A satellite manufacturing company launched in Santa Barbara will expand again, adding a large facility in Virginia.
Umbra last week announced plans to open a 20,000-square-foot facility in Reston, Virginia.
In a social media post, Umbra officials called the coast-to-coast footprint “a meaningful step forward as we continue building resilient space systems and remote sensing capabilities that deliver real-world impact.”
“This expansion strengthens our ability to support national security priorities while accelerating U.S. innovation in space — with the speed, efficiency, and cost discipline today’s missions demand,” officials stated.
Last week, Virginia officials said the expansion in Northern Virginia includes a $6.75 million investment with plans to create more than 100 new jobs in Fairfax County.
“As demand increases for high-performance, U.S.-built space systems, Umbra is proud to expand our operations in Northern Virginia,” Umbra Chief Executive Officer David Langan said. “A decade ago, we set out to transform how remote sensing data is delivered, and we have consistently raised the bar for speed, quality and reliability.”
Umbra leads in modern mesh antenna technology and remote sensing capabilities that support critical national security and commercial missions, he added.
“This expansion strengthens our ability to grow our team, hire top talent across the region, and build on our track record of delivering resilient systems faster and more cost-effectively,” Langan said. “We’re grateful for our partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, and this investment marks an important step in our growth.”
The region’s efforts to land Umbra to secure the project for Virginia include Gov. Abigail Spanberger approving a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Fairfax County.
Also, funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program, Virginia officials sad.
Umbra, founded in 2015 by Santa Barbara friends Langan and Gabe Dominocielo, now touts itself as a space technology firm.
In addition to Santa Barbara, Umbra later opened offices in Austin, Texas, and the Washington, D.C., area.
The company began to design and build synthetic aperture radar satellites that can see through clouds. Customers include both commercial and military sectors.
The microsatellites have launched from both Vandenberg Space Force Base and Florida in recent years.
Last year, Umbra expanded into a 50,000-square-foot facility in Santa Barbara, leaving behind an East Cota Street building to relocate to 419 State St.
In recent years, Umbra has won a number of multimillion-dollar contracts from the Department of Defense for various national security purposes.
That includes a deal to design and build a next-generation constellation of spacecraft to demonstrate the advantages of wide-area SAR coverage for search missions in open ocean and maritime applications.
As of Monday, Umbra’s website listed more than two dozen job openings, including assorted engineers, an events specialist, a marketing director and more.
“Surfers. Sailors. StarCraft players. Stand-up comics. We welcome all stripes at Umbra. The one thing we all share in common is a passion for our mission and the work that follows from it,” the website states.
The vacancies are located in Santa Barbara along with Arlington and Reston, Virginia, according to Umbra’s website.