Exploration Manager Jobs in Alabama (NOW HIRING)

Overview
Exploration & Lunar Presence Campaign Lead
LOCATION: Huntsville, AL; Washington, D.C.; Cape Canaveral, FL; Houston, TX
JOB STATUS: Full-time
CLEARANCE: N/A
CERTIFICATION: N/A
TRAVEL: Up to 50%, dependent on customer, pursuit, and mission needs
SALARY RANGE: $213K - $355K (Final Salary to be determined by experience and location)
Humanity is returning to the Moon-and this time, we're building the infrastructure to stay.
NASA's Artemis campaign is creating a new era of exploration that will extend from Earth to the Moon and ultimately to Mars. At the same time, commercial space companies are transforming how spacecraft are built, launched, operated, connected, and sustained. The next generation of space infrastructure will bring together government and commercial capabilities across launch, communications, navigation, autonomous systems, lunar mobility, power, logistics, data, computing, and surface operations.
Astrion is helping build that future.
We have an exciting opportunity for an Exploration & Lunar Presence Campaign Lead to define and drive Astrion's growth strategy across NASA exploration and the rapidly expanding commercial space economy.
In this role, you will partner with senior growth, mission, campaign, technical, and customer-facing leaders to shape opportunities that bring together space systems engineering, lunar logistics, surface systems, communications, power, robotics, autonomy, payload integration, test and evaluation, mission operations, safety and mission assurance, and commercial partnership models. This is a role for someone who can see where the exploration market is going, understand what NASA, NOAA, commercial, and allied customers need before it is fully defined, and turn Astrion capabilities into differentiated solutions that help build the foundation for deeper exploration.
This isn't a traditional business development role.
You'll work at the intersection of mission, technology, customer, industry, and acquisition-identifying where the space market is going, helping customers define what comes next, assembling the partners and technologies required to deliver it, and turning those ideas into programs Astrion can win.
You'll lead Astrion's growth campaign across NASA Artemis, lunar exploration, sustained Moon presence, and emerging commercial space infrastructure. You'll pursue opportunities spanning human spaceflight, lunar surface systems, mission operations, satellites and communications, space-based computing and data centers, autonomous systems, digital engineering, logistics, power, and the infrastructure required for sustained operations beyond Earth.
A critical part of the role will be identifying opportunities to leverage Astrion's existing mission expertise, solutions, technologies, and services to create scalable hardware and software technology products. You'll work with Astrion engineers, customers, and industry partners to identify missing mission elements, determine where Astrion can build differentiated capabilities, and partner where needed to rapidly deliver the technologies NASA requires to return to the Moon and establish a sustained lunar presence.
You'll work directly with NASA leaders, commercial space companies, established aerospace primes, emerging technology companies, investors, universities, and Astrion's
engineers and mission experts to create teams capable of solving problems no single company can solve alone.
The programs and products you help create won't just support the next mission.
They'll help build the infrastructure for sustained human and commercial presence beyond Earth.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS
We're looking for someone who understands that the next generation of space programs will be built differently than the last.
The strongest candidates understand both the NASA mission and the rapidly changing commercial space ecosystem. They've built relationships before requirements were finalized, shaped programs before solicitations were released, assembled unconventional industry teams, and turned emerging mission needs into funded programs.
Just as importantly, they understand how to move from services and mission expertise to differentiated technology products-identifying a customer problem, determining what should be built internally and what should come from partners, rapidly developing and demonstrating a solution, and creating a path from prototype to operational capability.
We look for leaders who have experience with many of the following:

• Building and executing growth strategies across NASA human exploration, Artemis, Moon-to-Mars, lunar surface operations, or major civil space programs.
• Developing trusted relationships across NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, with particularly strong relationships at Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson
• Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Ames Research Center, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including program executives, program managers, technical leaders, acquisition organizations, astronauts, and Center leadership.
• Understanding NASA planning, budgeting, acquisition, source-selection, and program-development processes.
• Shaping large, complex opportunities well before an RFP is released.
• Leading major captures and winning complex NASA, civil space, or commercial space programs.
• Translating deep customer mission knowledge and existing services into reusable software, hardware, and integrated technology products.
• Identifying technology gaps and unmet requirements and creating new solutions that address mission needs rather than waiting for customers to define procurements.
• Taking technology from concept through prototype, demonstration, integration, operational deployment, and ultimately scalable adoption.
• Building strategic industry teams involving aerospace primes, commercial space companies, emerging technology companies, and specialized suppliers.
• Understanding the evolving commercial space ecosystem and identifying technologies and business models that can transition into government missions.
• Working with commercial space companies developing launch vehicles, spacecraft, lunar landers, communications networks, satellite constellations, robotics, autonomous systems, computing infrastructure, energy systems, or other space technologies.
• Developing strategies around emerging markets such as commercial lunar services, lunar communications and navigation, space-based computing and data centers, in-space logistics, surface power, autonomous operations, and sustained lunar infrastructure.
• Connecting government mission requirements with commercially developed technologies and new acquisition approaches.
• Working across traditional FAR-based procurements as well as Space Act Agreements, public-private partnerships, commercial services acquisitions, and
• other mechanisms NASA uses to accelerate technology and capability development.
• Translating complex technical concepts into compelling customer value propositions, campaign strategies, product roadmaps, and investment decisions.
• Working effectively with engineers and scientists while also communicating with senior government executives, CEOs, investors, and corporate leadership.
• Developing competitive intelligence and using it to make disciplined decisions about where to compete, how to position, whom to partner with, what to build, and what it will take to win.
• Operating with urgency, ownership, curiosity, and a willingness to challenge conventional approaches.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS

• Experience within NASA, a major aerospace prime, a leading commercial space company, or an organization supporting significant human exploration programs is highly valued.
• An established network across NASA Headquarters and the NASA Centers, the commercial space ecosystem, aerospace primes, emerging space companies, technology providers, universities, and investors is strongly preferred.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who sees what's missing between where we are today and sustained human presence on the Moon-and knows how to bring together Astrion's mission expertise, technology, customers, and industry partners to build it.
RESPONSIBILITIES
You'll own the strategy and growth campaign for Astrion's Exploration and Lunar Presence Mission Segment-connecting customer missions, emerging technology, industry partners, and Astrion capabilities to create and win the next generation of space programs.
You will:

• Develop and execute Astrion's growth strategy across NASA Artemis, Moon-to-Mars exploration, lunar infrastructure, human spaceflight, and the emerging commercial space economy.
• Build deep relationships across NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including organizations responsible for exploration systems, human spaceflight, mission operations, science, technology development, and lunar surface capabilities.
• Understand NASA's mission roadmaps, acquisition strategies, budgets, technology gaps, and future requirements early enough to help shape opportunities before formal procurements begin.
• Identify the missing mission and technology elements required to return humans to the Moon and establish sustained lunar operations, and determine where Astrion can develop, integrate, partner, or invest to address those gaps.
• Leverage Astrion's existing solutions, intellectual property, engineering capabilities, mission expertise, and services to develop repeatable and scalable hardware and software technology products for NASA and the broader space market.
• Partner with commercial technology companies, aerospace primes, emerging space companies, universities, and specialized providers when external technologies accelerate Astrion's ability to deliver complete mission solutions.
• Identify, qualify, shape, and lead strategic pursuits spanning human exploration, spacecraft and lunar systems, mission operations, modeling and simulation, digital
• engineering, autonomy, communications, data infrastructure, and advanced technology.
• Expand Astrion's position beyond traditional government programs into emerging commercial space markets, including satellite infrastructure, space communications and networks, in-space and lunar computing, space-based data centers, commercial lunar services, power and energy infrastructure, logistics, robotics, autonomy, and surface operations.
• Develop multi-year campaign roadmaps that connect customer priorities, technology and product investments, partnerships, acquisitions, and individual pursuits into an integrated growth strategy.
• Create new opportunities by identifying unmet mission needs and bringing together Astrion capabilities, commercial technologies, and industry partners to develop differentiated solutions.
• Build and lead industry teams involving traditional aerospace primes, commercial space companies, venture-backed technology companies, universities, research organizations, and specialized technology providers.
• Determine where Astrion should build, buy, partner, invest, prime, or subcontract to establish differentiated positions in emerging markets and deliver complete mission capabilities.
• Develop teaming strategies well ahead of procurements, identifying the combination of mission experience, technology, customer access, past performance, intellectual property, and commercial products required to win.
• Negotiate and structure strategic partnerships, teaming agreements, and long-term industry relationships that strengthen Astrion's competitive position.
• Work with Astrion's Mission Segment leaders, Business Development Executives, Capture Managers, Solutions Architects, Platform teams, and Proposal teams to move opportunities from early shaping through capture and award.
• Partner with technical leaders to translate customer mission challenges into compelling solution architectures, technology products, prototypes, and demonstrations.
• Lead competitive assessments and Black Hat activities to understand incumbent positions, competitor strategies, potential partners, acquisition dynamics, and Astrion's path to win.
• Develop customer engagement strategies that connect Astrion executives, mission leaders, engineers, and technology partners with the right stakeholders at the right point in the acquisition lifecycle.
• Represent Astrion at major space industry forums, conferences, technical interchange meetings, customer engagements, and industry events.
• Build relationships across the broader space ecosystem, including government organizations, commercial space companies, investors, research institutions, and organizations shaping the future of space exploration.
• Provide Astrion leadership with clear perspectives on where the space market is moving, where the company should invest, which technologies and companies matter, and where Astrion can establish differentiated positions.
• Maintain a disciplined, qualified pipeline and hold yourself and the broader campaign team accountable for converting strategy, customer relationships, technology investments, and partnerships into measurable bookings and revenue growth.