Technical Program Manager, AFSS
Relativity Space
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:
Relativity Space is on a mission to better connect humanity to space and the universe beyond our planet. With decades of experience scaling world-class technology organizations like Google, CEO Eric Schmidt is guiding Relativity into its next phase: advancing Terran R toward launch and building the foundation for long-term impact.
The Vehicle Software team develops the safety-critical software that runs on Terran R. The work spans a distributed, real-time control system operating under extreme conditions like Mach 5 atmospheric flight, with a deployment pace that allows you to see your code run on rocket engines daily. The team is building new system architecture from the ground up and just as importantly, testing, releasing, and deploying it. You don’t need an aerospace background: what matters is experience with high-reliability software for complex systems. This is a rare opportunity to shape the foundation of Terran R’s software stack while directly influencing performance, reliability, and flight success.
About the Role:
• Define and drive the roadmap for AFSS software certification and release, working cross-functionally with internal teams and external stakeholders including the FAA, Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) teams, and Range Safety (Space Force).
• Align agile software delivery with broader vehicle program timelines, ensuring certification activities, test milestones, and final software integration are met on time.
• Identify, track, and manage dependencies across software, systems engineering, hardware, and external stakeholders to ensure alignment and successful delivery.
• Coordinate related hardware activities such as avionics hardware qualification, HITL testing, and integration activities as part of a holistic AFSS certification approach.
• Proactively identify risks related to certification schedules, technical execution, and regulatory compliance, and drive to resolution.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for program status, updates, and escalations for AFSS software certification to both internal leadership and external certification bodies.
About You:
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field
• 3+ years of experience working on a complex technical software project as a program manager and/or software engineer, ideally in safety-critical or regulated domains
• Experience with tools such as Atlassian (JIRA, Confluence), Git/GitLab, CI/CD pipelines, and project tracking software (e.g., Smartsheet, MS Project)
• Comfortable working in highly cross-functional teams with external government and private stakeholders
• Strong communication skills with experience navigating both technical and regulatory environments
Nice to haves but not required:
• Experience working on launch vehicles, spacecraft, or flight-critical systems
• Prior experience delivering certified software under regulatory or safety-critical standards
• Familiarity with AFSS or similar aerospace safety systems
• Familiarity with IV&V processes, including coordination of audits, artifact submission, and issue resolution
• Background working with or managing relationships with FAA, USAF, IV&V, or other certification authorities
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in fast-paced startup or agile environments
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.
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.