Staff Project Manager

Matchbox; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Q-CTRL is seeking a Staff Project Manager in Sydney to own end-to-end delivery of strategic external engagements, including bids and contracts. You will oversee budgets, schedules, and risk while coordinating across engineering, science, finance, and leadership to ensure successful outcomes.

You will partner with multidisciplinary teams to translate complex quantum and engineering concepts into winning proposals and to drive delivery from award to final milestones in a fast-growing, global PMO

Qualifications

• 8+ years of direct project/program management experience in technical engineering or research.
• Experience delivering hardware delivery from prototyping to lab integration.
• Experience with external funding opportunities (government grants, tenders, RFPs).
• STEM degree or equivalent practical technical industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end proposals for complex solicitations and customer contracts.
• Guide multidisciplinary engineering and scientific teams through delivery milestones.
• Manage project budgets, burn rates, baselines, and risk mitigation.
• Scale PMO templates, workflows, and standards for growing teams.
• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholders across research, finance, and leadership.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Budgeting & financials

Proposal writing

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Job description

# Staff Project ManagerQ-CTRLHybrid • SydneyFull-Time / Permanent## Role OverviewAbout the teamThe Project Management Office is the operationally-focused engine that drives big ideas into reality. We align strategy, streamline execution, and deliver measurable impact at scale. We turn complexity into clarity, empowering teams to achieve more, faster.About the roleAs Q-CTRL scales globally, our Program Management Office (PMO) is seeking an experienced Staff Project Manager to take end-to-end operational ownership of our strategic external engagements. From orchestrating high-value competitive bids to steering critical contract milestones, this role directly underpins the execution of our cutting-edge quantum technology initiatives.Operating within our Operations team, our PMO cuts through bureaucracy to get things done. We leverage data, automation, and continuous improvement to build infrastructure that scales ahead of our company's growth. You will serve as a cross-functional multiplier—driving delivery across technical and commercial teams while codifying PMO best practices globally.What you’ll be doing* Lead competitive bids: Drive end-to-end proposals for complex solicitations and customer contracts—translating complex quantum and engineering concepts into compelling, winning submissions* Project delivery and execution: Partner with multidisciplinary engineering and scientific teams to guide physical builds, lab integration, and contractual milestones from award through to final delivery* Own project governance & financials: Steer project budgets, burn rates, baseline schedules, and proactive risk mitigation across active R&D contracts to ensure predictable execution* Scale our global PMO: Design and embed lightweight, scalable delivery frameworks, templates, and operational standards across our growing international hubs* Drive internal and external stakeholder management: Serve as the trusted operational bridge connecting our research scientists, hardware engineers, finance, and leadership with technical authorities and program managers at client and prime organisationIdeally you’ll have* Up to 8+ years of direct project/program management experience, specifically supporting complex technical engineering, deep-tech, or scientific research projects, with proven experience supporting multidisciplinary hardware delivery from early breadboard prototyping through to lab integration, environmental testing, and field trials* Proven track record leading end-to-end responses to external funding opportunities (such as government grants, defense/agency solicitations, enterprise RFPs, or competitive tenders)* A degree in a STEM discipline (or equivalent practical technical industry experience)* Strong ability to synthesise complex technical concepts into clear, persuasive, and high-impact written narratives* Demonstrated experience with project budget architecture, contract administration, expenditure tracking, and financial compliance* Hands-on experience developing project management templates, codified workflows, and operational standards for scaling teams* Exceptional cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to influence and manage stakeholders across research, engineering, finance, and executive leadershipIt would be fantastic if you have these skills/experience* Direct experience managing government-sponsored engagements* Experience working within an international, multi-time-zone team environment* Familiarity with the commercial quantum technology, hardware, or advanced computing software landscape