---
title: 'Solutions Engineering Lead at Quantum Space'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/solutions-engineering-lead-quantum-space-rockville-md-or-hawthorne-7hq2hyjqwpdh'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-18'
---

# Solutions Engineering Lead at Quantum Space

- **Company:** Quantum Space
- **Location:** Rockville MD OR Hawthorne, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-06-23
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/quantumspacellc/jobs/4291670009

## Job description

Quantum Space is redefining mobility and maneuverability in space. Our high-mobility spacecraft platforms support national security, civil, and commercial missions with unmatched flexibility and propulsion capability. We build fast and iterate quickly.

Who We're Looking For

We are seeking a highly experienced Solution Engineering Lead to help shape the technical strategies behind some of the industry's most critical space missions.

This role serves as the technical architect for strategic pursuits, translating customer needs into innovative, executable mission solutions that position Quantum Space for long-term growth and competitive success. You will operate at the intersection of engineering, business development, capture, and executive leadership—developing mission architectures, evaluating technical approaches, establishing discriminators, and guiding solution strategies throughout the business development lifecycle.  The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in space systems engineering with strong strategic thinking and customer-focused solution development. You understand how to balance mission performance, technical risk, cost, schedule, and operational effectiveness while creating differentiated solutions that address complex customer challenges.

You are comfortable moving seamlessly between technical and strategic discussions, collaborating with engineers, capture managers, program leaders, executives, and government stakeholders to develop compelling mission concepts and winning technical approaches.

Whether supporting opportunities with the U.S. Space Force, Space Systems Command (SSC), Space Development Agency (SDA), AFRL, NASA, NRO, OSD, or other government customers, you recognize that exceptional solution engineering is a critical enabler of mission success, customer confidence, and company growth.

Where You'll Make an Impact

Solution Architecture & Technical Strategy

- Lead technical solution development for strategic business pursuits across defense, intelligence, civil, and commercial space markets
- Translate customer requirements into executable mission concepts, architectures, and technical approaches
- Develop mission architectures, concepts of operation (CONOPS), and system-level solution strategies
- Establish technical discriminators that clearly differentiate Quantum Space capabilities and offerings
- Evaluate alternative approaches through technical trade studies and architecture assessments
- Identify technical risks and develop mitigation strategies that improve solution credibility and execution confidence

Capture & Proposal Leadership

- Partner with Capture Managers and Proposal Leaders to develop winning technical strategies
- Provide technical leadership throughout the proposal lifecycle
- Develop technical content, engineering approaches, and solution narratives for strategic pursuits
- Participate in proposal reviews, color team reviews, and executive decision gates
- Ensure proposed solutions are compliant, executable, innovative, and aligned with customer priorities

Customer Engagement & Mission Development

- Support customer engagements, technical interchange meetings, and solution discussions
- Present technical concepts, mission architectures, and solution strategies to government and commercial stakeholders
- Help shape opportunities through early customer engagement and technical positioning activities
- Maintain awareness of evolving mission needs, customer priorities, industry trends, and emerging technologies

Cross-Functional Leadership

- Lead multidisciplinary technical teams during solution development activities
- Collaborate across engineering, program management, business development, and executive leadership
- Support multiple high-priority pursuits simultaneously in a fast-paced growth environment
- Contribute to the development of repeatable solution engineering processes and best practices

What It Takes

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline
- 10+ years of experience developing space systems, mission architectures, or advanced aerospace solutions
- Experience with spacecraft design, mission architecture development, satellite systems, communications systems, remote sensing, or national security space missions
- Strong systems engineering background with demonstrated technical leadership experience
- Experience conducting technical trade studies, requirements analysis, and solution development activities
- Demonstrated ability to develop customer-focused technical solutions for complex government programs
- Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills
- Ability to collaborate effectively across technical and non-technical organizations

Nice-to-Have Experience

- Experience supporting opportunities with:
- U.S. Space Force
- Space Systems Command (SSC)
- Space Development Agency (SDA)
- Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
- Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
- Prior experience supporting government space organizations, prime contractors, or advanced aerospace companies
- Experience with satellite communications, space domain awareness, missile warning, ISR, remote sensing, or related mission areas
- Familiarity with Department of Defense acquisition processes and proposal development activities
- Advanced degree in a related technical discipline

## What You’ll Get

- Ownership – Lead the technical strategy behind high-priority space pursuits, developing mission architectures and solution concepts that shape Quantum Space's future
- Innovation – Design forward-thinking mission solutions by combining systems engineering, customer insight, and emerging space technologies to solve complex national security, civil, and commercial challenges
- Impact – Influence strategic business growth by developing differentiated technical approaches that strengthen customer confidence and position Quantum Space for long-term success
- Growth – Partner with executive leadership, capture teams, and engineering experts while expanding your influence across business development, mission architecture, and strategic solution engineering
- Compensation – Competitive salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, generous leave, HSA, 401(k) matching, and equity sharing

Location: Rockville, MD or Hawthorne, CA

Base Salary: $125,000 - $175,000

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Quantum Space's total compensation package.

Additional Requirements

To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual per 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Apply now. Join us in building the next generation of spacecraft.

## About Quantum Space

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Quantum Space is building the next generation of advanced, maneuverable spacecraft (the Ranger platform) to disrupt the orbital economy by reducing the cost of operating across every orbit the nation needs to hold, from LEO through GEO and out to cislunar space.
- **Entity Type**: Private (going public via merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VI; anticipated ticker QSPC)
- **Headquarters**: Rockville, Maryland, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Dr. Kam Ghaffarian (Executive Chairman & Co-founder), Ben Reed (Chief Technology Officer), Adarsh Parekh (President & Co-founder), Kerry Wisnosky (Co-founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Defense and Space Manufacturing, National Security Space, Cislunar Infrastructure
- **Target customers**: Primarily Government (U.S. national security space agencies, Space Force, NASA, DARPA)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To enable the freedom to maneuver in space for the United States, providing a maneuver-first architecture engineered for multi-orbit operations at scale.

## Products & Services
- **Ranger Spacecraft Platform**: A highly maneuverable orbital transfer and servicing platform. Key specs include up to 4,000+ kg of storable hydrazine, multi-mode propulsion, a 15-year operational life, on-orbit refueling capability, and a modular payload architecture. It is designed to reach GEO and beyond at up to 70% lower cost than conventional architectures.
- **Space Domain Awareness**: Providing ubiquitous awareness of activities on orbit, delivering actionable intelligence.
- **Payload Hosting & Data Services**: A standardized platform capable of being configured for any mission at any orbit, hosting government and commercial payloads.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed for the private company; the SPAC merger agreement values the combined entity, but specific valuation is not publicly available.
- **Key Metric**: $88M+ in secured government contracts. Total funding of $56.1M across 6 prior funding rounds.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VI (SPAC merger partner); Dr. Kam Ghaffarian (also founded Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR), X-energy (NASDAQ: XE), Axiom Space); Jim Bridenstine (CEO, former NASA Administrator).
- **Growth Signals**: Aggressive hiring with 31 active job postings and +158.3% monthly job posting growth; acquired Phase Four's multi-mode propulsion assets in September 2025; constructing a manufacturing facility at Tulsa International Airport; awarded a DARPA LASSO contract; going public via SPAC merger.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Massive Fuel Capacity & Maneuverability**: 4,000+ kg of storable fuel is significantly more than current spacecraft, and the multi-mode propulsion allows for speed, efficiency, and flexibility across all orbits.
- **Refuelable & Modular Architecture**: Designed for on-orbit refueling and a modular payload system, enabling long-duration missions (15 years) and rapid reconfiguration.
- **Deep IP Moat**: 17 issued and pending patents protecting the core technology.
- **Cost Disruption**: Claims up to 70% cost reduction for operations beyond LEO and up to 10x+ launch cost savings compared to conventional architectures.
- **National Security Focus**: Deeply embedded with U.S. Space Command and national security priorities, with leadership that includes former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and a 40-year Missile Defense Agency veteran.

## Strategic Focus
- **Golden Dome / National Security**: The company's Ranger spacecraft is positioned as a key platform for the proposed "Golden Dome" national security space architecture.
- **SPAC Merger & Public Listing**: Completing the merger with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VI to go public under the ticker QSPC.
- **Manufacturing Expansion**: Building out manufacturing capacity in Tulsa, OK, and Huntsville, AL, to scale production of the Ranger platform.
- **Cislunar Operations**: Developing capabilities for operations in cislunar space, including winning the DARPA LASSO contract.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven**: The company is focused on a critical national security mission, offering employees a chance to work on technology that directly impacts U.S. space superiority.
- **High Growth Trajectory**: Rapidly scaling from a startup to a public company, with aggressive hiring, new facility construction, and major government contracts.
- **Flexible Work Environment**: The company emphasizes work-life balance and offers flexible working arrangements. Roles are available across multiple locations (Rockville, MD; Huntsville, AL; Hawthorne, CA; Tulsa, OK).
- **Competitive Compensation**: Offers comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, generous leave (including parental leave), FSA, 401(k) matching, and equity sharing.
- **Tight-Knit Team**: Described as a fast-paced, tight-knit team of engineers and scientists, offering exposure to the full lifecycle of mission development, launch, and operations.

## Sources
1. [quantumspace.us](https://www.quantumspace.us/)
2. [quantumspace.us/about](https://www.quantumspace.us/about)
3. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/quantumspace-us)
4. [investors.quantumspace.us](https://investors.quantumspace.us/)
5. [Greenhouse Careers Page](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/quantumspacellc/jobs/4193183009)

## Other roles at Quantum Space

- [Accounting Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/accounting-manager-quantum-space-rockville-am48bcdwcm6x) — Rockville, MD
- [Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) / GRC Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/information-systems-security-officer-isso-grc-analyst-quantum-space-rockville-wyz4v99ynpdh) — Rockville, MD
- [Reliability Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/reliability-engineer-quantum-space-rockville-md-or-hawthorne-hf6wn74hcyrs) — Rockville MD OR Hawthorne, CA
- [Principal Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-spacecraft-guidance-navigation-control-engineer-quantum-space-qa1t3bxv3k77) — Rockville MD OR Hawthorne, CA
- [Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/spacecraft-guidance-navigation-control-engineer-quantum-space-rockville-zm632f2k9vyt) — Rockville, MD
- [Capture Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/capture-manager-quantum-space-rockville-md-or-hawthorne-602yj3s3rbr4) — Rockville MD OR Hawthorne, CA
- [Proposal Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/proposal-manager-quantum-space-rockville-md-or-hawthorne-ca-or-tulsa-reyzr4yh2frq) — Rockville MD OR Hawthorne CA OR Tulsa, OK
- [Senior Technical Writer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-writer-quantum-space-rockville-md-or-hawthorne-71nv616hnbck) — Rockville MD OR Hawthorne, CA
- [Business Operations Specialist I](https://feeny.ai/job/business-operations-specialist-i-quantum-space-rockville-9qynz36r4jpj) — Rockville, MD
- [Software Systems Engineer III](https://feeny.ai/job/software-systems-engineer-iii-quantum-space-rockville-md-or-hawthorne-pd2g9v09hk22) — Rockville MD OR Hawthorne, CA