Senior Technical Project/Program Manager (Defense)

TL;DR

Senior Technical Project/Program Manager (Defense): Leading complex software projects for defense and public-sector customers, with an accent on scope definition, technical delivery, cross-organizational coordination, and operational requirements. Focus on coordinating distributed software initiatives across embedded, edge, networking, and cloud environments, balancing delivery constraints, and supporting interoperable capabilities for NATO and allied defense programs.

Location: On-site in Munich, Germany, with regular travel within Europe.

Company

Software company building deterministic middleware and safety-critical AI systems for software-defined defense and autonomous systems.

What you will do

• Lead defense and public-sector software projects from initiation through iterative delivery.
• Define and continuously refine scope, priorities, work packages, schedules, budgets, risks, and dependencies.
• Translate operational requirements into actionable technical priorities in collaboration with customers and engineering teams.
• Coordinate execution across architects, system engineers, developers, integration teams, and external partners.
• Balance customer value, technical feasibility, budget, timing, and engineering capacity.
• Represent hirify.global in customer reviews, demonstrations, and steering committees.

Requirements

• Several years of experience leading technically complex, iterative projects.
• Experience in defense, public-sector technology, robotics, embedded software, aerospace, or comparable environments.
• Experience with the Bundeswehr ecosystem or NATO and allied defense customers.
• Strong understanding of distributed software systems across embedded, edge, networking, and cloud environments.
• Fluent German and English required; willingness to travel.
• Eligibility to obtain security clearance required; existing clearance is advantageous.

Nice to have

• Existing German security clearance and experience working in classified environments.
• Familiarity with Software-Defined Defense, C2/C4ISR, Multi-Domain Operations, tactical communications, or AI-enabled defense systems.
• Knowledge of DevSecOps, CI/CD, software integration, verification and validation, or distributed systems.
• Experience with public procurement or multi-partner defense projects.

Culture & Benefits

• Work directly with customers, engineers, public-sector organizations, and industrial partners.
• Contribute to technically demanding defense programs with operational relevance.
• Help develop software foundations supporting technological sovereignty and interoperability across allied defense ecosystems.
• Work with modern software engineering, deterministic middleware, continuous integration, verification, and validation practices.