{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"ef8c3ce092b582a7f856ea0f","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/ef8c3ce092b582a7f856ea0f","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/ef8c3ce092b582a7f856ea0f","title":"Manager, Ground System Fluids Engineering","description":"ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE\nFirefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.\nKey Responsibilities\nTeam Leadership & Management\nLead & mentor a team engineers as they design, build, and activate, and optimize fluid ground systems in support of tomorrow’s launch vehicles and spacecraft\nRecruit, develop, and retain top engineering talent with passion for advancing space access\nSet clear goals, provide regular feedback, align individual development with company targets, conduct performance reviews, and nurture a healthy and challenging team culture\nInspire and nurture a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement by challenging hardware and software norms and developing more effective workspaces & tools\nDefine and manage project definition, project milestones, hand-off, and resource supply/demand forecasts\nHelp engineers develop the tools and skills to communicate effectively up and down the organizational chart through project reporting, design reviews, accountability to deadlines, build readiness reviews, Con-Ops reviews, activation SITs, and project handoffs\nTechnical Leadership\nEstablish and enforce the Firefly GSE Fluid System Standard\nWork with customers and work centers to adhere to best practices for fluid system fabrication, installation, operation, and maintenance.\nTools/standards include, but are not limited to\nFluid system design guideline\nDesign templates for repeatable sub-system segments\nRelief Sizing Tools\nGeneral analysis tools (pressure drop, flow, fluid thermal behavior, phase change, etc)\nFluid system fabrication guideline\nComponent Specification standards\nProject Handoff packages\nOversee the design, construction, and deployment of GSE fluid systems including:\nRequirement gathering\nManaging internal customer relationships\nProject status reporting\nTechnical Design Reviews\nManufacturing/Build Readiness Reviews\nWork Instruction creation and review\nFabrication & Installation support\nActivation & Handoff\nReview & approve control document packages including, but not limited to:\nP&IDs\nRelief calculation documentation\nBills of materials\nInstrument specifications\nCritical spare inventory lists\nProcess flow diagrams\nIdentify and resolve operational issues for Fluid systems across all of Firefly.\nEnsure compliance with Aerospace quality standards, safety requirements, and local regulations\nCross Functional Collaboration\nCoordinate and manage relationships with interdisciplinary teams to set project requirements, coordinate on complex construction projects (new Test Stands, Launch Sites, vehicle handling/integration systems, etc), manage scope creep, and balance technical rigor with program urgency\nWork with other GSE Leaders to manage dependencies between mechanical, fluid, and electrical systems on capital builds\nCommunicate with the Program teams to manage resource allocation in alignment with Program and Company priority\nGather information from various internal stakeholders and properly forecast fluid system design demand. Manage the team in accordance with that demand.\nWork with the Fluids Engineers to manage capital budgets for Ground Support capital projects\nRequired Qualifications\nBachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline\nMinimum 5 years of experience in integration and/or testing of process control systems, spacecraft test equipment, or launch systems.\nMinimum 2 years of direct management experience or team leadership experience\nStrong fluids fundamentals with hands-on experience operating or troubleshooting fluid systems, conducting simulations/models, specifying Fluids system hardware, or similar experience.\nWorking knowledge of common fluid system hardware (ball valves, gate valves, solenoid valves, needle valves, butterfly valves, check valves, relief valves, shut down valves, regulators, etc)\nWorking knowledge of common fluid components/connections (NPT, AN, Swage, VC, welded, etc)\nExcellent communication, planning, and organizational skills\nDemonstrated ability and desire to work with interdisciplinary teams\nPreferred Qualifications\nSpacecraft / Launch Vehicle test and validation experience or equivalent industrial fluid system design experience\nExperience with launch site and/or test site operations\nExperience fabricating a fluids panel/fluids system\nExperience specifying and installing instrumentation\nFamiliarity with specifications and aerospace quality standards (AS9100, AFSPCMAN 91-710, ASME B31.3, ASME Section 8, NASA)\nA balanced sense of urgency and risk management style to handle interdisciplinary conflicts when they arise.\nExperience managing vendor relationships and external contractors\nFirefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational/relocation reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.\nTo 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.\nFirefly 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.","company":"Firefly Aerospace","rawCompany":"firefly aerospace","city":"Bertram","state":"TX","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-03T20:14:16.882Z","occupations":[{"code":"11-9041.00","title":"Architectural and Engineering Managers","slug":"architectural-and-engineering-managers"},{"code":"17-2011.00","title":"Aerospace Engineers","slug":"aerospace-engineers"},{"code":"11-1021.00","title":"General and Operations Managers","slug":"general-and-operations-managers"}],"industries":[{"code":"336414","title":"Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing","slug":"guided-missile-and-space-vehicle-manufacturing"},{"code":"336419","title":"Other Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing","slug":"other-guided-missile-and-space-vehicle-parts-and-auxiliary-equipment-manufacturing"},{"code":"336415","title":"Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Unit and Propulsion Unit Parts Manufacturing","slug":"guided-missile-and-space-vehicle-propulsion-unit-and-propulsion-unit-parts-manufacturing"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Manager, Ground System Fluids Engineering","description":"ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE\nFirefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.\nKey Responsibilities\nTeam Leadership & Management\nLead & mentor a team engineers as they design, build, and activate, and optimize fluid ground systems in support of tomorrow’s launch vehicles and spacecraft\nRecruit, develop, and retain top engineering talent with passion for advancing space access\nSet clear goals, provide regular feedback, align individual development with company targets, conduct performance reviews, and nurture a healthy and challenging team culture\nInspire and nurture a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement by challenging hardware and software norms and developing more effective workspaces & tools\nDefine and manage project definition, project milestones, hand-off, and resource supply/demand forecasts\nHelp engineers develop the tools and skills to communicate effectively up and down the organizational chart through project reporting, design reviews, accountability to deadlines, build readiness reviews, Con-Ops reviews, activation SITs, and project handoffs\nTechnical Leadership\nEstablish and enforce the Firefly GSE Fluid System Standard\nWork with customers and work centers to adhere to best practices for fluid system fabrication, installation, operation, and maintenance.\nTools/standards include, but are not limited to\nFluid system design guideline\nDesign templates for repeatable sub-system segments\nRelief Sizing Tools\nGeneral analysis tools (pressure drop, flow, fluid thermal behavior, phase change, etc)\nFluid system fabrication guideline\nComponent Specification standards\nProject Handoff packages\nOversee the design, construction, and deployment of GSE fluid systems including:\nRequirement gathering\nManaging internal customer relationships\nProject status reporting\nTechnical Design Reviews\nManufacturing/Build Readiness Reviews\nWork Instruction creation and review\nFabrication & Installation support\nActivation & Handoff\nReview & approve control document packages including, but not limited to:\nP&IDs\nRelief calculation documentation\nBills of materials\nInstrument specifications\nCritical spare inventory lists\nProcess flow diagrams\nIdentify and resolve operational issues for Fluid systems across all of Firefly.\nEnsure compliance with Aerospace quality standards, safety requirements, and local regulations\nCross Functional Collaboration\nCoordinate and manage relationships with interdisciplinary teams to set project requirements, coordinate on complex construction projects (new Test Stands, Launch Sites, vehicle handling/integration systems, etc), manage scope creep, and balance technical rigor with program urgency\nWork with other GSE Leaders to manage dependencies between mechanical, fluid, and electrical systems on capital builds\nCommunicate with the Program teams to manage resource allocation in alignment with Program and Company priority\nGather information from various internal stakeholders and properly forecast fluid system design demand. Manage the team in accordance with that demand.\nWork with the Fluids Engineers to manage capital budgets for Ground Support capital projects\nRequired Qualifications\nBachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline\nMinimum 5 years of experience in integration and/or testing of process control systems, spacecraft test equipment, or launch systems.\nMinimum 2 years of direct management experience or team leadership experience\nStrong fluids fundamentals with hands-on experience operating or troubleshooting fluid systems, conducting simulations/models, specifying Fluids system hardware, or similar experience.\nWorking knowledge of common fluid system hardware (ball valves, gate valves, solenoid valves, needle valves, butterfly valves, check valves, relief valves, shut down valves, regulators, etc)\nWorking knowledge of common fluid components/connections (NPT, AN, Swage, VC, welded, etc)\nExcellent communication, planning, and organizational skills\nDemonstrated ability and desire to work with interdisciplinary teams\nPreferred Qualifications\nSpacecraft / Launch Vehicle test and validation experience or equivalent industrial fluid system design experience\nExperience with launch site and/or test site operations\nExperience fabricating a fluids panel/fluids system\nExperience specifying and installing instrumentation\nFamiliarity with specifications and aerospace quality standards (AS9100, AFSPCMAN 91-710, ASME B31.3, ASME Section 8, NASA)\nA balanced sense of urgency and risk management style to handle interdisciplinary conflicts when they arise.\nExperience managing vendor relationships and external contractors\nFirefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational/relocation reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.\nTo 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.\nFirefly 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.","datePosted":"2026-08-03T20:14:16.882Z","dateModified":"2026-08-03T20:14:16.882Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Firefly Aerospace","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Bertram","addressRegion":"TX","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"ef8c3ce092b582a7f856ea0f"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/ef8c3ce092b582a7f856ea0f"}}