{"id":3057272,"url":"https://alion.io/job/rocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development","title":"Team Lead - Electron Vehicle Development","company":{"id":684473,"name":"Rocket Lab","domain":"rocketlab.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/rocketlab-2","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":81,"open_postings":84,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.762,"repost_share":0.012,"time_to_fill_p50_days":43,"computed_at":"2026-10-31T05:58:55Z"}},"role":"Management","role_family":"Management","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Auckland, New Zealand"],"countries":["NZ"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":52000,"max_usd":110000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":16},"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-22T03:04:40Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-22","last_verified_at":"2026-10-31T21:31:29Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":9,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":9},"description":"ABOUT ROCKET LAB\nRocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.\nABOUT THE ROLE\nThe Electron Vehicle Development team owns the structures, mechanisms, and fluids systems that make Electron fly. The team generates, analyses, and implements new designs and design improvements across the vehicle, working closely with Production, Program Management, and the wider Electron Engineering group to make every vehicle better, cheaper, and lower risk than the last.\nAs Team Lead, you'll lead a team of Vehicle Development Engineers and deliver engineering projects that meet requirements, on time and with the right level of engineering rigour. This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll set priorities, unblock your team, make the risk/reward calls, and act as deputy to the Electron Engineering Manager whenever needed.\nYOU'LL GET TO:\nOwn & Ship\nLead day-to-day delivery of vehicle engineering projects across structures, mechanisms, and fluids systems\nAct as subject matter expert and quality approver for all engineering change within the Vehicle Development team\nContribute to design reviews, ensuring workflows, processes, and products meet internal and external standards and best practice\nDrive right-first-time GD&T and a lean, efficient approach to project management\nSolve & Fix\nQuickly analyse and resolve manufacturing discrepancies and non-conformances\nDrive down quality defects and time lost to non-conformances caused by vehicle system design\nAssess risk before it happens, put mitigations in place, and verify they hold for future vehicles\nMake risk/reward trade calls using engineering, program, and production input to protect both the rocket and the business\nLead & Scale\nLead risk reduction, cost saving, performance improvement, and engineer-to-order projects across team boundaries\nPrioritise competing development projects to get the best outcomes for the business and deliver team and department AOPs\nAct as the interface between Program Management and Production so vehicle configuration requirements are delivered on time\nBuild and refine the team's strategic plan, aligned with management and business goals\nGrow & Deliver\nLead, motivate, and develop your team, including building performance management plans and improving poor performance\nCoach engineers on technical best practice, lean project management, and how to deliver a positive return on investment\nIdentify single points of failure in the team and remove them through cross-training and developing capable deputies\nGive the wider business clear visibility of status, blockers, and the decisions needed to move forward\nYOU'LL BRING THESE QUALIFICATIONS:\nCORE REQUIREMENTS:\nDegree in aerospace, mechanical, or mechatronic engineering, or an equivalent qualification\n5+ years developing, testing, or analysing mechanical systems\nStrong technical ability in at least one domain of mechanical engineering: materials, structures, mechanisms, or fluids and pneumatics systems\nA strong understanding of signal acquisition and measurement, including error and accuracy\nSound analytical skills and the ability to think at a systems level\nGood hands-on engineering skills\nExcellent written and verbal communication, and the ability to clearly convey your understanding to others\nA strong leader with a proven ability to deliver results\nBONUS POINTS FOR:\nExperience leading and developing a team of engineers\nExperience as quality approver or SME for engineering change\nStrong GD&T knowledge and a track record of right-first-time design\nExperience resolving non-conformances in a production environment\nExperience leading cost saving initiatives with a measurable return\nExperience building strategic plans and presenting metrics that steer business decisions\nA track record of driving cross-functional projects and resolving conflict through influence and communication\nEXPECTATIONS:\nOwnership mentality: you take responsibility for your team's decisions, attitude, and results\nThrive under pressure and tight deadlines, adapting quickly when priorities change\nBalance speed with quality, moving quickly while maintaining appropriate rigour\nNo task is beneath you. Roll up your sleeves and do what's needed for mission success\nA \"How can I help?\" mindset. Approachable, positive, and focused on making others better\nReady to step in as deputy for the Engineering Manager at any time, for any length of time\nDomestic and international travel may be required\nWHAT TO EXPECT \nWe’re on a mission to unlock the potential of space to improve life on Earth, but that’s not an easy task. It takes hard work, determination, relentless innovation, teamwork, grit, and an unwavering commitment to achieving what others often deem impossible. Our people out-think, out-work, and out-pace. We pride ourselves on having each other’s backs, checking our egos at the door, and rolling up our sleeves on all tasks big and small. We thrive under pressure, work to tight deadlines, and our focus is always on how we can deliver, rather than dwelling on the challenges that stand in the way. \nImportant information:\nFOR CANDIDATES SEEKING TO WORK IN US OFFICES ONLY:\nTo conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Rocket Lab Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here.\nRocket Lab provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Rocket Lab, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.\nApplicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for the application/interview process for a job in the United States should contact Giulia Johnson at . This dedicated resource is intended solely to assist job seekers with disabilities whose disability prevents them from being able to apply/interview. Only messages left for this purpose will be considered. A response to your request may take up to two business days.\nFOR CANDIDATES SEEKING TO WORK IN NEW ZEALAND OFFICES ONLY:\nFor security reasons, background checks will be undertaken prior to any employment offers being made to an applicant. These checks will include nationality checks as it is a requirement of this position that you be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations. \nUnder these Regulations, you may be ineligible for this role if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a country that is part of NATO, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality. For more information on these Regulations, click here ITAR Regulations.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7639,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"phd","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Launch Services","Satellite Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-22T04:21:18Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":63,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.632,"p_room":1,"age_days":9,"expected_fill_days":43,"reasons":["conf:2","stale_co","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-31T05:58:55Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/rocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/rocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-31T23:10:39Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":36162,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-01T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":684473},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=684473"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Frocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Frocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Frocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/rocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Frocket-lab-team-lead-electron-vehicle-development"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3057272}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"rocketlab.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3057272},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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