AIT Senior Project Manager – Nyx Earth

Here at The Exploration Company, we are building spacecrafts for humanity.

As AIT Senior Project Manager, you will streamline the Assembly, Integration and Test activities for Nyx Earth, ensuring that the vehicle is integrated, tested and prepared for launch safely, on schedule and within budget.

You will report to the Chief Program Officer, who is also the Program Manager for Nyx Earth. Travel to production, test and launch locations is required, majority of them being in Europe.

Key responsibilities

Project leadership:

• Manage the AIT project, providing guidance, motivation and strategic direction.

• Define AIT objectives, scope, deliverables, milestones and interfaces with the program team.

• Build an effective operating rhythm across engineering, manufacturing, quality, suppliers, operations and launch services.

AIT strategy and technical oversight:

• Support the AIT strategy, including the integration sequence, verification approach and test philosophy.

• Build and maintain the AIT work logic, critical path and readiness criteria in collaboration with System Engineering and Quality.

• Coordinate the integration of spacecraft subsystems, software, ground support equipment and associated facilities.

• Plan and manage functional, performance, environmental and mission-level testing.

• Ensure that test results, anomalies and verification evidence are properly reviewed and closed.

Facility and resource management:

• Define and secure the facilities, tooling, test equipment and ground support equipment required for the campaign.

• Coordinate facility readiness, test-site interfaces, reviews and launch-site preparation.

• Develop and manage the AIT budget, resource plan and external-service requirements.

Timeline and milestone tracking:

• Develop and maintain a detailed AIT schedule with clear milestones, dependencies and schedule margin.

• Monitor progress and identify delays, resource conflicts and critical-path risks early.

• Lead recovery plans when supplier, technical or operational issues affect the program.

Collaboration and communication:

• Coordinate cross-functional teams, including engineering, manufacturing, quality, safety and external partners.

• Provide clear and transparent reporting to the Chief Program Officer and program stakeholders.

• Establish clear decision-making and change-control processes with customers and suppliers.

Risk, quality and safety:

• Identify and assess AIT risks, developing mitigation and contingency plans.

• In collaboration with Quality and Safety, manage non-conformances, deviations, waivers, anomalies and corrective actions.

• Ensure that hardware, software, AIT documentation, procedures, readiness reviews, test configurations remain properly controlled and traceable.

Supplier management:

• Monitor supplier readiness, deliveries, technical maturity and documentation.

• Define clear AIT acceptance criteria and deliverables for suppliers.

• Lead supplier recovery actions when technical mistakes or late deliveries threaten the schedule or mission.

What we would love to see from you

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering or a related discipline.

• 6+ years of experience in project or program management.

• Experience in AIT, AIV, system integration, verification or test campaign leadership.

• Proven experience managing complex spacecraft, launch vehicle, aircraft or other safety-critical hardware projects.

• Strong technical background in spacecraft AIT, system engineering and requirements verification.

• Experience with environmental testing, test facilities, ground support equipment and launch-site activities.

• Demonstrated experience in budget management, resource allocation, schedule control and risk mitigation.

• Strong supplier-management and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to manage multidisciplinary teams.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• Willingness to travel frequently, mostly across Europe.

Why you should join us!

What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is:  

• We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind 

• We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them  

• We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?  

We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly.  The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.  All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, which will be subject to the country, role, and project you applied for. By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree that any offer of employment may be conditional upon successful condition of this check. The Exploration Company partners with Zinc Work Limited located in the UK (Zinc), a third-party provider, to ensure this process as efficient and transparent as possible. If applicable, you will receive an email from Zinc upon acceptance of your offer with a link to a secure portal where you can provide the required information to Zinc.

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