Sr. Program Manager

Loft Orbital; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 440,000 - 588,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace company in the UAE is seeking a highly motivated Senior Program Manager to oversee complex space projects. The candidate should have a strong background in aerospace engineering or systems management, with experience managing project budgets of $1M–$10M. The role involves collaboration with business development and compliance with regulatory standards. This position offers the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking satellite manufacturing in Abu Dhabi, fostering innovation in the space sector.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing projects with budgets between $1M–$10M.
• Strong technical grounding in aerospace engineering or systems management.
• Ability to work closely with Business Development teams at the bid stage.

Responsibilities

• Support project plans, timelines, budgets, and risk management.
• Track and report project performance metrics to stakeholders.
• Identify and mitigate project risks and dependencies early.

Skills

Project management

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Technical understanding in aerospace

Tools

MS Project

Smartsheet

Jira

Job description

Wanna join the adventure?

The role requires a highly motivated Senior Program Manager with experience in overseeing the planning, execution, and delivery of complex space projects. This role involves supporting the Program Manager to deliver spacecraft systems, payloads, and supporting the business development team as they strive to bring in new business. The ideal candidate has a background in aerospace engineering or systems management and thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

About the Role:

• Support the development and maintenance of detailed project plans, timelines, budgets, and risk management strategies.
• Support Business development activities.
• This role is required to work closely with the PM Manager, Business development, AIT, Procurement, Test Infrastructure, and external partners (Loft) and sub-contractors.
• Ensure compliance with technical, regulatory, and quality standards (ITAR, export Control).
• Track and report project performance metrics to stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Support Configuration Management in managing change requests, scope modifications, and project pivots.
• Identify and mitigate project risks and dependencies early.
• Support proposal development and cost estimation for future projects.

Must Haves:

• Experience in the satellite or broader space sector with strong technical grounding.
• Proven experience managing projects with budgets between $1M–$10M.
• Demonstrated ability to work with Business Development teams at the bid and proposal stage.
• Solid understanding of space systems, mission lifecycles, and AIT (Assembly, Integration, and Test) processes.
• Proficiency in project management tools such as MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira, or similar.
• Strong communication and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Nice to Haves:

• Experience using PLM tools (e.g., Arena).
• Familiarity with PDM or SolidWorks.
• Awareness of ITAR/EAR regulations and basic export control requirements.
• Prior experience with Smartsheet as a primary scheduling or tracking tool.

Orbitworks' mission is to make space simple for organizations that want to deploy physical and virtual missions to space. Building on Loft Orbital's heritage, Orbitworks will be the first commercial firm in the United Arab Emirates to mass-manufacture satellites. Orbitworks aims to manufacture tens of satellites annually and operates out of a 50,000-square-foot facility in Abu Dhabi.