Hardware Defense TPM — Program Lead (Hybrid)

Wild West Systems Inc.; Leander (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Wild West Systems in Leander, TX, is hiring a Technical Program Manager to coordinate hardware programs from development through delivery. You will own schedules, budgets, and customer relations while engaging in design reviews to balance technical trade-offs.

The role requires 5+ years in defense program management or engineering, DoD process knowledge, and the ability to read engineering drawings. This hybrid, on-site position supports ITAR/EAR and DFARS compliance as part of contract delivery.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in defense program management, systems engineering, or a hybrid PM/engineering role.
• Experience managing hardware development programs (not pure software/IT).
• Working knowledge of DoD acquisition processes, CDRLs, and contract types.
• Ability to read and engage with engineering drawings, test data, and technical requirements documents.
• U.S. Citizen.

Responsibilities

• Own program schedule, budget, risk register, and deliverables across one or more counter-UAS or kinetic programs.
• Serve as primary customer POC for program status, TIMs, and deliverable reviews.
• Manage subcontractors, vendors, and supply chain against milestones.
• Prepare and present program reviews, including CDRLs and risk mitigation plans.
• Manage contract compliance (CPFF, FFP, OTA) with contracts/finance.
• Partner with engineering leads on architecture, design maturity, and risk tracking.
• Translate engineering realities into schedule and cost impact.
• Drive requirements management and test/acceptance criteria planning.
• Participate in design reviews (PDR/CDR/TRR) as a technical stakeholder.
• Identify conflicts between scope creep and program baseline.
• Ensure program execution aligns with ITAR/EAR, CMMC, and DFARS requirements.
• Support proposal development with technical inputs.
• Maintain configuration management across lifecycle.

Skills

Defense program management

Systems engineering

Hardware development

DoD acquisition

Engineering drawings

U.S. citizenship

Job description

Wild West Systems in Leander, TX, is hiring a Technical Program Manager to coordinate hardware programs from development through delivery. You will own schedules, budgets, and customer relations while engaging in design reviews to balance technical trade-offs.

The role requires 5+ years in defense program management or engineering, DoD process knowledge, and the ability to read engineering drawings. This hybrid, on-site position supports ITAR/EAR and DFARS compliance as part of contract delivery.