Public Policy Manager

Airbound; Bengaluru, Delhi; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 5,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health insurance

Relocation assistance

Daily travel stipend

Advanced salary credit

Job summary

Airbound, headquartered in Bangalore, seeks an experienced Public Policy Manager to work with government, regulators, industry associations and think tanks to secure permissions for widespread drone operations.

You will advocate BVLOS and zoning, shape policy narratives, and collaborate with Operations, Legal and Compliance to minimize regulatory friction while expanding routes.

Qualifications

• Minimum 6–8 years of professional policy experience at Central/State Government level in logistics/aerospace/automotive industries, based in Bengaluru or Delhi.
• Ability to influence through thought leadership and participate in roundtables with stakeholders.
• Experience working with politicians, bureaucrats, think-tanks and associations.
• Proven executive presence with C-suite and government stakeholders and hands-on execution.
• Strong collaboration with Operations, Compliance, PR, Legal, Finance and Supply Chain.

Responsibilities

• Advocacy for BVLOS operations and zoning rules.
• Shaping PR narrative for policy goals and Airbound's regulatory position.
• Liaison with local authorities to ensure smooth flight operations.
• Coordinate with Government/regulator bodies to secure permissions for routes.
• Work with cross-functional teams to align policy with business goals.

Skills

Policy advocacy

Stakeholder management

Executive presence

Cross-functional collaboration

Government liaison

Job description

About Airbound

Our mission is to make a world where everyone has access to delivery. Where goods move as freely as information moves today.

This is possible. Today the cost of moving on a scooter is ₹2/km. That’s the cost of moving a 150kg mass from point A to B. We’re bringing that mass down to less than 5kgs, concurrently bringing the cost down to 10 paise/km. This is how we make deliveries a reality. This is how we create a world where we’re doing billions of deliveries per day.

The tech is not there. The current cost of drone delivery is ₹100/km. We need to completely redefine the way things are done here. We’re building the world’s most efficient aircraft from the ground-up, and scaling that up to beyond anything the aerospace sector has ever seen. This cannot be an iterative process. We have to tear down all conventions and build everything up from scratch.

To do this, we need nothing less than the best engineers. The ones who care about building something fundamentally different, who are deeply curious about understanding the fundamentals of everything they’re working on, who are dreamers that believe in the impossible.

About Policy Team

We have the product that can fly and customers that want Airbound as the preferred drone delivery partner. We need to work closely with government and regulatory bodies to make sure we can fly, fly in more places and fly commercially. We work closely with the Operations/Business Development team to enable the above goals.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Public Policy Manager to join our team dedicated to working with Government, regulatory bodies, industry associations and think-tanks to make sure Airbound has all the necessary permissions/approvals to fly more and more routes commercially.

This team also works to create a policy environment where operations are seamless with minimal government/regulatory interventions.

Key Responsibilities

• Advocacy for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations

• Advocacy for Zoning Rules

• Shaping PR narrative for Policy goals

• Unlocking strategic goals with government/regulator collaboration

• Liaisoning with local authorities for smooth flight operations

Qualifications

Must-Have

• A minimum of 6–8 years of professional experience in shaping policy outcomes at Central and State Government level (preferably Logistics, Aerospace, Automotive industry) and based out of Bangalore/Delhi

• Ability to influence through thought leadership: an eye for non-linear paths to push Airbound narratives through roundtables with relevant stakeholders, and a seat-at-the-table for aerial logistics/drone/aviation related events

• Experienced working with politicians and bureaucrats, as well as think-tanks and associations

• Executive presence along with boots-on-ground execution: ability to exude executive presence in meetings with important C-suite/senior government stakeholders, and pragmatic enough to get things executed with on-ground teams

• Cross-functional collaboration: demonstrated ability to work in a highly cross-functional environment with functions ranging from Operations, Compliance, Public Relations, Legal, Finance, Supply Chain

Good to Have

• Domain Knowledge: Familiarity with aviation, drone, and/or logistics industries or a strong willingness to learn the same

• Knowledge of functioning of administrative, legislative and executionary teams in various government agencies

Work location: Hoskote, Bangalore (Headquarters)

What We Offer

• Comprehensive health insurance to keep you and your loved ones covered

• Relocation assistance and a daily travel stipend to ease your commute

• Advanced salary credit to support you when you need it

“A driven, passionate team where you’ll have room to grow and thrive - this is more than just a job, it’s a rare opportunity to build something meaningful from the ground up”

Work Schedule:

• In-office role, working alternate Saturdays.

Ready to take off?