Construction Project Director

The posting, as Rocket Lab wrote it

ABOUT ROCKET LAB

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

FACILITIES

Rocket Lab’s Facilities team is responsible for maintenance, operations, and improvements projects across our locations, making sure that the facilities our teams use every day are well looked after and operating as they should.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DIRECTOR

The Construction Project Director is a senior leadership role responsible for planning, executing, and delivering large‑scale construction and facilities projects that support aerospace manufacturing, test operations, R&D environments, and mission‑critical infrastructure. This leader oversees all phases of capital construction – from concept and design through commissioning – ensuring projects are delivered on time, on budget, and to aerospace‑grade safety and quality standards.

The Director partners closely with Facilities, Manufacturing, Engineering, EHS, Supply Chain, and Executive Leadership to ensure new facilities, expansions, and infrastructure upgrades align with long‑term operational and production goals.

WHAT YOU'LL GET TO DO

Strategic Leadership & Planning

• Lead the end‑to‑end strategy for construction and facilities development across aerospace manufacturing and test sites.
• Translate long‑range operational needs into facility and infrastructure roadmaps.
• Develop multi‑year capital plans and ensure alignment with corporate growth objectives.
• Provide executive‑level reporting, risk assessments, and recommendations.

Project Management & Execution

• Oversee all phases of construction projects, including scoping, budgeting, scheduling, permitting, design, procurement, construction, and commissioning.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects ranging from high‑bay manufacturing facilities to clean rooms, test stands, labs, and specialized aerospace infrastructure.
• Ensure strict adherence to aerospace‑grade quality, safety, and regulatory standards.

Capital Budgeting & Financial Oversight

• Own capital project budgets, forecasts, and financial controls.
• Evaluate ROI, payback, and lifecycle cost impacts for major construction investments.
• Lead contractor bidding, negotiation, and contract management.

Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Collaborate with Manufacturing, Engineering, Test Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure facility designs support production throughput, equipment installation, and future scalability.
• Partner with EHS to ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, NFPA, and aerospace‑specific safety requirements.
• Coordinate with local jurisdictions, permitting agencies, and regulatory bodies.

Vendor, Contractor & Stakeholder Management

• Select, negotiate, and manage general contractors, architects, engin

[…]
admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here .

Rocket Lab provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Rocket Lab, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for the application/interview process for a job in the United States should contact Giulia Johnson at g.biow@rocketlabusa.com. This dedicated resource is intended solely to assist job seekers with disabilities whose disability prevents them from being able to apply/interview. Only messages left for this purpose will be considered. A response to your request may take up to two business days.

FOR CANDIDATES SEEKING TO WORK IN NEW ZEALAND OFFICES ONLY:

For security reasons, background checks will be undertaken prior to any employment offers being made to an applicant. These checks will include nationality checks as it is a requirement of this position that you be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Under these Regulations, you may be ineligible for this role if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a country that is part of NATO, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality. For more information on these Regulations, click here ITAR Regulations.