Engineering Manager, Vira Engine

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

As an end-to-end space transportation company, Firefly Aerospace is on a mission to enable our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

About the Role

The Vira engine is the vacuum optimized upper stage engine for our next generation MLV rocket. As the manager of the Vira engine engineering team, you will take extreme ownership of the Vira liquid rocket engine driving its development from concept to flight. You manage a team of engineers to design, analyze, test, and produce an advanced upper stage engine that emphasizes simplicity, reliability, and performance while minimizing cost. This role requires deep technical expertise, strong leadership, and the ability to make critical decisions in a fast-paced environment. You will collaborate with structures, fluid systems, avionics, production, and vehicle teams to ensure the engine meets mission objectives, embracing complex challenges and synthesizing information to deliver innovative propulsion solutions.

Responsibilities

• · Take extreme ownership of the Vira engine system, serving as the primary engineer responsible for its design, development, test, and flight
• · Lead a team of propulsion engineers in design, analysis, and fabrication of the Vira engine
• · Serve as the technical expert for the Vira engine program during design reviews, failure investigations, and program milestones
• · Provide hands-on support during engine builds and testing, iterating designs based on test outcomes
• · Author and execute engine development, qualification, and acceptance test plans
• · Own the project schedule by driving team scrums, coordinating delivery of materials and work execution, and updating progress against high-level milestones to share with Firefly leadership
• · Collaborate with manufacturing, build, and test teams to streamline production and testing processes, ensuring design for manufacturability
• · Develop processes and standards to improve team efficiency, effectiveness and quality
• · Develop innovative design concepts for propulsion components and tooling that reduce part count, complexity, and cost

Qualifications

Required

• · Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field
• · 5+ years of relevant experience in aerospace or mechanical engineering, with a focus on propulsion or fluid systems.
• · Strong engineering fundamentals in compressible and incompressible flow, heat transfer, combustion devices, rocket engine cycles, and mechanics.
• · Proven leadership in solving complex technical problems and managing cross-functional teams.
• · Experience across the full product lifecycle, from conceptual design to testing and production.
• · Ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritize effectively, and work independently in a dynamic environment.
• · Strong interpersonal and communication skills for collaborating with diverse teams and presenting to leadership.
• · Hands-on experience building complex systems
• · Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage and motivate cross-functional teams
• · Excellent communication skills with a focus on proactive updates and risk management
• · Working knowledge of fabrication and manufacturing techniques such as machining, welding, inspection, non-destructive evaluation, and assembly integration
• · Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to take initiative and work independently
• · Attention to detail and strong organizational skills

Desired Qualifications

• · Advanced degree in mechanical, aerospace, or equivalent field
• · Experience with liquid rocket engine development, design, testing, or flight operations.
• · Hands-on experience with engine subcomponents (valves, regulators, tubing) or pressurized systems.
• · In-depth knowledge of manufacturing processes, change management, and risk mitigation strategies
• · Experience with tools such as Jira and other project management or configuration management software
• · Familiarity with CAD and configuration management tools (e.g., Siemens NX, Teamcenter).
• · Proficiency in software tools such as Python, LabVIEW, GFSSP, or Winplot for data analysis and control.

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status