Technical Program Manager, Operational Readiness

Staff Technical Program Manager, Operational Readiness

Long Beach, California

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. 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.

The Vehicle Engineering organization at Relativity Space encompasses vehicle design, dev, & build, as well as the analysis, software, CONOPs development, risk management, and customer and regulatory activities required for vehicle testing and launch operations.

We are seeking a Technical Program Manager to establish program management methodology for all work streams outside of hardware delivery that are required for vehicle operations. This will include program management of CONOPs and procedure development, software and GNC readiness, and closure of systems engineering & certification activity. This role will be critical in driving operational excellence across all engineering disciplines, standardizing programmatic best practices, and acting as a senior interface to leadership across Relativity Space.

Success in this role will mean making this critical work visible and building responsive and scalable processes to avoid critical path delays and enable an industry‑leading, rapid operational cadence.

• Own schedule adherence, risk management, and reporting cadence for operational readiness across all engineering functions.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with operational readiness, ensuring proactive problem resolution to identify risks coming down the pipeline.
• Present program updates, risks, and strategic recommendations to the executive team.
• Cross‑Functional and Strategic Leadership
  • Establish and maintain a culture of excellence in execution for engineering operational readiness.
  • Collaborate with PMOs and department leaders across the company to integrate non‑hardware work streams into a program‑level Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and use the IMS to understand true program critical path, elevate issues and decision points, and make recommendations on best solutions.
• Goal Tracking & Reporting
  • Establish goals and metrics to monitor operational performance and increase the predictability and efficiency of engineering work – building the scoreboard for accountability for the engineering team.
  • Facilitate strong communication within departments and across the program to ensure transparency in program status for all relevant stakeholders.
• Team Growth & Development
  • Establish, standardize, and continuously improve program management methodologies, tools, templates, and best practices across all engineering operational readiness efforts.

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, mathematics, or related fields; aerospace, electrical, or mechanical engineering degree preferred.
• 5+ years technical leadership experience, proven track record of success and strategic thinking while balancing conflicting priorities and goals.
• 7+ years in a Program Management role leading a large cross‑functional program, including hardware, software, and operations.
• Demonstrated…