Head of Payload

Join TrustPoint and Build the World's First Commercial GPS System in Space

GPS is a ubiquitous global utility in modern society; knowing one's location is critical for government, commercial, and personal applications. Still, today's solutions for determining location are inaccurate, slow, unencrypted, and susceptible to jamming and spoofing. These shortcomings make GPS insufficient for tomorrow's safety-critical and high-precision applications, a problem TrustPoint intends to solve.

TrustPoint is developing a fully commercial next-generation GPS service to provide significant performance, security and reliability improvements for GPS users. This includes better accuracy, quicker Time to First Fix, and anti-spoof and anti-jam capabilities. The improvements will support US Government position and timing service resiliency as well as enable next-generation commercial applications like drone delivery, self-driving cars, urban air mobility, and augmented reality. The $55B annual GNSS Receiver market is ripe for disruption and TrustPoint intends to lead that revolution with our commercial infrastructure and services.

The Position

TrustPoint is currently seeking a Full-Time Head of Payload - at the Herndon, Virginia location - to lead the development of the RF payloads that power our commercial Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) services. You will be responsible for overseeing the design, development, integration, and testing of advanced Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) payloads for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. In this role, you will lead a team of engineers, ensuring technical excellence across all phases of payload development while coordinating with external partners and suppliers. Additionally, you will establish best practices for hardware safety, quality assurance, and manufacturing scalability as the company prepares for multi-payload production. As an early hire, significant upward mobility will be available to this individual given strong performance, including opportunities to shape TrustPoint's technology strategy and expand leadership responsibilities in the years ahead.

We'll Expect You To

• Lead a team of engineers in the design, development, integration, testing, and operation of RF payloads for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) from Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• Oversee and ensure technical progress across all phases of payload development and testing.
• Conduct and lead internal engineering team meetings to review progress, address challenges, and streamline processes.
• Coordinate effectively with external partners and suppliers to ensure seamless integration and alignment with company objectives.
• Establish and enforce best practices and industry standards for hardware handling, ESD (Electrostatic Discharge), safety, and quality assurance.
• Prepare the company for scaling up manufacturing processes and testing protocols for multiple simultaneous payloads.
• Verify and validate payloads to ensure they meet all performance and reliability requirements before integration into satellite platforms for flight.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement within the payload engineering team to achieve cutting-edge advancements in space technology supporting TrustPoint's mission to deliver commercial GNSS services.

You'll Need to Have

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field (M.S. or Ph.D. preferred).
• 8 years of experience in RF payload development, satellite systems, or high-performance aerospace hardware.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing engineering teams through the full lifecycle of payload development.
• Hands-on experience designing, integrating, and testing RF payloads for space-based applications.
• Deep understanding of PNT, GNSS, or related RF communication systems.
• Ability to work autonomously in a fast-paced startup environment and drive projects to completion.
• Excellent professional and interpersonal communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Experience coordinating with external suppliers, vendors, and partners to deliver complex hardware solutions.
• Knowledge of industry best practices for ESD safety, hardware quality assurance, and satellite manufacturing.

We'd Like to See

• Experience working at a startup or in a highly agile development environment.
• Strong technical background in RF engineering, signal processing, or embedded systems.
• Hands-on experience with satellite payload integration and spaceflight qualification testing.
• Experience developing high-reliability hardware for aerospace, defense, or commercial space applications.
• Active U.S. security clearance or the ability to obtain one.

Cultural Fit

• Thrive in a start-up environment.
• Effective communication style that instills a culture of optimism and positivity.
• Sense of humor and ability to proactively problem solve.
• Encourages colleagues to think and plan strategically while executing well tactically.
• Works well with all company levels and disciplines (i.e. Legal, HR, etc.).
• Willing to roll up sleeves in a new venture, working closely with colleagues.

Compensation and Benefits

The selected candidate will be competitively compensated with salary, equity (stock options), and standard benefits.