Urban Sky is an aerospace startup pioneering humanities access to the stratosphere. We design, build, operate, and sell stratospheric balloon systems. We create new, patented high altitude balloon systems that are changing the way the stratosphere can be utilized to create better insights about our planet and offer a wide range of services previously accomplished by aircraft or satellites. The data we collect supports a wide range of applications, from real-time wildfire monitoring to urban mapping, while the balloons we sell support a wide range of government use cases from communications to advanced signal intelligence. Urban Sky and our customers send urban sky microballoons to the stratosphere multiple times per week. 

Our team consists of engineers, makers, developers, and doers who believe in the power of human potential when passion meets utility within a small, supportive team. At Urban Sky we strive to create a team culture grounded in candor, inclusion, respect and empowerment. We aim to build the next chapter of stratospheric history in Denver and are seeking a seasoned leader to support our rapidly growing team. 

The Role: 

Urban Sky is growing quickly and expanding into new markets. We manufacture new balloon systems that we sell to government and DoD customers, data products that we sell in commercial markets and have a growing government contract business. We are seeking an experienced leader to help organize the engineering team as they navigate a wide, messy and rapidly growing set of engineering projects. Organizing our engineering department would include program and project management, people management, and systems engineering to prioritize projects and focus our energy in the right places while pushing the limits of development in a blue ocean technical field. 

Working in this role at Urban Sky offers unparalleled autonomy, ownership and a spot near the top of the quickly expanding business. As the company grows quickly, the candidate will have a unique opportunity to shape the teams that becomes the foundation of the future organization. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Program management 
• People management
• This person would report to the CTO. They would lead engineering. Department heads would report up to this person. 
• Systems Engineering 
• This person would be responsible for helping make high level decisions about system architecture 
• Technical sales and proposal support 

Requirements:

• 10 years experience 
• Technical background and significant experience
• 5 years leading engineering teams 
• 5 years of program and/or project management experience 
• A deep understanding of engineered systems and systems engineering 
• Must be US Citizen 
• Must be located in or willing to relocate to Denver, CO 
• Experience in small fast paced teams or start ups 
• Bachelor's Degree in a technical field or equivalent experience 
• Proven ability to work with department-level business leaders and to provide leadership within the workplace 
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills, including the ability to clearly express technical concepts in verbal and written forms; ability to tailor conversations to adapt to technical vs. non-technical audiences 

Nice-to-Haves: 

• Start-up experience 

Benefits: 

• Salary $190,000 - $220,000 per year 
• We are required to post this salary range per Colorado law. Your salary will be determined based on your abilities and experience. 
• Stock Options 
• Medical, Vision and Dental 
• Unlimited Vacation Days 
• Cell Phone Bill Stipend 

NOTE: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don’t meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes that they have the skills and the passion necessary to succeed here to apply for this role. 

Urban Sky is an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business needs.