Program Manager, Long-Range Missile Program

Description

The company builds a range of defense products that run on Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN), helping warfighters, commercial air operators and border protection teams act sooner and adjust quickly to new threats.

Founded in 2022, the company has raised $1 billion from investors including 8VC, Accel and Valor Equity Partners. It has 500+ employees across 5 global offices, with headquarters in Los Angeles and other offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego and London.

You will lead the long range missile program from development through flight test and into production. The job keeps cross-functional teams aligned and keeps cost, schedule and customer requirements on track, working with Business Development, Growth, Engineering, Manufacturing and Mission Delivery.

Responsibilities

• Own the program from start to finish, keeping cost, schedule and performance on target
• Oversee all technical and operational work, and plan and direct the contract, engineering, test and administrative effort needed to deliver every contract item
• Organize resources and plan milestones such as design reviews, test events and flight test campaigns
• Report progress to leadership in regular briefings
• Manage how program resources are acquired and used, working with technical delivery leads
• Make sure enough qualified people are staffed to complete the statement of work on time
• Coordinate engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, test, operations and Growth so the program runs as one, and lead work to clear problems and blockers
• Act as the main point of contact for the customer's COTR and technical POC on contract, cost, schedule and performance
• Arrange program management reviews with the customer covering contract performance, topics of interest and issue resolution
• Work with the technical delivery team on status reports, final reports and other contract documents
• Manage the program budget and allocate resources efficiently, and support financial controls and administration
• Document scope changes and make sure they fit the program goals
• Travel up to 30% as needed, including to test and customer sites

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, business or a related field, or equivalent program management experience in a fast-moving, dynamic setting
• 8+ years managing complex aerospace or defense development programs of similar scope and complexity
• Experience taking a program through several development phases, including test
• Strong written and verbal communication, able to present complex information clearly and concisely to varied audiences
• Direct experience with customer S&T and early development organizations such as AFRL, ONR and Army DEVCOM, and with program of record materiel development organizations
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 30% as needed
• Current or recent DoD SECRET clearance
• Preferred: prior program management experience on a missile, munition or other weapon system program
• Preferred: experience with DoD acquisition processes, contract types and government oversight such as DCMA and DCAA
• Preferred: experience with flight test campaigns and range coordination
• Preferred: experience with integrated master scheduling
• Preferred: current or recent DoD TOP SECRET clearance, with eligibility for SAP and/or SCI indoc
• Preferred: Agile project management using tools such as JIRA and Confluence
• Preferred: prior systems engineering or software integration experience
• Preferred: experience with a prime integrator or in a fast-moving defense startup
• Preferred: advanced degree in a technical field

Conditions

Onsite role

The stated compensation range covers base salary only and excludes bonus, equity and benefits. The range is an estimate, and the actual offer may vary based on factors such as experience, education, training, critical skills and business considerations. Candidates whose pay expectations fall outside the range are still encouraged to apply.

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision benefits, 100% paid by the company
• 401k with a 50% company match up to 6% of pay
• FSA, HSA, life insurance and more
• A free lunch each day you work onsite, and a fully stocked kitchen
• Unlimited PTO and a casual dress code
• Competitive base salary, generous pre-IPO stock option grants and relocation assistance
• Annual bonuses, coming soon