Engine Production Program Manager

About Astrobase Space Technologies

Astrobase Space Technologies is an early-stage Bengaluru company building a two-stage orbital launch vehicle. Our engine is a LOX–methane full-flow staged-combustion engine. The Astrobase Propulsion team is looking for experienced and passionate professionals who turn engine plans into flight engines delivered on time and within budget.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the engine integrated master schedule, from long-lead orders through acceptance firing to delivery to the stage team; re-baseline it when plans change.
• Keep the critical path and a six-week look-ahead in front of every team lead, and step in early when a task starts to slip.
• Build the work breakdown and budget for hardware, tooling, and operations; track spend against plan and forecast cost at completion.
• Work with supply chain on make-or-buy calls, long-lead orders, supplier contracts and recovery of late deliveries.
• Run the weekly program review across design, production, quality, supply chain and test; chase the shortages, open NCRs and test anomalies that hold up deliveries.
• Keep the risk and opportunity register with the chief engineer; fund and follow up mitigation for the top risks.
• Cost every engineering change in time and money and optimise the engine delivery.
• Plan headcount, tooling and facility capacity with the functional leads as production ramps.
• Give leadership a monthly view of schedule, cost, risk and the decisions needed from them.

Basic Qualification

• B.E./B.Tech/M.E./M.Tech in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• Min. 10+ years in aerospace, defence or space hardware, including 5+ years running the schedule and budget of a hardware program.
• Has taken a hardware program through manufacturing, test and delivery, not only through design.
• Builds integrated schedules with critical-path logic in MS Project or Primavera P6.
• Has managed suppliers of machined, cast, forged or additively manufactured parts, including long-lead buys and late-delivery recovery.
• Has worked inside an AS9100D or equivalent quality system: change control, NCR and MRB, configuration baselines.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Liquid rocket engine, aero-engine or gas-turbine program experience.
• Earned value management to EIA-748: control accounts, cost and schedule variance.
• Has taken a product from first build to series production: production readiness reviews, APQP and PPAP to AS9145.
• Space program practice per NPR 7120.5 and the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook (NASA/SP-2016-6105).
• PMP or PgMP certification.
• Has set up a program office or a production line from scratch.

What We Offer

• Salary: ₹36–50 LPA fixed CTC, based on experience.
• Early-stage stock options (ESOPs).
• Group health insurance: employee, spouse, children and parents.
• Insurance: term-life and personal-accident cover.
• Work environment: Challenging, stimulating, research-driven work solving rocket problems every day with a great team. We have a good time, and unlimited coffee.

Why Work With Us?

At Astrobase, we believe in the power of human ingenuity and collaboration to push the boundaries of space exploration. As a team member, you'll be:

1. Creating History: Join us in developing cutting-edge launch vehicles, playing a pivotal role in transforming space access and shaping the future of space exploration.
2. Collaborating with Experts: Work alongside ISRO scientists and industry veterans with decades of experience in designing India's iconic space missions like Chandrayaan 3
3. Growth Opportunities: As Astrobase scales, you'll have the chance to take on leadership roles and be part of an expanding organization driving change in the Indian space sector.
4. Pioneering Space Technology: Your contributions will not only impact Astrobase but also influence the global space ecosystem. Be part of something larger than yourself.

Astrobase is an equal-opportunity employer; we hire on skills, merit and experience. Apply with your CV and a short note on a hardware program you delivered.