Staff Technical Program Manager, Air Vehicle Systems (R6044)

The role

You will help drive execution across the air vehicle systems design team. You will work with Responsible Engineers and technical leads on aircraft subsystems, schedules, dependencies, suppliers and flight readiness.

What you will do

• Plan and execute development activities across aircraft subsystems, interfaces, integration, verification and test with Responsible Engineers and technical leads.
• Build and maintain integrated air vehicle systems schedules, dependencies and execution plans aligned with vehicle milestones.
• Coordinate with flight controls, avionics, electrical power, thermal and fluid, mechanical, structures, landing gear, manufacturing, supply chain and flight test teams.
• Understand the technical basis of system designs, requirements, interfaces and verification; identify cross-system dependencies and drive mitigation plans.
• Manage air vehicle systems suppliers and external development partners, including schedules, interface closure and delivery performance.
• Translate complex technical work into clear status, risks, decisions, actions and execution plans.
• Facilitate technical reviews, integration checkpoints and test-readiness discussions.
• Support aircraft build, ground test, flight test and development campaigns by coordinating resources, schedules and issue resolution.
• Drive accountability and measurable outcomes while maintaining working relationships with Responsible Engineers and the engineering team.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in technical program management, systems engineering, or engineering leadership in aerospace or complex hardware development.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional aircraft subsystem teams with a working technical understanding of requirements, interfaces, design maturation, verification, hardware testing and system integ
• Ability to understand underlying technical solutions, connect system-level dependencies and work effectively with Responsible Engineers and technical leads.
• Experience managing schedules, technical risks, decisions and dependencies in fast-paced development environments.
• Experience working with suppliers and managing external development partners, technical deliverables and delivery performance.
• Strong communication skills to translate complex technical work into program-level plans, status, risks and actions.
• Ability to work with export-controlled ITAR data; U.S. citizenship or other authorization sufficient for the applicable ITAR access is expected.

Nice to have

• Prior experience across multiple aircraft subsystems on UAV, tactical aircraft or other complex aircraft programs.
• Background supporting test-driven aerospace development, including hardware build, integration, ground test and flight test.
• Familiarity with aircraft systems engineering practices, requirements and interface management, verification planning and flight-readiness processes.
• Familiarity with program management tools such as JIRA, Smartsheet or similar.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in high-ownership, hardware-centric engineering environments.
• Ability to obtain a Secret or higher security clearance.
• An advanced degree in engineering or a related technical discipline.

Benefits

• Bonus for full-time regular employees.
• Benefits for full-time regular employees.
• Equity for full-time regular employees.
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees, applicable after 60 days of employment.

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.
• U.S. citizenship or other authorization sufficient for applicable ITAR access is expected.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company that builds intelligent systems to protect service members and civilians. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.