Leads Impulse Space’s non-destructive testing program for aerospace hardware, managing NDT personnel, technical strategy, inspection methods, procedures, equipment, supplier oversight, training, and compliance. Partners with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and materials teams to define inspection requirements and disposition nonconformances. Builds internal capabilities, manages outsourced providers, improves process repeatability, and supports budgets, facilities, and long-term capability planning for flight and development hardware.
The NDT Manager is responsible for leading Impulse Space’s non-destructive testing program, including technical strategy, internal inspection capability development, personnel leadership, supplier oversight, and compliance with applicable aerospace requirements. This role manages NDT Engineers and Inspectors while providing technical leadership across multiple NDT methods to ensure hardware is inspected using appropriate, capable, and repeatable techniques.
Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the NDT organization, including engineers, inspectors, and supporting technical personnel.
- Establish staffing plans, assign work, set priorities, develop personnel, and ensure appropriate training, qualification, and certification of NDT team members.
- Own the strategic development and continuous improvement of Impulse Space’s NDT program across multiple inspection techniques.
- Provide technical leadership in selecting and implementing inspection methods for aerospace hardware, including radiographic, ultrasonic, eddy current, penetrant, computed tomography, and other applicable methods.
- Partner with Design, Manufacturing, Quality, and Materials Engineering to determine inspection requirements, acceptance approaches, and whether inspection should be performed internally or by qualified external suppliers.
- Develop, approve, and maintain NDT specifications, procedures, work instructions, training documentation, equipment requirements, and program controls.
- Ensure NDT equipment is appropriately selected, qualified, maintained, calibrated, and capable of meeting inspection requirements.
- Build and maintain a preferred supplier base for outsourced NDT services, including specialty techniques not available internally.
- Establish supplier qualification, oversight, and performance-management processes for external inspection providers.
- Review complex inspection results, support disposition and root-cause investigations, and provide technical input on nonconformances affecting flight and development hardware.
- Drive standardization, process capability, data quality, and inspection repeatability across NDT operations.
- Support program planning, capital-equipment decisions, budget development, facility needs, and long-term capability roadmaps.
- Ensure the NDT program supports applicable aerospace requirements and the inspection needs of welds, COPVs, pressure vessels, structures, propulsion hardware, and other critical hardware.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a related technical field and 7+ years of relevant experience.
- ASNT Level III certification in at least one relevant NDT method.
- Demonstrated technical expertise across multiple NDT inspection techniques, such as radiographic, ultrasonic, eddy current, penetrant, and/or computed tomography.
- Experience developing and maintaining an NDT program in an aerospace, spaceflight, defense, aviation, or similarly high-reliability environment.
- Experience managing, mentoring, or leading NDT Engineers, Inspectors, technicians, or equivalent technical personnel.
- Experience developing NDT procedures, training programs, inspection requirements, and equipment-capability plans.
- Ability to evaluate inspection needs for complex hardware and determine whether internal or outsourced inspection is appropriate.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Advanced degree in a related field.
- ASNT Level III certifications in multiple relevant inspection methods.
- Demonstrated experience leading a multi-method NDT organization, including Engineers and Inspectors.
- Demonstrated experience building or scaling internal NDT capabilities for aerospace flight hardware.
- Demonstrated experience specifically with AWS D17.1 Class A welds and AIAA S-081B Pressure Vessels.
Additional Information:
Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of 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.
About
Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.
Impulse Space El Segundo, California, USA Office
El Segundo, CA, United States, 90245
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