
Engineering Manager, Mission Mechanical
Muon Space · San Jose, CA
- Level
- Manager
- Team
- Reliability
- Base pay
- $186k–$202k
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A management reliability role at Muon Space (aerospace & defense) in San Jose, CA. Or higher in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
- They ask for
- 8+ years
- Tools it names
- GD&T, Robotics, SolidWorks
- Base pay
- $186k–$202k
- Day to day
- some off-shift / weekend coverage
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Reliability Engineer roles in California: typical posted base $115k–$165k. This one lists $186k–$202k.
Median of the low and high ends of 61 live postings that list pay, out of 130 reliability engineer openings in California, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
California plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 129 other live reliability postings in California.
- Base pay
- About 39% above similar roles
- Experience asked
- More than usual (8+ vs 5+)
Typical $115k–$165k, from 60 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Root cause 71%
- FMEA 43%
- ✓ New product launch 42%
- Automation 32%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 28%
- SPC 20%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for SolidWorks, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Reliability team at Muon Space
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Muon Space in San Jose
8 other open roles at this site.
- Manufacturing Engineer · Manufacturing
- Quality Engineer, Electrical · Quality
- Quality Engineer, Mechanical · Quality
- Director, Manufacturing Architecture · Manufacturing · Director+
- Manufacturing Engineer II, Testbeds & EGSE · Manufacturing
- Engineering Manager, Avionics · Manufacturing · Manager
Full description from Muon SpaceAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
About the role
Muon seeks an Engineering Manager to lead a team of mechanical engineers who tailor Muon's spacecraft platforms to specific missions. Starting from our common platform building blocks, this team designs payload accommodations and mission-specific components, and carries each spacecraft's mechanical build through integration and environmental test.
This is a hands-on role, split roughly evenly between management and individual contribution: you'll manage and develop your team while staying technically engaged — contributing designs, running design reviews, unblocking the team, and setting the quality bar. The role reports to the Senior Manager of Spacecraft Structures & Missions.
This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in our San Jose, CA office three days per week.
Responsibilities
- ◆Lead, mentor, and grow a team of mechanical engineers customizing Muon's spacecraft platforms for specific missions; plan resourcing across concurrent missions and hire as the team scales
- ◆Invest in developing early-career engineers through coaching, design feedback, and growth planning
- ◆Own the mechanical deliverables for assigned missions — from
requirements
through design, build, integration, and environmental test — ensuring on-time, high-reliability delivery
- ✓Stay hands-on: contribute designs, drawings, and analyses alongside the team, setting the standard you expect
- ✓Work with mission formulation and systems teams to translate customer needs into robust flight hardware, reusing common platform components where possible and developing new ones where needed
- ✓Set and uphold engineering standards for the team — factors of safety, make vs. buy, materials, PLM process, and documentation
- ✓Run design reviews and test readiness reviews; collaborate on test plans consistent with each mission's risk posture and own the outcome of test campaigns
- ✓Partner with avionics, systems, thermal, structural, and production teams to optimize designs for performance, reliability, and manufacturability
Required Qualifications
- ✓8+ years of experience designing complex, integrated systems that operate in harsh environments (spacecraft, aviation, automotive, robotics, or similar)
- ✓2+ years managing or technically leading engineering teams
- ✓Track record of delivering hardware products to the field
- ✓Ability to move fluidly between hands-on engineering and team leadership in a fast-paced environment
- ✓Proficiency in CAD for medium-to-large assembly design and management (SolidWorks preferred)
- ✓Mastery of drawings, GD&T, BOMs, FAIs, tolerance budgets, and mass budgets; diligence with ECO/DCO processes
- ✓Experience managing analysis products (structural, thermal) and incorporating results into design
- ✓Excellent leadership, communication, and presentation skills
- ✓B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering or related field
requirements
- ✓Project management experience: customer reviews, schedules, risk tracking
- ✓Experience developing early-career engineers into independent contributors
Salary
About Muon Space
Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.
Taking Care of Our Team
Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.
Requirements
This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controll
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Nice-to-have Skills
- •Experience managing or mentoring spacecraft design teams
- •Experience running full environmental test campaigns (vibration, TVAC) on satellites or launch vehicles
- •Experience with risk-management processes and matching risk tolerance to design
Muon is currently registered and able to hire in the following states
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IA, ID, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA
