Systems Engineering Manager

Relativity Space • Long Beach, CA

1d

About The Position

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 Systems Engineering team ensures that Terran R comes together as a cohesive, high-performing, and scalable system. Within the department, one team focuses on building tools and processes to manage requirements, track decisions, and identify and mitigate risk - enabling faster, more informed development across the program. Engineers work across domains to understand complex problems, identify solutions, and implement them – all with deep technical knowledge, not just documentation. The other team focuses on the vehicle itself, working across teams to ensure all subsystems of Terran R function together as intended, burning down technical risk, and driving informed decisions at every stage of the vehicle lifecycle. Engineers are empowered to lead high-impact efforts, from major test campaigns to console operations during launch, and are trusted to drive improvements across fluids, structures, avionics, and more. Regardless of which team you’re on, you’ll be part of a high-visibility, high-impact department at a pivotal moment in the program, where decisions made today on trades, architecture, and process will shape not just the first launch, but the long-term trajectory of Relativity.
About the Role:
Work closely with engineering leadership across the company ensuring the systems engineering tools and processes are enabling responsible engineers to move fast while also providing the right amount of engineering rigor to prevent downstream issues
Focus on creating and rolling out new processes, you'll also be focused on streamlining and eliminating processes that are no longer effective or does not scale with the ambitious launch ramp rate
Manage a team of engineers who are helping drive the existing Systems Engineering process your primary focus will be to reduce risk at the Subsystem and Component level as we step into Stage Testing.
Look broadly at existing requirements to make sure verification actives are occurring at the right time and are burning down risk prior to stage testing
Ensure other test objectives are properly captured at the subsystem level and all affected parties are aligned on how the objectives will be met
Mentor team members and engineers in other departments while providing a second set of technical eyes ensuring process are being leveraged to help burn down technical risk

Requirements

• Bachelors degree in Engineering or technical field
• 5+ years of experience in technical positions working on system engineering, system definition, design, and development, system architecture, system integration, and/or T&E.
• Full product lifecycle experience on at least one program, preferably two or more (from concept through production/operations)
• Proven ability to work in a dynamic environment that includes working with changing needs and requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Previous people leadership experience

Responsibilities

• Work closely with engineering leadership across the company ensuring the systems engineering tools and processes are enabling responsible engineers to move fast while also providing the right amount of engineering rigor to prevent downstream issues
• Focus on creating and rolling out new processes, you'll also be focused on streamlining and eliminating processes that are no longer effective or does not scale with the ambitious launch ramp rate
• Manage a team of engineers who are helping drive the existing Systems Engineering process your primary focus will be to reduce risk at the Subsystem and Component level as we step into Stage Testing.
• Look broadly at existing requirements to make sure verification actives are occurring at the right time and are burning down risk prior to stage testing
• Ensure other test objectives are properly captured at the subsystem level and all affected parties are aligned on how the objectives will be met
• Mentor team members and engineers in other departments while providing a second set of technical eyes ensuring process are being leveraged to help burn down technical risk

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager