Government Affairs Manager

Government Affairs Manager
Organization: Impulse Space
Location: Washington, DC
Date Posted: 11/09/2026

As the Government Affairs Manager at Impulse, you will help grow and sustain Impulse’s business by advocating for the company’s interests with key stakeholders across the Executive and Legislative Branch. You will develop, maintain, and build upon an existing network in DC with a focus on federal government officials and lawmakers in national security and civil space. You will clearly convey complex technical ideas to non-technical audiences and represent Impulse at high-visibility official and unofficial events in DC and elsewhere.

Responsibilities
Represent Impulse as the day-to-day advocate for Impulse priorities with federal government stakeholders, especially within personal offices in the legislative branch
Draft, support, and execute an engagement strategy to advance Impulse legislative priorities for national security and civil space programs
Build and maintain strong relationships across relevant Congressional offices and committees, including those with defense, space, regional, and appropriations matters
Monitor and analyze legislative developments impacting national security and civil and commercial space programs; prepare policy briefings and memoranda, track federal legislation and key committee activity
Support DC operations, including managing PAC activities, representing Impulse with aerospace industry stakeholders, and leveraging Executive participation with federal officials, as appropriate
Manage Impulse’s congressional engagement process, including content development, engagement tracking, and follow up
Work closely with Government Affairs, Business Development, Marketing, and other teams to perform research as needed and identify risks and opportunities that affect the company and align engagement with long-term strategic objectives
Convey complex policy issues in a clear, accessible way to both internal and external audiences, ensuring alignment with company objectives
Prepare presentations and materials for Impulse leadership ahead of engagements with key government officials

Minimum Qualifications
5+ years of federal legislative experience (on Capitol Hill, in a department/agency legislative liaison office, or in government affairs in aerospace)
Bachelors degree in Political Science or related field
Familiarity with legislative processes, including appropriations and authorization legislation
Demonstrated experience navigating national security policy, programs, budgets, or advocacy
Strong verbal and written communication skills, including experience writing white papers or other advocacy materials on technically complex topics
Ability to work both collaboratively and independently across a growing and fast-paced team in multiple locations
Ability to work on-site in the Impulse Washington, DC, office, with regular travel within DC for meetings and occasional travel to Impulse HQ in Redondo Beach, CA

Preferred Skills and Experience
4+ years of demonstrated experience with national security or civil space policy, including U.S. Space Force, NASA, or the Intelligence Community
7+ years of legislative experience, including supporting a member on one or more defense committees
Demonstrated experience managing a corporate political action committee
Experience with early-stage or high-growth aerospace companies
Active security clearance
Willingness to register as a federal lobbyist

Additional Information:

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

About Impulse Space
Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.

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