Division: Propulsion & Energetics

Reports to: VP of Propulsion & Energetics

Location: Keenesburg, CO (on site); periodic travel to suppliers, test ranges, and customers

Type: Full-time, exempt

Direct reports: Leads for NDT, Laboratory, Processing, Design & Development, and Test (team grows with plant ramp)

Clearance: U.S. person required (ITAR); ability to obtain a Secret clearance

Role Summary The Propulsion Manager leads the design, activation, and scale-up of Singularity Defense's solid rocket motor (SRM) manufacturing plant in Keenesburg, Colorado. Once the plant is running, this person owns the day-to-day technical operations that make and qualify motors: NDT, the chemical and propellant laboratory, milling operations, motor design and development, and static fire testing.

This is a hands-on leadership role at an early-stage company. The right candidate has built or run an energetics production line, can take a facility from construction through first article and rate production, and builds teams that work safely around explosives every day.

Key Responsibilities: SRM Plant Design, Activation, and Scale-Up

- Serve as the propulsion technical owner for the Keenesburg campus, including mixing, casting, milling, X-ray, laboratory, final assembly, magazine, and test stand buildings.
- Define process requirements for each building: equipment, utilities, process flow, material handling, and environmental controls. Translate them into design inputs for the construction manager and architect.
- Specify, procure, and accept major process equipment, including planetary mixers, casting and curing systems, oxidizer grinding and classification, and radiography systems.
- Lead facility activation: equipment installation, IQ/OQ/PQ, inert and live process trials, first article motors, and production readiness reviews.
- Plan and execute the ramp from development lots to rate production. Set capacity targets, staffing plans, and bottleneck mitigation.




- Work with EHS to integrate explosives safety into facility and process design, including quantity-distance siting, hazard classification, process hazard analyses, and standard operating procedures.
- Provide technical input to capital planning, equipment budgets, and schedule.

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

- Own the NDT program for motors, grains, and components, including digital radiography/CT, ultrasonic bond-line inspection, and visual inspection.
- Establish inspection procedures, accept/reject criteria, and defect characterization standards aligned with customer and program requirements.
- Feed NDT findings back into process control and root cause investigations.

Chemical and Propellant Laboratory

- Direct the lab supporting raw material acceptance, in-process control, and propellant characterization.
- Oversee testing for propellant properties: strand burn rate and temperature sensitivity, mechanical properties, density, viscosity and pot life, and aging and surveillance.
- Oversee energetic material sensitivity testing (impact, friction, ESD, thermal) and hazard classification data.
- Maintain lab quality systems, calibration, sample control, and data traceability.
- Qualify new suppliers and alternate raw material sources.

Processing Operations

- Manage oxidizer and energetic material grinding, classification, and blending operations.
- Control particle size distribution and moisture to meet propellant formulation requirements.
- Ensure milling is performed under approved hazard analyses and SOPs, with appropriate remote operation, dust control, and housekeeping.




- Track milling throughput, yield, and equipment reliability as the plant scales.

Design and Development

- Lead propulsion design and development for tactical SRMs: propellant formulation, grain design, interior ballistics, case and insulation, nozzle, and igniter.
- Own ballistic performance predictions, margins, and design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR).
- Drive design for manufacturability so new motors transition smoothly into the Keenesburg production line.
- Support proposals, customer technical interchanges, and program requirements definition.

Static Fire Testing

- Manage the static fire program, including the on-site test stand: test planning, instrumentation, data acquisition, and range safety.
- Direct development, qualification, and lot acceptance test campaigns, including temperature-conditioned firings.
- Ensure test data is reduced, analyzed, and correlated to ballistic predictions, and that anomalies are investigated to root cause.
- Coordinate with customers and external ranges for witnessed or off-site testing.

Leadership, Safety, and Compliance
- Hire, develop, and lead the propulsion operations and engineering team as the plant grows.
- Build a robust explosives safety culture. Ensure compliance with ATF, OSHA PSM where applicable, DoD explosives safety standards (e.g., DESR 6055.09), and local fire codes.
- Establish KPIs for safety, quality, throughput, cost, and schedule, and report status to division leadership.
- Support ITAR export control compliance and protection of controlled technical data.

Qualifications

Required

- B.S. in Chemical, Mechanical, or Aerospace Engineering, Chemistry, or a related field.
- 8+ years in solid rocket propulsion or energetics, with at least 3 years leading engineering or production teams.
- Direct experience designing, activating, or scaling an SRM or energetics manufacturing facility or production line.

📌 Propulsion Manager (Quinte West)
🏢 Singularity Defense
📍 Quinte West