Senior Recovery Certification and Operations Engineer

About the Team:

The Offshore Recovery team is responsible for designing, building and operating the maritime vessels used to land and recover the Terran R launch vehicle. This isn’t your standard desk job. We are a lean, fast-moving team who cover the full project lifecycle – beginning with system requirements definition and design, hands-on with build and activation in the shipyard, all the way through supporting critical offshore recovery missions at sea. We collaborate with teams across the company, including Terran R designers, launch pad builders and rocket engine testers!

About the Role

• Certification Leadership: Lead the vessel certification effort and serve as the primary point of contact with regulatory and certification organizations throughout the vessel lifecycle, including design, construction, sea trials, certification, and offshore mission support.
• Regulatory Coordination: Support Relativity's dockside and offshore operations by coordinating with applicable regulatory and certification organizations, including the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), U.S. Space Force (USSF), NASA, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other applicable agencies.
• Offshore Operations Support: Support offshore recovery campaigns by helping ensure vessel systems and operations meet applicable certification and regulatory requirements for the landing and recovery of Terran R.
• Continuous Improvement: Apply operational experience and lessons learned from existing recovery platforms to support the design, certification, and implementation of future landing platform capabilities.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Build and maintain collaborative relationships with internal engineering teams and external regulatory and certification organizations to support long-term operational objectives and increased launch cadence.

About You

• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, adapt to changing priorities, and contribute across multiple responsibilities in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.
• Experience supporting the offshore vessel certification process, including coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and other applicable regulatory and certification organizations. Experience with novel vessel construction, spaceport operations, or organizations such as DNV, USSF, or the FAA is preferred.
• Strong understanding of marine engineering principles, applicable regulations, and certification requirements, with the ability to interpret and apply regulatory requirements to complex maritime projects.
• Ability and willingness to travel approximately 25% of the time, with occasional weekend travel or work based on business needs. Travel requirements may vary depending on project phase, including engineering, certification, shipyard activities, sea trials, home port operations, and mission support.
• Experience in offshore maritime operations or a related marine environment, including familiarity with the operational challenges associated with offshore vessels.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with regulatory agencies, certification organizations, engineering teams, and offshore operations personnel.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

Nice to haves but not required:

• Experience supporting offshore launch, recovery, or other complex offshore operations involving marine assets.
• Experience supporting vessel construction, modification, retrofit, or repair programs in a shipyard or similar industrial environment.

Successful candidates must clear a background check administered by the US government to obtain clearance for on-site work at our government partner location in Cape Canaveral, Florida.