Staff Technical Program Manager

Relativity Space

Relativity Space

IT, Sales & Business Development, Operations
Long Beach, CA, USA
USD 176k-225,500 / year + Equity
Posted on Jul 9, 2025

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:

The Propulsion team at Relativity is focused on developing and delivering highly performant and manufacturable engines for Terran R. Engineers are responsible for the entire lifecycle of their parts, from initial design through production to qualification and flight. The team fosters a culture of bottoms-up decision-making, free from technical gatekeeping, where ownership and accountability are key at all levels. But designing engines with a quarter million pounds of thrust is just the beginning. As the flight configuration enters qualification, the team is now exploring modifications for future engines, including thrust upgrades, new cycles, and design for mass production.

About the Role:

We are hiring a Technical Program Manager to manage our work streams as we design, manufacture, and test the Aeon R engines for the Terran R launch vehicle. Successful candidates in this role will analyze and drive recommendations that balance the needs of the technical teams as well as the business overall. Where there are multiple paths to choose, this individual will align the team on a common pursuit. Where there are points of impasse, this individual will build a bridge. High judgment, strong leadership, low ego, and strategic influence are fundamental elements for this role.

  • Timeline/Schedule: Analyze requirements, resources, and dependencies, to create and rally the team around a reliable timeline and schedule.
  • Progress Tracking & Reporting: Monitor and report progress towards organizational goals, objectives, and milestones. Facilitate team interactions and ensure transparent communication of program status to relevant stakeholders.
  • Dependency Mapping: Identify dependencies that are critical to program deliverables and provide visibility to cross-functional teams.
  • Programmatic Risk Management: Identify and manage program risks (time, requirements, resources, dependencies, etc.)
  • Resource Management: Identify resource gaps and orchestrate cross-functional planning for resource allocation, including headcount, budget allocation, and workspace needs. Ensure efficient utilization of resources to achieve program and departmental objectives.

About You:

  • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, mathematics, or related fields
  • 8+ years of experience working on a complex technical project as a program manager or engineer
  • Experience managing programs, building sustainable processes, and coordinating engineering activities
  • Experience leading by influence and collaborate with technical owners to establish a plan
  • Experience solving complex technical problems, manage ambiguity and design robust, scalable solutions
  • Experience communicating effectively, to adjust approach across stakeholders and teams and to navigate both technical and business discussions

Nice to haves but not required:

  • MBA or Advanced degree in engineering, science, mathematics, or related fields
  • Experience in launch vehicle design, manufacturing, test or operations

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:
$176,000$225,500 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.