Science Payload Responsible Engineer/Scientist

The Interplanetary Sciences Program was established to expand access to scientific exploration across our solar system. Its mission is to make planetary research faster, more affordable, and more capable than ever before by rethinking how science missions are designed, built, and operated. The program aims to enable scientists to send instruments to distant worlds without decades of development or prohibitive costs. By creating a sustainable model for interplanetary exploration, we are transforming space science from an occasional event into a continuous process of discovery that accelerates knowledge, broadens participation, and inspires the next generation of explorers.

We are seeking a driven science payload manager to lead the delivery, integration, and operations support for a science instrument suite. This is a highly technical role for a leader who combines deep technical and scientific competency, is confident in making risk-based decisions, and has a sense of personal ownership over the success of the instrument from build phase through on-orbit operations.

In this role you will serve as the responsible engineer for working with our partners to ensure the delivered instruments meet or exceed the desired science capability, and proceed smoothly and efficiently through environmental testing, spacecraft integration, commissioning, and in-space operations. This role requires you to understand the science and the engineering, manage risk proactively, make hard decisions under uncertainty, own the outcomes, communicate clearly to multiple stakeholders, and care deeply about the science results. You will need to understand the engineering systems and be an advocate for how they should be designed to support and enable collecting exceptional science on this and future missions. You will operate as part of a fast-moving, lean, multi-disciplinary team driven by mission success.

Nice to haves but not required

This position may require occasional travel to partner institutions, test facilities, and mission integration sites (<10% time). During critical mission phases including launch, commissioning, and early operations this position will require shift work and on-call availability.

Hiring Range and Leveling

Senior Engineer: 124,500 - 170,500Staff Engineer: 150,000 - 207,000Leveling and Compensation will be finalized after the interview process, based on an evaluation of job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. 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.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at accommodations@relativityspace.com.