Senior Manager of Test Operations

Who you are

• 10+ years of experience in aerospace, spacecraft, defense, advanced manufacturing, or complex hardware production and test
• 5+ years leading technical, production, integration, or test organizations
• Experience directly leading technicians and hands-on technical teams
• Experience with spacecraft, subsystem, avionics, electrical, functional, or environmental test operations
• Demonstrated experience scaling teams, processes, and infrastructure in a growing production environment
• Experience with workforce planning, staffing models, shift operations, and technician development
• Strong understanding of flight hardware handling, configuration control, quality, safety, and hardware protection
• Demonstrated ability to improve throughput, cycle time, utilization, and schedule performance
• Strong cross-functional communication and leadership skills
• Spacecraft or launch vehicle I&T operations
• High-rate spacecraft or satellite production
• Experience supporting multiple spacecraft platforms or subsystem families
• Multi-shift production operations
• Technician qualification programs, skills matrices, and career ladders
• Experience scaling contractor and/or contingent workforces
• Test stations, EGSE, tooling, fixtures, and instrumentation
• Environmental test operations including vibration and TVAC
• Digital work instructions, MES, production dashboards, or electronic travelers
• Capacity modeling and infrastructure planning
• Lean/Six Sigma or other continuous improvement methodologies
• MRR, TRR, PRR, and production readiness processes
• Experience industrializing development test processes into repeatable production operations

What the job involves

• Muon Space is seeking a Senior Manager of Test Operations to lead and scale our Test Operations organization supporting growing spacecraft and subsystem production
• This role oversees Spacecraft Test Technicians and Subsystems Test Technicians, with responsibility for staffing, shift coverage, operational execution, technician development, test capacity, and production throughput
• The Senior Manager will establish the processes, infrastructure, and organizational capabilities needed to support increasing production volume and evolving spacecraft architectures
• You will work closely with Test Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Program Management to ensure test operations are safe, repeatable, efficient, and aligned with production priorities
• This role will also play a key role in industrializing test operations, including standardizing processes, developing scalable capacity models, improving cycle time and utilization, and transitioning new test capabilities from development into repeatable production operations
• This position is fully onsite and requires working in our San Jose, CA office five days a week
• Lead, mentor, and develop Spacecraft and Subsystems Test Technicians and technical leads
• Establish staffing plans, shift coverage, skill matrices, and technician development paths
• Set daily operational priorities and drive consistent execution across teams and shifts
• Build a culture of safety, accountability, quality, and ownership of flight hardware
• Own day-to-day execution of spacecraft and subsystem test operations
• Ensure tests are performed using approved procedures, configurations, tooling, and acceptance criteria
• Partner with Test Engineering to transition new or immature tests into stable production operations
• Identify and resolve operational constraints, bottlenecks, and resource conflicts
• Develop and implement the operating model required to scale test operations with production volume
• Establish repeatable processes, standard work, training, and qualification requirements
• Develop capacity and labor models for stations, equipment, shifts, and future production demand
• Partner with Engineering and Manufacturing to design test infrastructure, stations, EGSE, tooling, and facilities for scalable production
• Identify opportunities to reduce test cycle time, improve utilization, and increase throughput
• Support the transition of new spacecraft platforms, subsystems, and test capabilities into production
• Build organizational capability through cross-training, workforce planning, and scalable team structures
• Establish and manage metrics for throughput, cycle time, utilization, schedule adherence, rework, and test capacity
• Drive daily management and continuous improvement across Test Operations
• Use operational data to identify constraints and prioritize investments in people, equipment, and infrastructure
• Support MRR, TRR, and production readiness activities
• Ensure operational readiness for new programs, facilities, test stations, and production lines

Benefits

• 100% health, dental, and vision coverage for employees; 50% coverage for dependents (Concierge Medical offered through One Medical where available)
• Parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers
• Generous time off policy
• 401(k) plan through Betterment and equity management through Carta
• Fully stocked kitchen at our HQ and we cater lunch 3 days per week
• Dog-friendly office