Project/Subcontractor Manager - In-Orbit Services

Are you ready to take your career to new heights? At D-Orbit, we're pioneering the future of space logistics and transportation. Established in 2011, our company has been at the forefront of helping businesses unlock the full potential of the final frontier—profitably and sustainably.

As a member of our team, you'll have the opportunity to work alongside a diverse group of highly skilled individuals, all driven by a shared passion for innovation and excellence. So, if you are passionate about space and ready to take your ambition to new heights, join us in our global mission to push the boundaries of what's possible!

The role will see you leading the planning, execution, and delivery of projects—including the management of subcontractors—to achieve agreed objectives within scope, time, budget, and quality standards. Act as the central coordinator across internal teams and external subcontractors, ensuring alignment, compliance, and value delivery to clients and stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Define project scope, objectives, deliverables, and success criteria in collaboration with stakeholders.

• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, budgets, and resource allocation.

• Secure approvals and resources for project initiation and execution.

• Monitor progress against milestones, adjusting plans as needed.

• Ensure deliverables meet quality, technical, and contractual standards.

• Identify, evaluate, and onboard subcontractors based on project requirements, capacity, and compliance

• Negotiate and manage subcontractor agreements, ensuring alignment with project scope, legal, and regulatory requirements.

• Monitor subcontractor performance, deliverables, and adherence to timelines, budgets, and quality standards.

• Proactively identify and mitigate risks related to subcontractor dependencies, including delays, quality issues, or scope changes.

• Serve as the primary liaison between subcontractors and internal teams, facilitating collaboration, resolving conflicts, and escalating issues as needed.

• Act as the primary point of contact for clients, sponsors, and stakeholders, providing regular updates and managing expectations.

• Track and control project budgets, costs, and forecasts, including subcontractor-related expenses.

• Optimize resource allocation (internal and external) to maximize efficiency and profitability.

• Maintain comprehensive project documentation, including subcontractor agreements, change logs, and governance records.

• Capture lessons learned and drive process improvements for future projects.

• Foster a high-performance culture, ensuring accountability and results across all teams (internal and subcontracted).

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Management, or related field

• Minimum 2-3 years of experience in project management

• Track record in managing multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders.

• Proven ability to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to quality standards

• Subcontractor selection, contract negotiation, and performance management.

• Risk & issue management – strong skills in anticipating and mitigating risks.

• Financial & commercial acumen – budgeting, cost control, contract management.

• Stakeholder management – negotiation, influencing, and client relationship-building.

• Communication & reporting – clear, structured, and persuasive at all levels.

• Problem-solving & decision-making – handling complexity and ambiguity effectively.

• Technical awareness – understanding of engineering requirements

• Deep knowledge of AI tools.

Hiring Process:

Here’s how our hiring process works—simple and straightforward:

• Application review: We go through all applications, but we'll only reach out to candidates who closely match what we're looking for.
  If you don’t hear from us, it means we’re not moving forward with your application at this time, but we may consider you profile for more aligned opening in the future!
• First chat: Selected candidates will have an initial meeting with the people team so we can get to know each other and talk through mutual expectations, motivation for change and goals.
• Technical interviews: Next, you’ll have one or two technical interviews, focused on your skills and how you approach challenges relevant to the role.
• Offer: If all goes well, we’ll send you an offer! Sometimes this stage can take a bit of time, as we like to carefully consider each candidate and make sure the fit with the team is just right.

We do our best to get back to everyone we interview, but sometimes things take longer than we'd like and updates might be a bit slow. If you've got any questions, just reach out to us!

We’re excited to get to know you and see if you might be the next person to help us shaping the future of space!

Extra-UE applicants:

This is NOT a full remote job, so, you need VISA to work in Italy.
At this time, we can only consider applicants who already have the legal right to work in the country where the role is advertised.

Some activities must be carried out in our facilities, many others are location-independent, and they can be performed effectively even remotely. This is why we don't measure the performance of people by how many hours they spend at the office: we only measure the outcome.

At D-Orbit, diversity and inclusivity are not just values, they are integral to our mission and the way we operate. We are committed to fostering an environment where all individuals are respected, valued, and celebrated for their unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace is not only the right thing to do, but it also leads to better decision making, innovation, and overall success. We actively strive to build a culture where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and where all voices are heard and valued. We are dedicated to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, supported, and empowered to share their ideas, and where everyone is given equal opportunities to grow and excel. We believe that our differences make us stronger, and we will continue to work diligently to create an inclusive culture at D-Orbit that reflects this belief.