Sr. Program Manager

Loft Orbital Solutions; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading space technology company is seeking a Senior Program Manager in Abu Dhabi to oversee complex space projects. This role requires strong project management expertise, especially in budget management between $1M and $10M, along with collaboration with business development teams. Ideal candidates should possess a background in aerospace engineering and have proficiency in project management tools like MS Project and Jira. Join a pioneering team aiming to simplify space missions and contribute to significant satellite manufacturing efforts.

Qualifications

• Experience in the satellite or broader space sector with strong technical grounding.
• Proven experience managing projects with budgets between $1M and $10M.
• Demonstrated ability to work with Business Development teams at the bid and proposal stage.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and maintenance of detailed project plans, timelines, budgets, and risk management strategies.
• Track and report project performance metrics to stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Identify and mitigate project risks and dependencies early.

Skills

Project management

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Technical grounding in aerospace

Team collaboration

Education

Background in aerospace engineering or systems management

Tools

MS Project

Smartsheet

Jira

Job description

Overview

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.

Responsibilities

• 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 subcontractors.
• 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.

Company

Orbitworks mission is to make space simple for organizations that want to deploy physical and virtual missions to space. Building on Loft Orbitals 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.