The Astronaut Expedition Lead owns the coordination and quality of the pre-arrival journey for a dedicated portfolio of Virgin Galactic astronauts and their invited guests. This is a role for an accomplished service professional who can build trusted relationships, manage complex preparation requirements and deliver highly personalized experiences with precision, discretion and sound judgment.
Based at our Orange County headquarters, you will serve as the primary relationship lead, translating expedition requirements into clear, coordinated plans. You will anticipate needs, maintain momentum against readiness milestones and align internal teams and external partners so that each astronaut arrives informed, prepared and confident. When assigned to support expeditions in New Mexico, you will carry that continuity into on-site delivery.
Success requires more than attentive service. The role demands confident ownership, excellent written and verbal communication, and the ability to exercise judgment when preferences, operational constraints and changing circumstances intersect. You will uphold premium service standards while respecting safety requirements, professional boundaries and the responsibilities of specialist teams.
Key Responsibilities
Astronaut Relationships and Personalized Service
- Build and sustain trusted relationships with a portfolio of astronauts, understanding their motivations, communication preferences, personal priorities and guest requirements. Adapt your approach while maintaining consistent service standards.
- Establish clear communication plans, provide timely and accurate updates, and guide sensitive or complex conversations with empathy, confidence and discretion.
- Develop thoughtful, relevant personal touches that reflect each astronaut’s journey and the Virgin Galactic experience; coordinate delivery within approved parameters and budgets.
Preparation and Readiness Coordination
- Maintain an individual preparation plan for each astronaut, with documented requirements, owners, deadlines and dependencies. Track progress, follow up proactively and escalate risks before they affect the expedition.
- Coordinate documentation, appointments and preparation activities with the relevant teams. Track completion through approved systems, protecting sensitive information and leaving medical, security and technical determinations to authorized specialists.
- Ensure astronauts and guests understand their next steps, arrival arrangements and expedition expectations. Confirm readiness information and outstanding actions before handover to on-site teams.
Travel and Expedition Coordination
- Develop and maintain accurate, personalized itineraries covering travel, accommodations, transfers and scheduled activities, aligned with expedition timing and individual requirements.
- Coordinate internal teams and service providers, confirm arrangements and resolve gaps. Communicate changes promptly and maintain a reliable, current record of the plan.
- Anticipate disruptions, prepare practical alternatives and manage changes calmly. Seek approvals where required and communicate commitments only within delegated authority.
Operational Ownership and Team Development
- Lead portfolio reviews and daily follow-through on priorities, overdue actions and upcoming milestones. Maintain complete CRM records, correspondence, preferences and service histories in approved systems.
- Provide structured handovers to Expedition Operations, Astronaut Instruction, hospitality, logistics, medical and security teams as appropriate, with clear ownership of unresolved items.
- Identify service failures and recurring process gaps, coordinate corrective action and contribute to procedures, training guides and service standards. Follow issues through to resolution.
- As the team grows, support hiring, coach and develop concierge team members, delegate effectively and reinforce consistent quality, accountability and professional conduct.
Required Skills and Experience
- Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in premium hospitality, private aviation, bespoke travel, expedition travel, family office services or comparable high-touch client operations, including substantial independent ownership of complex client relationships and service delivery.
- A demonstrated record of managing several demanding client journeys concurrently, coordinating multiple providers and delivering accurate, timely outcomes under changing conditions.
- Experience serving discerning clients with high expectations, handling confidential information and resolving sensitive service issues with maturity and discretion.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication, including the ability to produce polished correspondence, explain complex requirements clearly and represent the organization confidently.
- Strong operational judgment, meticulous planning and disciplined follow-through. Able to prioritize competing demands, recognize when escalation is necessary and act within established authority.
- Proficiency in Salesforce Service Cloud or a comparable CRM, and Microsoft Office, including Excel and PowerPoint; able to maintain reliable records and use systems to manage a portfolio.
- Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business administration, communications or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Candidates from executive assistant, executive coordinator or senior leadership support backgrounds will also be considered where they can demonstrate comparable ownership of complex international travel, multi-day programs, confidential relationships and independent issue resolution. The same standards of judgment, communication and delivery apply.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Experience supporting high-net-worth or ultra-high-net-worth individuals; complex international itineraries; private aviation or expedition programs; supervisory responsibility; and the development of service procedures or training. Proficiency in an additional language is valued.
Professional Standards
- Judgment and discretion: Protect confidentiality, maintain appropriate boundaries and make considered decisions with an understanding of operational consequences.
- Anticipatory service: Recognize emerging needs and dependencies early, validate assumptions and take thoughtful action before issues become visible to the astronaut.
- Ownership and precision: Maintain accurate information, honor commitments and close the loop on every action, including work delivered through others.
- Composure and emotional intelligence: Respond constructively to uncertainty and heightened emotions, building confidence through clear communication and consistent conduct.
- Collaboration and leadership: Build effective working relationships, respect specialist expertise and hold yourself and others accountable for agreed service standards.
What Success Looks Like
- Astronauts experience a personal, well-coordinated preparation journey and arrive confident in their plans. Internal teams receive accurate, actionable information and can rely on the Expedition Lead to identify risks early and deliver on commitments.
- Readiness milestones are completed by agreed deadlines, with exceptions documented, escalated and actively managed.
- Itineraries, CRM records and handovers are accurate, complete and current, reducing avoidable errors and repeated requests for information.
- Astronaut feedback demonstrates trust, responsive communication and thoughtful personalization across the assigned portfolio.
- Issues are resolved promptly within delegated authority, with clear communication, appropriate escalation and corrective action where needed.
- Transitions into on-site operations are coordinated, with confirmed arrangements and explicit ownership of outstanding actions.
Work Schedule and Travel
- Five days within a seven-day operating week, including scheduled weekends according to expedition and coverage requirements. The role is based in-office at our Orange County, California headquarters when not traveling for work. Flexibility is required for nonstandard hours, communication across time zones and intensive flight-week operations. Travel to New Mexico is required as needed to support spaceflight expeditions.
The annual U.S. base salary range for this full-time position is $99,700.00–$152,075.00. The base pay actually offered will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, location, and experience and take into account internal equity. Other forms of pay (e.g., bonus or long term incentive) may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits, dependent on the position offered. For more information regarding Virgin Galactic benefits, please visit https://vgcareers.virgingalactic.com/global/en/benefits About Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of human possibility. Through its spaceflight expeditions, the company offers people a profound new perspective on our planet and their own potential, while enabling scientific discovery and supporting strategic government missions. Virgin Galactic combines world-class aerospace engineering with thoughtfully designed astronaut experiences and a scalable spaceline operating model. Its reusable, air-launched Spaceships are designed to make spacefilight safe, repeatable, operationally efficient, and increasingly accessible, advancing a long-term vision of opening space to millions for extraordinary purposes. Learn more at www.virgingalactic.com. Export Requirements To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. Person (either a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident or a protected individual as defined 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) or be able to obtain the required authorization from either the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Department of Commerce. The applicant must also not be included in the list of Specifically Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. See list here. EEO Statement Virgin Galactic is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Virgin Galactic is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. Drug Free Workplace Virgin Galactic is committed to a Drug Free Workplace. All applicants post offer and active teammates are subject to testing for marijuana, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, PCP, and alcohol when criteria is met as outlined in our policies. This can include pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, and accident related drug and alcohol testing. Phoenix Employment Requirements For individuals seeking employment at our Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport facility, employment is contingent upon you obtaining and maintaining a TSA authorized security badge. This includes initial and annual mandatory background checks that are governed by TSA, and conducted by the Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport badging office. Accommodation Requests If you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a position, please contact the Virgin Galactic Talent Team at: VGTalent@virgingalactic.com Mandatory Notices Employee Polygraph Protection Act Rights E-Verify_Participation_Poster_Eng_Es Your Employee Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal
