White Knight Two Non Type Rated Captains Virgin Galactic US

Las Cruces, NM

Published 30+ days ago — This position has been filled.

Virgin Galactic is the world’s first publicly traded commercial space line. It is dedicated to becoming a world leader in sub-orbital commercial space tourism with a longer term vision to develop other space technologies that have the potential to open space to significantly more people and users.

Virgin Galactic is recruiting two pilots to join its team to support the ongoing flight test program of the current spaceflight system, as well as that of its follow-on vehicles, and commercial spaceflight operations.

The primary responsibilities are test and commercial pilot duties as well as operation of the spaceflight system in accordance with government regulations and company policies and procedures, in order to deliver a sub-orbital spaceflight service to Virgin Galactic Customer-Astronauts, and Science-Research Payload Customers.

Successful applicants will ideally start work in late spring/early summer 2020 and will be based at Spaceport America in New Mexico, working as part of the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo spaceflight system. Some work will also take place from time to time at Mojave, CA as well as at other locations.

In addition to flight duties on WhiteKnightTwo, SpaceShipTwo, and other aircraft, duties will also include flight planning activities, mission control support, the development of training assets, vehicle operations documentation, testing and developing follow-on vehicles, recruitment, record keeping and training obligations, as well as supporting the safety, engineering, maintenance, commercial and marketing teams.

After the start of commercial operations, the role will change from testing and developing the spaceflight system to regularly flying spaceflight missions, and supporting customer hospitality and training.

Required skills

  • Languages: English
  • Must be a US citizen or US person – compliant with ITAR (22 CFR §120.15)
  • A current FAA commercial (or equivalent) pilot license and FAA Class 1 medical
  • Degree level qualification in a relevant technical field
  • Graduate of a SETP-recognized test pilot school full (one year) course
  • At least 2½ years post-graduate test pilot school flight test experience
  • A diverse flying background with a minimum of 3,000 hours flying to include the experience of multi-engine aircraft with asymmetric thrust performance and handling considerations, high-performance fast jet aircraft and low lift-to-drag ratio glide experience (e.g. simulated flameout landings) in complex aircraft
  • Operational experience of an aerospace aviation project or business
  • Excellent, current knowledge on a diverse range of aerospace matters
  • Ability to communicate aviation knowledge and safety-related information simply, succinctly and clearly
  • Previous responsibility for authorizing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure a safe and efficient operation
  • Be a proven team player
  • Preference will be given to those with experience of:
    - Spaceflight
    - Commercial flight operations and customer interaction experience
    - Flight instruction
  • For otherwise exceptional candidates, some of the above criteria may be reduced.
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