Program Manager

Mantis Space; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mantis Space in Albuquerque, NM seeks an experienced Space Program Manager to own cost, schedule, and technical baselines from award to on-orbit acceptance, ensuring proper reporting and decision support.

You will coordinate reviews, manage an integrated master schedule, budgets, and risk registers, while guiding cross-functional teams and external stakeholders; candidate should have 8–14 years in space programs and be eligible for US security clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related technical discipline required or equivalent experience.
• Master's degree preferred for advanced technical leadership in space programs.
• Experience leading space hardware programs through design, build, test, and delivery milestones.

Responsibilities

• Own the program cost, schedule, and technical baseline from contract award through final delivery and on-orbit acceptance.
• Maintain program control to support customer reporting requirements and internal investment decisions.
• Serve as the primary customer-facing point of contact for program status, milestones, deliverables, contract modifications, and issue resolution.
• Lead integrated program reviews, technical interchange meetings, design reviews, system integration reviews, and milestone events with internal and external stakeholders.
• Build, maintain, and actively manage an Integrated Master Schedule reflecting critical-path dependencies across hardware design, fabrication, test, integration, launch, and operations.
• Establish and manage program budgets, allocate resources, track actuals against plan, and maintain earned value data.
• Identify, quantify, and actively manage program risk; maintain a living risk register and escalate issues when needed.
• Proficiency in risk management, cost performance methods, and reporting to technical and non-technical audiences.

Skills

Program management

Integrated master schedule

Earned value management

Risk management

Stakeholder communication

Contract management (FAR/DFARS)

Space systems experience

Customer relationship management

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related technical discipline

Master's degree preferred

Job description

• Own the program cost, schedule, and technical baseline from contract award through final delivery and on-orbit acceptance; maintain program control in a manner that supports customer reporting requirements and internal investment decisions.
• Serve as the primary customer-facing point of contact for program status, milestone achievement, deliverable submittals, contract modifications, and issue resolution.
• Lead integrated program reviews, technical interchange meetings, preliminary and critical design reviews, system integration reviews, and program milestone events with internal and external stakeholders.
• Build, maintain, and actively manage an Integrated Master Schedule that reflects realistic critical-path dependencies across hardware design, fabrication, test, integration, launch, and operations phases.
• Establish and manage program budgets, allocate resources across engineering and operations functions, track actuals against plan, and maintain accurate earned value or equivalent cost performance data.
• Identify, quantify, and actively manage program risk; maintain a living risk register, assign mitigation owners, and escalated issues that cannot be resolved within the program team.

What You'll Do

• Own the program cost, schedule, and technical baseline from contract award through final delivery and on-orbit acceptance; maintain program control in a manner that supports customer reporting requirements and internal investment decisions.
• Serve as the primary customer-facing point of contact for program status, milestone achievement, deliverable submittals, contract modifications, and issue resolution.
• Lead integrated program reviews, technical interchange meetings, preliminary and critical design reviews, system integration reviews, and program milestone events with internal and external stakeholders.
• Build, maintain, and actively manage an Integrated Master Schedule that reflects realistic critical-path dependencies across hardware design, fabrication, test, integration, launch, and operations phases.
• Establish and manage program budgets, allocate resources across engineering and operations functions, track actuals against plan, and maintain accurate earned value or equivalent cost performance data.
• Identify, quantify, and actively manage program risk; maintain a living risk register, assign mitigation owners, and escalated issues that cannot be resolved within the program team.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or a related technical discipline; master's degree preferred. Equivalent experience in lieu of advanced degree will be considered for candidates with a strong space program management record.
• 8 to 14 years of progressive responsibility in space systems program management, systems engineering, or technical leadership, with at least 4 years as a program manager or deputy program manager on a space hardware program.
• Demonstrated experience managing the full lifecycle of a space hardware program from PDR through delivery or on-orbit commissioning, including customer interface, milestone execution, cost and schedule management, and deliverable accountability.
• Proficiency in integrated master scheduling, critical path analysis, earned value management or equivalent cost performance methods, and risk register maintenance.
• Hands‑on familiarity with space system architectures including spacecraft bus, payload, ground systems, launch vehicle integration, and operations planning sufficient to hold technical teams accountable.
• Demonstrated ability to manage customer relationships through both routine status reporting and high‑stakes technical or contractual issues.
• Experience managing government or commercial contracts, including FAR/DFARS familiarity, contract modification processes, data rights considerations, and deliverable compliance.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to prepare and deliver formal program reviews, executive briefings, and written reports to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Applicants should be eligible for a U.S. government security clearance if required.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Mantis Space is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a workplace that is respectful, inclusive, and focused on professional excellence. Employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We value a wide range of experiences and perspectives and believe they contribute to strong teams and effective problem‑solving. We encourage qualified individuals to apply regardless of background. Mantis Space is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require accommodation or assistance at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know.