Deputy Program Manager - Arrowhead

griffonaerospace; Madison (AL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Medical benefits

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Relocation assistance

Hands-on hardware

Company culture

Job summary

Griffon Aerospace is seeking a Deputy Program Manager to lead the Arrowhead portfolio, overseeing budget, schedule, technical performance, and customer relations. This hands-on role requires on-field and lab presence to drive execution and risk mitigation.

You will coordinate cross-functional teams, conduct risk-based decision making, and maintain strong customer partnerships while guiding program success and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, or closely related technical discipline.
• 3+ years of program management experience in defense aerospace, UAS, or adjacent fields.
• Demonstrated track record managing DoD development or production programs from $5M to $50M+.
• Hands-on experience with aircraft or UAS systems.
• Strong command of program management fundamentals: EVM, IMS, risk management, CDR/PDR processes.
• Active Secret clearance (or ability to obtain).
• Comfortable traveling to customer sites, field operations, and test events up to 30%.

Responsibilities

• Owns Arrowhead portfolio execution across active contracts and development efforts.
• Develops and maintains integrated master schedules (IMS) with real milestones.
• Drives cost, schedule, and technical performance to plan; identifies risks early.
• Supports monthly program reviews, CDRs, PDRs, and customer milestone events.
• Manages financial baseline and variance analysis to avoid leadership surprises.
• Fosters technical decision-making and ensures requirements are achievable and tested.
• Partners with Engineering, Flight Test, and Manufacturing to deliver.

Skills

Program management

DoD programs

EVM

IMS

Risk management

Flight operations

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or Engineering

MBA or related master's degree

Tools

PMP certification

DAWIA

EVM tools

Job description

Who We Are

Griffon Aerospace designs, builds, and flies unmanned aerial systems that perform. We are a focused team of engineers and operators who care about mission success before satisfying any other "metrics." We don't hand work off and walk away. We own it. Our culture is defined by technical rigor, follow-through, and refusal to accept "good enough."

The Arrowhead family of systems are being fielded today, and we need a Deputy Program Manager who can bring organizational scale to a growing and evolving product line. We need a candidate who can manage schedule, technical risk, and customer relationships in parallel.

The Role

As Deputy PM for the Arrowhead portfolio, you will be an accountable leader for: budget, schedule, technical performance, customer satisfaction, and team execution. You go beyond coordination and provide tactical execution.

This is a hands-on role. You will be on the flight line when things are getting sorted out. You will be in the lab when the engineering teams need to make critical decisions. You will be on the phone when a customer faces challenges, and you will already have a recovery plan ready to make them whole and confident in our commitments to their success. You will support cross-functional teams of engineers, technicians, and support staff, and you will be a standard bearer for our organization.

What You'll Own

Program Execution

• Responsibility for the Arrowhead portfolio across active contracts and development efforts
• Develop, maintain, and actively manage integrated master schedules (IMS) with real milestones to minimize dependence on purely success-based goals
• Drive cost, schedule, and technical performance to plan; identify and burn down risk before they can be realized
• Support monthly program reviews, CDRs, PDRs, and customer milestone events
• Manage financial baseline and variance analysis to mitigate surprises to leadership or the customer

Technical Responsibility

• Foster technical decision making across the program; understanding the system deeply enough to challenge assumptions and make informed trades
• Partner with Engineering, Flight Test, and Manufacturing to ensure technical requirements are achievable, tested, and delivered
• Promote rapid decision-making when design, test, or fielding issues arise
• Engage directly in failure investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective action follow-through

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Interface with Government program offices, prime contractors, and end users
• Communicate status, risks, and issues proactively
• Identify and capture follow-on business, contract modifications, and program growth opportunities
• Represent Griffon at industry events, customer visits, and proposal activities as required

Team & Culture

• Cultivate a high-performing, low-ego team that runs toward problems, not away from them
• Establish practices and standards that outlast any single program
• Embody and enforce Griffon's ownership culture: every team member knows their piece and is accountable for it

What We’re Looking For

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline
• 3+ years of program management experience in defense aerospace, UAS, or adjacent fields
• Demonstrated track record managing DoD development or production programs from $5M to $50M+
• Hands-on experience with aircraft or UAS systems
• Strong command of program management fundamentals: EVM, IMS, risk management, CDR/PDR processes
• Active Secret clearance (or ability to obtain)
• Comfortable traveling to customer sites, field operations, and test events up to 30%

Strongly Preferred

• Master's degree in Engineering or Business (MBA), or equivalent operational experience
• Direct experience with Group 2-4 UAS programs in development, test, or production
• Familiarity with MIL-STD airworthiness, DO-178/DO-254, or UAS-specific certification pathways
• PMP, DAWIA, or equivalent program management certification
• Prior military aviation or UAS operational background
• Active Top Secret clearance

The Kind of Person Who Thrives Here

• You show up. When something is broken in the field, you're on a plane. You don't manage from behind a screen.
• You don't quit. Problems are resolved, not deferred. You find a way or you make one.
• You own the outcome but share the glory. The whole thing. If the program is late, that's yours. If it delivers, the team is praised not just you.
• You communicate first. Plans, issues, and new data travels fast here.

What Griffon Offers

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience and clearance level
• Comprehensive benefits: medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and 10 federal holidays
• Relocation assistance available for qualified candidates
• A small company where your decisions matter and your fingerprints are on real hardware flying real missions

Griffon Aerospace – Come Build the Unfair Advantage.