Mission Manager
Location: Playa Vista, California (in-person, five days per week)
Outpost is pioneering Earth return logistics for space. We're building vehicles that can return payloads from orbit safely and precisely—enabling faster space-based manufacturing, global delivery, and entirely new capabilities in the space economy. Our spacecraft is already backed by the U.S. government with multiple missions ahead. We’re a mission-focused team, building with urgency, grit, and care for the work we do and the people we do it with.
The Role
The Mission Manager supports day-to-day execution of customer missions and contracts. This role serves as the primary point of contact for customers, ensuring requirements are clearly defined, schedules are tracked, and deliverables are met. You will work closely with engineering, operations, and partner with Director of Mission Engineering to manage subcontractors and external contributors. This is a hands-on role for someone who is detail-oriented, technically fluent, and comfortable driving clarity in a fast-moving, hardware-heavy environment.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary point of contact (POC) for assigned customer contracts, in close coordination with the Director of Mission Engineering.
- Own customer communications, including status updates, schedule reviews, and deliverable reporting.
- Define, document, and manage customer requirements; ensure alignment with internal technical and program plans.
- Track contractual deliverables, milestones, and acceptance criteria across missions.
- Maintain and report on integrated schedules, identifying risks, dependencies, and mitigation plans.
- Interface directly with vehicle engineering teams to translate mission requirements into executable technical plans.
- Support in managing subcontractors, including coordination, tracking of deliverables, and schedule alignment.
- Identify execution risks early and drive resolution across internal teams and external partners.
- Ensure customer commitments are met while protecting program scope, schedule, and technical integrity.
- Support regulatory and licensing activities (FAA, FCC, NOAA, Range, etc.) related to mission execution, including coordination with internal engineering teams, external partners, and applicable regulatory bodies.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering or science discipline.
- 5+ years of experience in mission management, program management, systems engineering, or a related technical role in spacecraft, launch vehicle, reentry vehicle, or aerospace programs.
- Proven ability to serve as the primary point of contact for customers on complex aerospace programs, including presenting technical deliverables, coordinating feedback, and managing external communications.
- Strong understanding of engineering development lifecycles, especially for space or flight hardware.
- Proven ability to track schedules, deliverables, and contractual commitments with high attention to detail.
- Comfortable interfacing with engineering teams and translating technical discussions into clear action items.
- Experience supporting or managing subcontractors or external vendors.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to travel as needed to support customer meetings, mission activities, and partner coordination.
Preferred Experience
- Familiarity with regulatory and licensing processes for aerospace or flight operations for commercial and defense.
- Experience working with DoD, NASA, or other government contracts.
- Experience working in fast-paced startup or small-team environments.
Compensation & Benefits
- 140,000 – 180,000, Salary may vary with experience
- 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
