Test Readiness (TRR), Flight Readiness (CoFR), and Operations. You own the integrity of the vehicle at every stage
Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a multi-disciplinary team of leads across Avionics, Structures, TPS, and Recovery Systems. Manage resource allocation to keep the vehicle critical path on track
Production Readiness: Oversee the build for upcoming missions and develop the travelers, tooling, and acceptance criteria required to stand up early line capability for fleet-scale production
Airdrop Product Delivery: Specifically oversee the design and validation of the Airdrop product, ensuring safe deployment
Integration & Test: Own the Master Test Plan, including environmental campaigns, flight tests, and anomaly resolution (MRB/FRACAS)
Program Management: Maintain the detailed vehicle development schedule. Identify risks early, manage key "make/buy" decisions, and ensure rigorous configuration management
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree or higher in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Systems Engineering
12+ years of experience in full-lifecycle spacecraft or aircraft development (Design, Build, Fly)
Proven experience leading cross-functional engineering teams through critical design reviews and flight campaigns
Experience managing complex system budgets (mass, power, link, error) and making high-stakes technical trades
Experience bridging the gap between R&D and manufacturing, setting up travelers, defining acceptance criteria, and designing for manufacturability (DFM)
Direct experience with flight test operations, range safety, and anomaly investigation
Preferred
Active U.S. Government Security Clearance (Secret or Top Secret)
Advanced Degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in a relevant field
Experience with re-entry vehicles, precision aerial delivery, or autonomous aircraft
Experience transitioning a product from prototype to low-rate initial production
Benefits
Incentive Stock Options
Annual Performance-Based Bonus
Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
Life Insurance
PTO
401k with Company match
Subsidized daily catered lunch, snacks and coffee
Company
Outpost
Outpost is a logistics company that uses a platform that launches on commercial rockets and glides back from orbit to deliver tons of cargo.
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$32.5MKey Investors
Moonshots Capital
2024-12-01Grant· $18.5M
2024-09-15Seed· $6.9M
2022-08-30Seed· $7.1M
Leadership Team
Amir Blachman
President
Jason Dunn
Founder
Recent News
2025-11-25
2025-11-01
2025-09-17
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