Optical Structures, Thermal, and Mechanisms Senior Manager
Lockheed Martin •
Position Type: Permanent
Job Description:
Description:Are you ready to elevate your career and work at an extraordinary company in Sunnyvale, CA, or Louisville, CO?
The coolest jobs on this planet—or any other—are with Lockheed Martin Space.
As we enter a new era of space exploration, Lockheed Martin stands as a pioneer, partner, innovator, and builder. Our incredible team is on a mission to make a difference in the world, leveraging their unique skills and experiences to tackle some of the world’s most challenging engineering problems. Join us in a culture that encourages big ideas, demands excellence, and produces incredible products. We provide the resources, inspiration, and focus—if you have the passion and the courage to dream big, we want to build a better tomorrow with you!
We are seeking an Optical Payload Structures, Thermal, and Mechanisms Senior Manager to lead the development of high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) products for missile and space hardware. You will report to the Optical Talent Center within Space Engineering & Technology.
In this role, you will lead a department of approximately 60 engineers responsible for developing a product portfolio that includes optical bench assemblies, electro-optic housing assemblies, thermal components, mechanisms (such as fast steering mirrors and filter wheels), and other optical payload structures (like telescope support structures). You will guide your team in collaborating with architects and Fellows to develop product maturation plans aligned with roadmaps and program timelines.
Your team will stay informed of the State of the Art (SOA) and State of Practice (SOP) to provide subject matter expertise across all program lifecycles. They will be consulted on make/buy decisions for their products and will execute as the lead team if a make decision is selected. You will have a significant impact on the enterprise by establishing a dedicated team focused on driving common, high-TRL products across multiple programs.
As the Structures, Thermal, and Mechanisms Senior Manager, you will:
• Partner with Lines of Business (LOB) and Payload Systems Engineering teams to develop consistent architectures that facilitate the use of common products.
• Develop transition plans for low TRL products from the science and technology community, working with Space’s Advanced Technology Center (ATC) to ensure seamless handoffs between organizations.
• Propose and execute Independent Research and Development (IRAD) projects aimed at standardization and maturation, targeting products to reach high TRL, commodity, or off-the-shelf status.
• Strengthen relationships with strategic suppliers and other Lockheed Martin Business Areas (BAs) to complement the in-house Space Engineering & Technology team.
• Act as part of the Integrated Product Team (IPT) when a Lockheed Martin make decision is made, supporting all program phases and being responsible for engineering units, qualification, and flight as determined by the program, whether at the component, sub-assembly, or subsystem level.
• Collaborate closely with Payload IPT leads and LOB leadership to understand mission drivers, integrating emerging mission trends into product roadmaps to maintain a competitive edge.
• Implement and lead technical knowledge management initiatives to develop and maintain core competencies, key technical skills, knowledge continuity, and facilitate career advancement opportunities for employees.
• Manage staffing requirements, sustain engineering capabilities, and preserve critical skills within the team.
Basic Qualifications:
• Proven experience working across both space and ground applications, including ground-to-ground, space-to-ground, and space-to-space systems.
• Strong background in developing technical talent and creating pipelines to maintain and enhance technical expertise within the organization.
• Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline (e.g., Mechanical, Electrical, or other Engineering/Science disciplines).
• Demonstrated expertise in design using a variety of materials, with an understanding of their suitability for different applications. (Commonly used materials include aluminum, beryllium, Invar, and composites.)
• Active TS clearance required to start, with the ability to obtain TS/SCI clearance.
Desired Skills:
• Over 12 years of demonstrated technical expertise.
• More than 5 years of hands-on experience with space systems or complex hardware/software systems.
• Proven experience with cooled/cryogenic systems, including the development of cryocoolers, dewars, radiators, heat pipes, and phase change materials for visible and IR systems that require cooling from room temperature to cryogenic levels.
• Extensive experience with components featuring moving assemblies, such as mechanisms for fast steering mirrors, gimbals, filter wheels, and shutters.
• Proven track record in establishing line-of-sight control for remote sensing instruments, payloads, or directed energy systems, typically involving a controls background to implement the necessary algorithms and hardware for maintaining target pointing stability.
• Experience in developing space qualification plans for components.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with a proven ability to effectively communicate complex information.
• Demonstrated ability to drive closure and resolve complex technical challenges.
• Broad customer experience and exposure across various business areas, including military, intelligence, science, and weather instrumentation.
• Previous Full Spectrum Leadership roles with a proven ability to lead employees to high productivity and foster collaboration in a cross-functional team environment.
• Active TS/SCI clearance.
Security Clearance Statement: This position requires a government security clearance, you must be a US Citizen for consideration.
Clearance Level: TS/SCI
Other Important Information You Should Know
Expression of Interest: By applying to this job, you are expressing interest in this position and could be considered for other career opportunities where similar skills and requirements have been identified as a match. Should this match be identified you may be contacted for this and future openings.
Ability to Work Remotely: Onsite Full-time: The work associated with this position will be performed onsite at a designated Lockheed Martin facility.
Work Schedules: Lockheed Martin supports a variety of alternate work schedules that provide additional flexibility to our employees. Schedules range from standard 40 hours over a five day work week while others may be condensed. These condensed schedules provide employees with additional time away from the office and are in addition to our Paid Time off benefits.
Schedule for this Position: 9x80 every other Friday off
Pay Rate:
The annual base salary range for this position in California and New York (excluding most major metropolitan areas), Colorado, Hawaii, Washington or Washington DC is $146,800 - $281,400 . Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only. Lockheed Martin considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidates work experience, education/ training, key skills as well as market and business considerations when extending an offer.
Benefits offered: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, 401(k) match, Flexible Spending Accounts, EAP, Education Assistance, Parental Leave, Paid time off, and Holidays.
(Washington state applicants only) Non-represented full-time employees: accrue at least 10 hours per month of Paid Time Off (PTO) to be used for incidental absences and other reasons; receive at least 90 hours for holidays. Represented full time employees accrue 6.67 hours of Vacation per month; accrue up to 52 hours of sick leave annually; receive at least 96 hours for holidays. PTO, Vacation, sick leave, and holiday hours are prorated based on start date during the calendar year.
This position is incentive plan eligible.
Pay Rate:
The annual base salary range for this position in most major metropolitan areas in California and New York is $168,800 - $318,000. Please note that the salary information is a general guideline only. Lockheed Martin considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/ training, key skills as well as market and business considerations when extending an offer.
Benefits offered: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, 401(k) match, Flexible Spending Accounts, EAP, Education Assistance, Parental Leave, Paid time off, and Holidays.
This position is incentive plan eligible.
Lockheed Martin is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.
The application window will close in 90 days; applicants are encouraged to apply within 5 - 30 days of the requisition posting date in order to receive optimal consideration.
Join us at Lockheed Martin, where your mission is ours. Our customers tackle the hardest missions. Those that demand extraordinary amounts of courage, resilience and precision. They’re dangerous. Critical. Sometimes they even provide an opportunity to change the world and save lives. Those are the missions we care about.
As a leading technology innovation company, Lockheed Martin’s vast team works with partners around the world to bring proven performance to our customers’ toughest challenges. Lockheed Martin has employees based in many states throughout the U.S., and Internationally, with business locations in many nations and territories.
Experience Level: Experienced Professional
Business Unit: SPACE
Relocation Available: Possible
Career Area: Electro-Optical Engineering
Type: Full-Time
Shift: First
• Over 12 years of demonstrated technical expertise.
• More than 5 years of hands-on experience with space systems or complex hardware/software systems.
• Proven experience with cooled/cryogenic systems, including the development of cryocoolers, dewars, radiators, heat pipes, and phase change materials for visible and IR systems that require cooling from room temperature to cryogenic levels.
• Extensive experience with components featuring moving assemblies, such as mechanisms for fast steering mirrors, gimbals, filter wheels, and shutters.
• Proven track record in establishing line-of-sight control for remote sensing instruments, payloads, or directed energy systems, typically involving a controls background to implement the necessary algorithms and hardware for maintaining target pointing stability.
• Experience in developing space qualification plans for components.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with a proven ability to effectively communicate complex information.
• Demonstrated ability to drive closure and resolve complex technical challenges.
• Broad customer experience and exposure across various business areas, including military, intelligence, science, and weather instrumentation.
• Previous Full Spectrum Leadership roles with a proven ability to lead employees to high productivity and foster collaboration in a cross-functional team environment.
• Active TS/SCI clearance.
Job Ident #:
69024258160
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