Mission Project Lead

EVONA; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

EVONA is seeking a Mission Project Lead in a hybrid setup across Denver, LA, and DC to drive day-to-day execution of government space programs. This role blends technical work (≈50%) with program leadership and coordination across engineering, product, and leadership teams.

You will shepherd projects from planning through milestones, identifying blockers and ensuring timely delivery while preparing for a future as a Technical Program Manager.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in a technical environment such as software engineering, systems architecture, mission operations, or space/ground systems.
• Experience taking ownership beyond your individual tasks.
• Strong organizational skills to keep multiple technical activities moving.
• Experience working with engineering teams in an iterative or Agile environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams.
• Space/defense/NASA program experience is advantageous but not essential.
• Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance; active clearance not required.

Responsibilities

• Drive execution against mission priorities and milestones with software and systems engineering teams.
• Maintain visibility across technical tasks, owners, dependencies, deadlines, and completion criteria.
• Identify blockers and drive them through to resolution.
• Facilitate planning sessions, stand-ups, milestone reviews, and other cadences.
• Continue contributing technically while taking on increasing ownership of program execution.
• Coordinate across engineering, product, program, and leadership teams.
• Provide updates on progress, risks, blockers, and milestones.
• Support customer and government-facing discussions as responsibilities grow.
• Translate program objectives into actionable engineering work.
• Develop toward ownership of larger technical programs and TPM responsibilities.

Skills

Software engineering

Systems architecture

Mission operations

Space programs

Product ownership

Agile environment

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring/leadership

Job description

Locations: Denver, CO / Los Angeles, CA / Washington, D.C.

Type: Full-time, hybrid

About the Company

We are partnering with a fast-growing space software company developing mission-management and command-and-control technology for U.S. Government space programs.

The team supports a mixture of defense, intelligence, and civil space missions, including NASA-related programs, and is looking to develop the next generation of technical program leadership as its customer base and program portfolio continue to grow.

The Role

We are looking for a Mission Project Lead to work closely with engineering teams and Technical Program Managers to drive the day-to-day execution of government space programs.

This is not a traditional project-management position. The role is expected to remain approximately 50% technical, making it particularly well suited to a software engineer, systems engineer, systems architect, product owner, or similar technical professional who has started taking on broader ownership and coordination responsibilities.

The long-term opportunity is to develop into a Technical Program Manager, taking on increasing ownership of customer programs as the company grows.

What You'll Be Doing

• Work directly with software and systems engineering teams to drive execution against mission priorities and milestones
• Maintain visibility across technical tasks, owners, dependencies, deadlines, and completion criteria
• Identify technical, resource, and coordination blockers and drive them through to resolution
• Facilitate planning sessions, stand-ups, milestone reviews, and other engineering team cadences
• Continue contributing technically while taking on increasing responsibility for program execution
• Coordinate across engineering, product, program, and leadership teams
• Provide clear updates on progress, risks, blockers, and upcoming milestones
• Support customer and government-facing discussions as your responsibilities grow
• Help translate program objectives into clear, actionable engineering work
• Develop toward ownership of larger technical programs and eventual TPM responsibilities

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of experience in a technical environment such as:
• Software engineering
• Systems architecture
• Mission operations
• Space or ground systems
• Technical product ownership
• Experience taking ownership beyond your individual technical tasks
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to keep multiple technical activities moving simultaneously
• Comfortable identifying blockers, asking questions, and following actions through to completion
• Experience working closely with engineering teams in an iterative or Agile environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Comfortable collaborating across technical and non-technical teams
• Previous mentoring, technical leadership, project ownership, Scrum Master, or Product Owner experience is beneficial
• Space, government, defense, or NASA program experience is advantageous but not essential
• Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance; an active clearance is not required

Ideal Profile

You may currently be a Software Engineer, Systems Engineer, Systems Architect, Product Owner, Scrum Master, or Technical Lead who enjoys staying close to the engineering but increasingly finds yourself:

• coordinating other engineers;
• resolving blockers;
• driving technical work to completion;
• communicating with customers or stakeholders; and
• taking ownership for delivery rather than simply completing your own tasks.

If you want to remain technically involved while developing toward Technical Program Management, this role offers a clear progression path.