Aevum Defense is an American aerospace and defense company that designs, develops, and operates autonomous space launch technologies and services. Aevum Defense is a prime contractor directly supporting the US Department of Defense (DoD) on critical national security capabilities.

Our Mission

Aevum Defense was founded to enable launch customers to be able to launch satellites or spacecraft to orbit in 180 minutes or less.

Mission Manager, Space Launch

The Aevum Defense Space Launch Unit is seeking a Mission Manager to take ownership of launching payloads to space for the US Department of Defense.

Aevum Mission Managers are responsible for all activities associated with an assigned launch contract(s) ensuring that all mission activities are completed reliably and on-time in accordance with contract deliverables and requirements. The Mission Manager is highly professional and serves as the primary point of contact (POC) to Aevum's defense customers.

Mission Manager responsibilities include ensuring space vehicle (SV), satellite, or other payload integration to the Ravn X launch vehicle, managing and chairing mission assurance reviews, coordinating and ensuring that all mission activities from pre-launch analysis to launch to post-flight review are completed.

The Mission Manager works closely with Aevum team members across multi-disciplinary teams and departments. The ideal candidate is highly inquisitive and relentlessly focused on mission success. This is a fast-paced position requiring at least 5 years of experience in rocket launch. The ideal candidate must have demonstrated success working with a multi-disciplinary, highly technical, high performance teams.

Aevum operates multiple facilities throughout the United States and our customers span the globe – traveling as necessary is expected of the Mission Manager.

Aevum’s development timelines are aggressive and you’ll be asked to work hard, including nights and weekends and long hours, as necessary

Responsibilities

  • Decompose launch contracts into requirements, mission plan, schedule, and SOW; work with internal and external stakeholders to verify and validate requirements
  • Serve as the primary POC to commercial and defense customers and coordinate all mission activities with internal stakeholders and IPTs
  • Work closely with vehicle, system, and subsystem IPTs and lead and manage all trade studies, requirements traceability, verification and validation, and end-item specifications
  • Create, maintain and coordinate activities via a “Giver/Receiver” list
  • Develop and present complex technical information and data related to the mission
  • Work with engineering and technical teams within Aevum to understand launch vehicle readiness for mission; identify and characterize any changes to mission risk, vehicle risk, and launch dates
  • Gather and compile all range safety and range related documentation
  • Ensure that Aevum spaceport(s) are ready to execute your assigned launch mission on-time.
  • Gather the necessary data required to obtain the regulatory approvals and licenses to launch on-time (FAA, FCC, range, DOT, etc.). Own all regulatory licensing requirements and ensure your launches are licensed per DoD contract requirements.
  • Develop operational plans, procedures and processes for launch operations
  • Create and manage the mission master schedule and regularly communicate status to customer(s)
  • Coordinate and chair all customer reviews and ensure that contract deliverables are delivered on time and per the customer expectations; directly from CDRLs
  • Run all payload-to-launch vehicle integration meetings; develop and own the Interface Control Document (ICD) for launch mission(s)
  • Lead engineering IPTs and space logistics IPTs to ensure that all stakeholders understand mission effort(s) and support the planning of necessary activities and allocation of internal resources in support of launch mission(s)
  • Prepare for and chair mission reviews with customers
  • Regularly check-in with launch vehicle engineering and production to ensure that mission-specific flight hardware is on-schedule; coordinate with space logistics crews to ensure that the Ravn X is prepared and ready for launch for mission
  • Present and report complicated, technical topics to senior executives effectively
  • Perform other duties as assigned

TRAVEL

Travel is required for this position

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

  • Bachelor’s degree in systems engineering, aerospace engineering, or related field
  • 5+ years of technical project management experience in a technical organization
  • Prior experience working with space systems, launch vehicles, spacecraft, or hardware/software technical projects
  • Demonstrated ability to be trusted with confidential, classified, proprietary, or export-controlled information/data
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Strong experience working with multi-disciplinary engineering teams and a complex set of requirements
  • Detail-oriented
  • Superb interpersonal skills
  • Highly professional, especially under pressure

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

  • Master degree in systems engineering or other technical field
  • 3+ years of space launch management experience
  • Prior experience performing on government contracts

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  • As needed, must be willing to work extended hours and weekends to ensure that customers are properly supported and missions are on-time.

ITAR REQUIREMENT

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

BENEFITS

Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid Time Off, Bonus Potential, Stock Incentives, Performance-Based Promotions

SCHEDULE

Weekdays; weekends as necessary

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Employment with Aevum is governed by qualifications, competence, and merit.  Employment will not be influenced by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Apply for this Job

* Required
resume chosen  
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
cover_letter chosen  
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review
+ Add another education


Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Aevum Defense’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.


Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.


Our system has flagged this application as potentially being associated with bot traffic. Please turn off any VPNs, clear your browser cache and cookies, or try submitting your application in a different browser. If this issue persists, please reach out to our support team via our help center.
Please complete the reCAPTCHA above.