The Company
Astra’s mission is to Improve Life on Earth from Space® by creating a healthier and more connected planet. Today, Astra offers one of the lowest cost-per-launch dedicated orbital launch services of any operational launch provider in the world, and one of the industry’s first flight-proven electric propulsion systems for satellites, Astra Spacecraft Engine™. Astra delivered its first commercial launch to low Earth orbit in 2021, making it the fastest company in history to reach this milestone, just five years after it was founded in 2016. Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR) was the first space launch company to be publicly traded on Nasdaq.
The Opportunity
As Astra's Director of Operations, you will be responsible for managing and scaling the production of spacecraft and thrusters to meet the needs of our launch manifest. You will be responsible for growing and leading a team of production leaders to continuously improve the efficiency of production while meeting Astra's rigorous quality standards.
Working closely with the leaders in Operations, Program Management, Supply Chain, and Engineering, you will be responsible for continuous improvements to quality and efficiency, while continuing to help drive manufacturing complexity and costs down. Accurately measuring and projecting the time and resources required by your team and suggesting improvements to processes will be key to your success. Reporting to you will be production leaders, coordinators, and technicians that will be responsible for manufacturing and assembling all of Astra's products. You will report to the VP of Operations.
How You'll Fulfill Your Mission
- Operational
- Material flow, factory layout and standards & practices within
- Work with supply chain and program management to plan and resource production and development programs
- Monitor and drive execution of the teams, both delivery and efficiency
- Develop new capabilities with Manufacturing Engineering
- Set and maintain work standards for production areas
- Lead and coordinate continuous improvement activities
- Drive feature development of our internal software management systems
- People
- Staffing and Resourcing Teams based on program and production schedules
- Recruiting, developing and mentoring Production Managers
- Production Team Retention
- Drive your organization's culture
- Performance Management
- Developing Careers within and across your organization
- Setting Salary, Raises and Bonuses
- Technical
- Hands-on and technical Contribution and Mentorship
- Organizational
- Communication
- Best Practices and Training for intradepartmental tools
- Develop and maintain metrics for assessing health of the organization
- Managing Departmental Budget
- Training
- Travel
- Cross Product Services
- Tooling & consumables
Qualifications
- 10+ years of proven experience working directly with manufacturing in a fluctuating volume/high mix production environment with previous 4+ years of relevant management experience
- Experience with manufacturing spacecraft, satellites, or similar product required
- Demonstrated experience working with vertically integrated production businesses
- Experience working with and optimizing early-stage ERP/MES system integration
- Experience in the following areas: Tight Tolerance Mechanical assembly, Electronics, including soldering operations, Adhesives and Coatings, Electronics Assembly including Soldering & Harnessing with ESD controls invoked, and Acceptance & Environmental Testing
- Outstanding with Excel and manual data analysis
- Strong written and interpersonal communication, technical, and software skills Jira, Scheduling, Issue Tracking, Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.)
- Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to our inclusive culture
- Possess a self-starter mentality
- Driven curiosity for understanding the details of our business and how to optimize it
- Strong math and analytical skills to solve problems
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
- Minimum of a B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, industrial, or manufacturing engineering; physics; or other major requiring engineering or manufacturing core courses
Desired Multipliers
- Experience on commercial development programs a plus
- Highly detailed oriented and passionate about advancing the commercial space industry
- Master's degree in an engineering discipline
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, autonomously driven start-up environment
$192,000 - $250,000 a year
The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base salary range in the San Francisco Bay Area and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your salary requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply.
ITAR Requirements: This position requires compliance with U.S. Government space technology trade restrictions, specifically the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and additional regulations governing satellite, launch vehicle, missile, and other related technologies. All jobs restricted by these regulations will be contingent upon the applicant’s status as a documented U.S. Person or their ability to receive a trade license from the cognizant government agency; in addition to any required company background checks and in compliance with applicable U.S. and California laws. Similarly, positions requiring the ability to work on government contracts or a security clearance are also contingent upon the applicants ability to receive the appropriate clearance and be allowed to work on U.S. government contracts.
You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Astra, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.
San Francisco Applicants: Astra will consider applicants with arrest and conviction records (criminal histories) in a manner consistent with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.