Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) Systems Director

Building on The Aerospace Corporation's reputation as a trusted, impartial advisor with integrity and dedication to mission success, the Civil Systems Group (CSG) combines deep technical expertise with market-leading innovation to help our customers solve complex systems engineering and integration challenges. CSG is organized by core customer-facing lines of business to manage and grow programs within NASA, NOAA, and the NNSA, while extending our capabilities to other civilian federal government agencies fully integrated within Aerospace rules, regulations, processes, values, and behaviors. 

This position will support the NASA Exploration Surface Mobility Program, Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) Program and help facilitate SEI initiatives across the LTV portfolio at Johnson Space Center.

This role will lead the team and work content providing the lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) capabilities to NASA/Johnson Space Center in support of the EVA and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP). You will be responsible for providing leadership, planning, and direction of technical office staff and operations. Assign resources, determine staffing needs, and coordinate activities and operations among subordinate units. Communicate and coordinate activities to counterpart organizations, management, and customers.

As Systems Director, you will manage the LTV portfolio for the Aerospace Human Exploration and Spaceflight team at the Johnson Space Center, in addition to supporting engineering activities for various customers and internal Aerospace initiatives.

Work Model

This is a full-time position based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, offering a hybrid work model that combines 4 regular onsite workdays and remote flexibility as the business needs allow.  

What You’ll Be Doing

• Provide leadership, management as well as content integration expertise to the Aerospace team supporting the LTV project office
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with customer leadership
• Develop organizational goals, staffing plans, budget planning, and allocation of resources
• Staff, coordinate, and supervise a high performing team of Aerospace technical personnel integrating complex human-rated systems
• Conduct staff performance reviews and recommend performance improvement, career development, salary and promotion actions; establish staffing needs and recommend reassignments, training, transfers, and other staff deployments; assist other supervisors in evaluation and assignment of staff.
• Identify Gaps and Risks in provider implementation goals and objectives with regards to requirement compliance and concepts of operations alignment
• Inform and track mitigations to the risks at the project level
• Provide Technical Authorities (TAs) with the support/assessment to effectively develop recommendations on technical issues and identify emerging issues
• Provide subject matter expertise to the LTV project office including oversight and coordination of project activities, meetings, and tasks (technical, cost, schedule, and risk)
• Perform integrated engineering deep-dive analysis on special topics, HITL test plans/protocols, systems engineering, integration, and test products such as concept definition, trade studies, and verification/validation planning.
• Serve as a technical specialist/consultant for a broad range of extravehicular activity (EVA), moon/Mars surface operations, and other engineering/research activities as they related to the LTV.
• Communicate effectively and be able to summarize and present analysis findings to both Aerospace and NASA Senior Staff
• Participate in NASA, Artemis, LTV and EHP Program Office forums
• Develop periodic status reports and presentations, including discussions of findings, issues, conclusions, recommendations, and risk assessments
• Formulate recommendations to senior-level project management
• Serve as a highly proactive technical specialist, understanding issues and formulating options/recommendations, while working closely with the project team and across other offices, teams, working groups, and panels
• Perform other duties for the customer as required.

What You Need to be Successful – Systems Director- Multi-Disciplinary Engineering.

Minimum Requirements: 

• Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, science, or another technical discipline
• At least 10 years of increasingly responsible professional engineering/scientific experience, including experience in a systems engineering and/or program management environment
• Five years of experience working in mission management and operations type roles
• Knowledge and understanding of the NASA program life cycle
• Working experience with LTV project office (SEI, PPC, etc.)
• Ability to effectively utilize oral and written communication to express technical concepts and recommendations to personnel at all technical and managerial levels
• Ability to work in a quick-paced, small core team that leads technical discussions across a large technical community and influences teams across the NASA enterprise
• Initiative and demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with customers
• Excellent teaming and leadership skills with an ability to multi-task across various issues/disciplines simultaneously
• Excellent presentation and communications skills, including development of and briefing of decision packages and complex information in a succinct and polished manner.
• Knowledge of space flight certification processes to ensure performance and safety requirements are met
• Willing to travel occasionally to work location or customer site/domestically approx. 10%.  
• This position may require the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, which is issued by the U.S. government. U.S. citizenship is required to obtain a security clearance.

How You Can Stand Out  

It would be impressive if you have one or more of these:

• Advanced degree in engineering, science, or another technical discipline
• Knowledge of exploration mobility topics and technology
• Eight years of experience with NASA spacecraft systems
• Experience performing or leading technical and programmatic tasks for NASA

Leadership Competencies

Our leadership philosophy is simple: every employee, regardless of level and role, can demonstrate leadership. At Aerospace, our commitment is our people. To cultivate our talent and ensure that we have a strong pipeline of future leaders, we want individuals who:

• Operate Strategically
• Lead Change   
• Engage with Impact   
• Foster Innovation   
• Deliver Results  

Ways We Reward Our Employees

During your interview process, our team will provide details of our industry-leading benefits.

Benefits vary and are applicable based on Job Type.  A few highlights include:

• Comprehensive health care and wellness plans
• Paid holidays, sick time, and vacation
• Standard and alternate work schedules, including telework options
• 401(k) Plan — Employees receive a total company-paid benefit of 8%, 10%, or 12% of eligible compensation based on years of service and matching contributions; employees are immediately eligible and vested in the plan upon hire
• Flexible spending accounts
• Variable pay program for exceptional contributions
• Relocation assistance
• Professional growth and development programs to help advance your career
• Education assistance programs
• An inclusive work environment built on teamwork, flexibility, and respect

We are all unique, from diverse backgrounds and all walks of life, yet one thing bonds all of us to each other—the belief that we can make a difference. This core belief empowers us to do our best work at The Aerospace Corporation.

Equal Opportunity Commitment

The Aerospace Corporation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We believe that a diverse workforce creates an environment in which unique ideas are developed and differing perspectives are valued, producing superior customer solutions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, color, religion, genetic information, marital status, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, or disability status and any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. If you’re an individual with a disability or a disabled veteran who needs assistance using our online job search and application tools or need reasonable accommodation to complete the job application process, please contact us by phone at 310.336.5432 or by email at ieo.mailbox@aero.org. You can also review Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal, as well as the Pay Transparency Policy Statement.