Sr. Operations Engineer, Launch Strategy (Falcon)

• ◆Support Launch manifest planning and change management. Help maintain a current picture of the launch plan, assess the effect of changes, and recommend decisions so the manifest stays achievable.
• ◆Give daily visibility, weekly status, and monthly reviews of manifest and operations performance, including where the plan is at risk and what has to move.
• ◆Translate the manifest into capacity, schedule, and resource demand for pads, recovery, vehicle maintenance and operations, production, and test. Close gaps with those teams before they become launch slips.
• ◆Create feedback loops from manifest execution into

for minimal viable products and future proven-system designs.

• ✓Build a deep understanding of the launch ecosystem (teams, hardware, production floor, environment, process, systems, tools, and constraints) and turn that into quantified, executable improvements.
• ✓Integrate, organize, standardize, and relate operational data. Turn data into insights, reports, and alerts that support manifest and operational decisions.
• ✓Develop and track key performance metrics, spot decision points, and recommend actions that optimize production and engineering against the manifest and launch targets.
• ✓Read trends and operating metrics, brief leadership, set or adjust launch strategy and targets, and work with teams to act on what the data shows.
• ✓Give day-to-day tactical recommendations on scheduling and execution in support of the manifest.
• ✓Identify, develop, and implement process improvements. Run process engineering, value-stream mapping, and automation, and roll best practices out to internal and external stakeholders in priority order.
• ✓Solve engineering problems aimed at safety, reliability, and rate, where those constraints limit the manifest.
• ✓Partner with finance and launch teams to build and execute the annual operating plan, run capital-expenditure return-on-investment trades, and find and capture operating-expense reductions, tied to what the manifest requires.
• ✓Standardize labor analysis (assumptions, methods, and tools) and help launch teams with headcount planning, efficiency roadmaps, and demand forecasting against the manifest.

• ✓Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or mathematics.
• ✓2+ years of experience as an operations, process, manufacturing engineering or production / launch environment.
• ✓2+ years using data for analysis or modeling within Power BI, Python, or R.

• ✓Experience supporting a production, fleet, or launch manifest, including change control and cross-team schedule integration.
• ✓Project management experience: ability to define, plan, execute, monitor, and close work.
• ✓Ability to shift priorities quickly in a fast, changing environment.
• ✓Clear communication across disciplines and levels of management, including giving and receiving feedback. Curiosity and a bias toward building strong working relationships.
• ✓Experience applying lean and quality tools, including process mapping, value-stream mapping, Six Sigma, Kaizen, root-cause analysis, and corrective action.
• ✓Experience with production-systems analysis, planning, integrated process scheduling, and asset allocation.
• ✓Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including building options, cost-benefit cases, and a clear recommendation for peers and leadership.

• ✓Willing to travel to Vandenberg, Starbase, Hawthorne, and other sites in support of business needs, up to 20%.
• ✓Able to pass an Air Force background check for Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg.
• ✓Willing to work extended hours, nights, and weekends when the manifest requires it.
• ✓Willing to spend time in the field on a regular basis (pad, recovery, and production floor).