Melissa Escusar

About Melissa Escusar

Program Management leader known for taking full ownership of complex, high-visibility programs from concept through delivery. I drive business outcomes by aligning customer needs, engineering execution, and organizational priorities—ensuring programs land on time, on budget, and with uncompromising quality.I bring a proven track record of leading cross-functional, geographically distributed teams through ambiguity, technical challenges, and shifting priorities. My approach blends operational discipline with proactive risk mitigation, data-driven decision making, and a strong bias for action.I’m at my best turning competing constraints into clear execution paths—translating requirements, shaping strategy, securing resources, and eliminating roadblocks to ensure delivery success. I take deep pride in elevating team performance and maintaining strong, trust-based customer relationships.I also champion diversity, inclusion, and psychological safety, recognizing that empowered teams deliver the strongest results.

Experience

1. Senior Program Manager

   Momentus

   Oct 2025 — Present · San Jose, CA, US

   As Senior Program Manager at Momentus Space, I lead cross-functional teams delivering the next generation of in-space transportation and servicing missions. My work focuses on executing complex spacecraft programs — from development and integration through launch and operations — that expand the company’s orbital services capabilities and advance its vision for sustainable space infrastructure.Key Responsibilities & Impact:Program lead for Vigoride-7, the fourth flight of the Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV) platform — coordinating multi-customer payload delivery, hosted payload services, and a rendezvous & proximity operations (RPO) demonstration that advances Momentus toward active in-orbit servicing.Directed cross-functional collaboration across spacecraft engineering, systems integration, and mission operations to ensure cost, schedule, and technical objectives are met.Managed interfaces between internal engineering teams, launch providers, and external customers to optimize payload manifesting and mission economics.Supported Momentus’ strategic growth by scaling platform maturity, expanding payload capacity, and developing operational frameworks for future reusable and service-capable spacecraft.Selected Achievements:Delivered a “fuller load” of payloads on Vigoride-7, increasing mission efficiency and revenue potential.Championed operational readiness reviews and risk mitigation processes improving mission execution timelines.Contributed to shaping Momentus’ roadmap toward sustainable, multi-mission orbital transportation and servicing capabilities.

Education

• UC Irvine

  Project Management Program Certification

• St. Francis College

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Communication, General