Senior Technical Program Manager (Aerospace)

Location: Onsite in Carson, California, USA; company conditions reference San Diego, California.

Company

Develops and manufactures unmanned aircraft systems for defense, public safety, and government security organizations.

What you will do

• Lead sustaining engineering and new product programs from concept through design, validation, and production ramp.
• Gather customer-team input to define product requirements, features, and success criteria.
• Own Product Requirements Documents and align technical and business teams.
• Build program plans with schedules, resource allocation, Gantt charts, and risk mitigation strategies using agile planning tools.
• Facilitate cross-functional execution across mechanical, electrical, firmware, software, manufacturing, supply chain, and external partners.
• Report program status, manage tradeoffs and interdependencies, escalate risks, unblock teams, and help evolve program-management practices.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience managing complex hardware/software programs from concept through launch.
• Cross-functional technical program management experience in aerospace, robotics, consumer electronics, or a similar field.
• Strong understanding of new product development, including PRD creation, requirements traceability, and design validation workflows.
• Experience with project scheduling and Gantt tools, preferably Smartsheet.
• Ability to lead without direct authority and coordinate across engineering, product, and operations.
• Excellent communication, technical fluency, and program-tracking skills.
• Proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residence is required for ITAR/EAR-restricted work, and candidates must not require sponsorship for export-restricted work authorization.
• Successful completion of a post-offer background check.
• Ability to work at a desk for prolonged periods, move throughout the facility, review technical documentation, communicate effectively in person and remotely, occasionally lift up to 20 pounds, work extended hours when needed, and travel occasionally for site visits, customer meetings, or vendor coordination.

Nice to have

• Experience with autonomous systems, aerospace platforms, or regulated/high-reliability products.
• Familiarity with Jira, Trello, Linear, Notion, or similar product-management tools.
• Systems-thinking mindset and comfort operating from boardroom to build floor.
• Experience combining agile software development with gated hardware development cycles.

Culture & Benefits

• Onsite collaboration with engineering, production, and operations teams.
• Work in a growing drone-technology environment focused on defense, public safety, and government security applications.
• Opportunity to shape program-management tools and processes as the organization scales.
• Equal employment opportunity workplace with participation in E-Verify.