Senior Technical Program Manager

Frontdoor Defense; Sydney; On-site; AUD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Anduril Industries in Sydney seeks a Senior Technical Program Manager to oversee end-to-end XL vehicle system delivery from development to production.

You will own program planning, stand up scaled agile cadences across up to ~100 engineers and partner with discipline leads on architecture, interfaces and verification.

The role demands strong communication, risk management and a hands-on engineering background to translate system requirements into actionable plans.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated systems engineering capability with requirements decomposition, ICDs, and traceability.
• Technical depth to engage with engineers on architecture discussions and design decisions.
• Delivery experience across hardware and software, with convergence of mech, electrical and software work.
• Hands-on experience running scaled agile delivery across multiple teams with planning increments and cross-team dependencies.
• Prior engineering background preferred in systems, mechanical, electrical or software fields.
• 5+ years delivering complex engineering programmes including technically accountable roles.
• Strong fundamentals: scoping, dependency mapping, risk management, and multi-team execution.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with stakeholders and ability to push back on unrealistic asks.
• Degree in Engineering or Computer Science or related field.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain Australian Government security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Plan end-to-end program for XL vehicle system from scoping to delivery.
• Stand up and run scaled agile cadence across up to 100 engineers across multiple teams.
• Implement and maintain robust project management methodologies to drive predictability.
• Identify and mitigate programme risks with engineers and leaders.
• Engage with architecture, interfaces and verification well enough to catch issues early.
• Partner with discipline leads as a technical peer to validate estimates and scope.
• Translate system requirements into sequenced plans for integration and testing.
• Manage interfaces across production, supply chain and test, resolving conflicts.
• Lead re-planning as priorities shift and communicate changes clearly.
• Own the technical narrative in design reviews, gates and executive updates.

Skills

Systems engineering

Architecture discussion

Hardware delivery

Software delivery

Scaled agile

Technical leadership

Education

Engineering degree

Computer Science background

Tools

Jira

Job description

Senior Technical Program Manager

Oversee end-to-end delivery of the XL vehicle system from development to production

Location: Sydney, New South Wales

About The Role

Anduril Industries Job Opportunity

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century's most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril's family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

About The Job

You will own programme execution across the XL vehicle system as it moves from development into production, reporting to the Director of Platforms. The role requires both programme management rigour and genuine technical depth: you will be expected to engage substantively on system architecture, interfaces and verification approach alongside the engineering discipline leads.

What You'll Do

Own programme planning end to end for the vehicle system: scoping, sequencing, dependency mapping, risk identification, and driving decisions when requirements, timelines or resourcing conflict.

Stand up and run the scaled agile cadence across the vehicle programme — coordinating planning increments, cross-team dependency mapping, and integration points across up to ~100 engineers spanning multiple agile teams. Own the rhythm: PI planning, backlog alignment, system demos and inspect-and-adapt events, ensuring the cadence actually drives decisions rather than just generating ceremony.

Implement and maintain robust project management methodologies and best practices across the programme, driving predictability and accountability.

Proactively identify and mitigate programme risks and challenges, developing mitigation plans alongside the engineers who will execute them.

Engage with the technical substance of the programme – architecture, requirements baselines, interfaces and verification approach – well enough to catch problems early rather than simply track status.

Partner with discipline leads as a technical peer, pressure-testing estimates and identifying missing scope before a schedule or resourcing decision is made.

Translate system-level requirements and subsystem dependencies into a sequenced plan that reflects how the vehicle is actually integrated and tested.

Manage interfaces and dependencies across production, supply chain and test, driving resolution where subsystem plans conflict.

Lead re-planning as priorities shift, and communicate the change and its technical consequences clearly.

Own the technical narrative in design review gates, milestone reviews and executive updates.

Required Qualifications

Demonstrated systems engineering capability – requirements decomposition, interface management and ICDs, subsystem trade studies, verification and validation, and requirements traceability across a complex system

Technical depth sufficient to engage as a peer with engineers rather than only track their status – able to follow an architecture discussion, question an estimate, and understand the downstream effect of a design decision

Delivery experience across both hardware and software – you have owned the plan for a complex product where mechanical, electrical and software work had to converge, and have shipped software as part of that scope

Hands-on experience running scaled agile delivery across a programme of multiple agile teams — including standing up planning increments, managing cross-team dependencies in Jira, and facilitating the events (planning, sync, demo, retrospective) that keep teams aligned. Not just familiarity: you've been the person making the system work.

Prior experience as a practising engineer is strongly preferred, ideally in systems, mechanical, electrical or software engineering before moving into programme leadership

5+ years driving delivery of complex engineering programmes, including time in a technically accountable role

Strong programme management fundamentals: scoping, dependency mapping, risk management, and execution across multiple teams

Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to manage stakeholders across engineering, production and leadership and to push back on unrealistic asks

Degree in Engineering, Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Eligible to obtain and maintain an Australian Government security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

Experience on subsea, maritime, aerospace, automotive or another complex vehicle platform

Background in robotics or autonomous systems

Familiarity with model-based systems engineering, configuration management, or formal requirements tooling

Defence industry experience, including milestone review structures such as SRR, PDR and CDR

Experience in a rapidly iterating test environment with close hardware and software integration