VP of Engineering, Ground Hardware

The Role

You'll lead the physical ground segment: antenna systems, RF, build, deployment, and the engineering team behind all of it.

The core of the job is scale. We're moving from deploying antenna systems one at a time to deploying them as a repeatable, manufacturable product, and doing it faster every quarter. You'll drive that transition. That means supporting and pressure-testing the design as it matures, owning manufacturability and production readiness, building the supply chain, and running the deployment pipeline that turns hardware into operational network capacity.

This is a true VP role. You'll set strategy for the physical segment, own its outcomes, and build the organization that delivers them. But it's a VP role at a hardware company, so you'll be in design reviews making real technical calls and leading from the front.

What You'll Own

• Deployment throughput. The whole pipeline, from build through site integration, installation, and commissioning. What counts is antennas deployed and operating.
• Manufacturability and production readiness. Antenna systems designed to be built again and again, reliably and at reasonable cost. That means DFM/DFA, a test strategy, and the discipline that separates a working unit from a production program.
• Design partnership. Our systems are actively in design, and you'll be a senior technical voice in that work: reviewing architecture and detailed design, catching field and manufacturing problems before they get built in, and making the trade-off calls between performance, cost, and schedule.
• RF systems. RF for the ground segment sits in your organization. You don't need to be an RF designer, but you need the systems fluency to direct RF work and make sound integration trade-offs across RF, mechanical, and software.
• Supply chain and manufacturing strategy. Vendor selection, make/buy decisions, and production partnerships as volume grows.
• The organization. You'll grow the hardware and deployment team substantially: hiring across mechanical, RF, and field engineering, structuring the org, and setting the technical bar.
• The roadmap. The technical path from antenna deployments today to full ground station buildouts as the network matures.

You're Probably a Fit If

• You're a mechanical or systems engineer by background who has shipped ambitious electromechanical hardware: systems with motors, precision motion, and structures that survive outdoors. Pointing and tracking systems, gimbals, positioners, outdoor robotics, or satcom hardware are strong analogs.
• You've taken hardware from working prototype to repeatable production and field deployment. You know what changes between unit one and unit fifty because you've lived through that transition.
• You've built and led hardware organizations while staying technically credible. Our engineers will go deep with you on systems you've shipped, and the right candidate will enjoy that conversation.
• You've deployed hardware into uncontrolled environments (weather, remote sites, real installation logistics), and it shapes how you evaluate a design.
• You can direct RF work and hire RF talent, even if RF isn't your home discipline.
• Direct antenna or ground station experience is a plus, not a requirement.

You're Probably Not a Fit If

• You've led hardware orgs from a distance and can no longer engage at the component level.
• Your instinct at a scaling company is to add process before adding velocity.
• You want a purely strategic seat. This role earns its strategy through execution.

Why This Role

You'd own the physical half of a ground network as it scales. The org, the production system, and the deployment pipeline will carry your imprint. The problems are real hardware problems: precision motion, harsh environments, manufacturability at growing volume. And the scope grows with the network, from antennas today toward full ground station buildouts.

If you've been both the strongest technical voice in the room and the leader people want to build under, we'd like to talk.

Compensation

The estimated base salary range for this role is $240,000 - $325,000 per year, plus equity. This range reflects our good-faith estimate for this position at the time of posting. The final base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including the candidate's qualifications, relevant experience, skills, and market considerations. In addition to base salary, total compensation includes an equity grant and our full benefits package (Medical, Dental, Vision), HSA's and 401K program.

Export Control Requirements

To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.