Project Manager

ideaForge; Navi Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,500,000 - 7,500,000; Full time

Job summary

ideaForge is seeking an experienced Project Manager to lead UAV product development from concept to series release. You will own end-to-end plans, schedules, budgets, and cross-functional execution, ensuring QCT delivery and timely milestones across V&V, certification, and customer trials.

You will coordinate with Product, Systems and Operations, drive design reviews (PDR, CDR), manage risks, and maintain Zoho Projects records; travel to flight-test sites as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level engineering degree required; advanced degree in project/operations management beneficial.
• 8–12 years in engineering product development with UAV/aerospace or complex electro-mechanical systems preferred.
• Experience with stage-gate/milestone lifecycles and regulatory certification (DGCA or equivalent) preferred.
• Strong scheduling, CPM, EV management, risk and change control skills; familiarity with Zoho Projects/Jira.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end project planning, milestones and baseline scheduling.
• Lead kick-off, translate MRD/PRD inputs into delivery plans and targets.
• Drive build sequence and design reviews to milestone plan (PDR/DDR/CDR).
• Prepare milestone reviews including risks, QoS and go-ahead decisions.
• Plan V&V, certifications and customer demonstrations; track closures in schedule.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Finance on cost, resources and variances.
• Manage RAID log, governance, reporting and cross-functional leadership.

Skills

Project management

Scheduling

V&V planning

Risk management

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Master’s degree in Project/Operations Management

Tools

Zoho Projects

MS Project

Jira

Job description

Role Overview: The Project Manager (PjM) takes independent, end-to-end ownership of UAV product development projects - new products, variants, features or technology demonstrators - from M0 (Project approval and kick-off) through M5 (series release / SOP) under the Product development framework. Accountable for delivery to agreed Quality, Cost and Timeline (QCT), the role plans and controls the project, integrates cross-functional teams, drives prototypes, V&V, type certification and customer trials / demonstrations, and escalates risks and decisions early. The role typically manages concurrent projects.

Key Responsibilities

• End-to-End Project Planning & Milestone Delivery:
• Own the integrated project plan - WBS, schedule, M0-M5 milestone roadmap, Project Organisation Plan (POP) and RASI matrix - and baseline it in Zoho Projects at kick-off.
• Lead the project kick-off with the Product Manager and System Engineer; translate MRD / PRD and SRS inputs into delivery plans, sprint objectives and time targets agreed with all functions.
• Drive the build sequence (Pre-Mule, Mule, Prototype, Pilot Series, Golden Sample) and design reviews (PDR, DDR, CDR, Final Design Review) to the milestone plan.
• Prepare and present milestone / stage-gate reviews covering QCT status, deliverable readiness, Chances & Risks and Traffic Light (GYR) assessment for go-ahead decisions.
• V&V, Certification & Customer Readiness:
• Plan and control V&V test campaigns, Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI), flight trials and customer demonstrations; ensure issues are registered, owned and closed before progression.
• Integrate the certification plan into the project critical path - DGCA Type Certification, and Blue UAS / FCC compliance where applicable - and track submissions, observations and closures.
• Ensure compliance with AS9100 QMS and iFPDP milestone deliverables, including controlled design releases (DCM -> ECRM) and project documentation.
• Support industrialization, pilot production and early series ramp-up with Operations until formal handover.
• Scope, Cost, Resource & Change Control:
• Manage project budget and spend (BoM cost, material, prototype, test and certification costs) against the approved baseline with Finance; forecast and report variances.
• Plan resource loading with Function Heads; identify capacity conflicts early and raise with options.
• Run formal change control for scope and target changes (TCR, ECR/ECN), assessing QCT, certification and delivery impact before approval.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain on long-lead items, sourcing strategy and vendor deliverables affecting the critical path.
• Risk, Governance & Reporting:
• Own the project RAID log; identify technical, TRL, supply-chain, certification and schedule risks early with mitigation plans and owners.
• Run the project review cadence (daily standup, weekly sprint review, monthly sprint planning) and keep Zoho Projects the single source of truth for schedule, actions and decisions.
• Publish weekly / monthly status reports and dashboards (milestone OTD, SPI / CPI, critical path, blockers) and escalates decisions to PAC / management through the defined governance path.
• Act as the single point of contact for project communication, decisions and approvals with internal stakeholders, customers and vendors.
• Team Leadership & Continuous Improvement:
• Lead the cross-functional project team without direct line authority; guide Assistant Project Managers and Project Coordinators.
• Conduct sprint retrospectives and project-closure lessons learnt; contribute to PMO standards, templates and checklists.

Key Performance Indicators

• Milestone on-time delivery (OTD) against the approved baseline.
• QCT adherence at each milestone gate (budget, quality and timeline).
• V&V, certification and customer trial / demonstration milestones achieved as planned.
• Currency and quality of RAID, schedule and decision data in Zoho.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Aerospace, Mechanical, Electronics, Electrical, Mechatronics or related discipline); a Master’s degree or PG in Project / Operations Management is an advantage.
• 8 to 12 years of total experience, including 6+ years managing end-to-end engineering product development projects - UAV, aerospace, defence, automotive or complex electro-mechanical systems preferred.
• Demonstrated delivery through a stage-gate / milestone lifecycle including prototype builds, V&V and design releases; hands-on experience with regulatory type certification (DGCA or equivalent) is strongly preferred.
• Strong command of scheduling, CPM, Earned Value Management (SPI / CPI), risk management and change control; proficient in Zoho Projects, MS Project or Jira.
• Working knowledge of AS9100 / ISO 9001 QMS, DFMEA / PFMEA and configuration / change management (ECR/ECN).
• PMP, PRINCE2 or Agile (CSM / PMI-ACP) certification is preferred.
• Willingness to travel to flight-test, trial and customer sites as required.