Program Manager, Marauder

Saronic Technologies; New Orleans (LA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental and Vision Insurance

Time Off

Parental Leave

Competitive Salary

401(k) Plan with match

Stock Options

Life and Disability Insurance

Pet Insurance

Free lunch & unlimited drinks/snacks

Job summary

Saronic Technologies is seeking a Program Manager to own the Marauder, a 180-foot autonomous ship produced at our Franklin, LA shipyard. You will drive end-to-end execution, align production, engineering milestones, and manage government stakeholders and contracts for delivery and sustainment.

The role requires deep shipbuilding experience, leadership across cross-functional teams, and a proven ability to balance throughput with mission flexibility while meeting contractual requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Naval Architecture, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of program management experience on large-scale production, shipbuilding, or defense programs.
• Excellent verbal and written communication with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ownership of cost, schedule, and scope on sizeable programs.
• Experience managing production at rate and coordinating complex hardware deliveries.
• Proven ability to manage government/defense customers, contracts and deliverables.
• Willingness to travel up to 25% and security clearance eligibility (active preferred).

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end execution of Marauder program, accountable for cost, schedule, scope, and quality from award through delivery and sustainment.
• Lead the customer contract, deliverables, milestones, CDRLs, and contractual obligations.
• Build and maintain the integrated program plan aligning production, engineering milestones, and integration timelines to commitments.
• Drive risk and opportunity management across the program, escalating issues that threaten cost, schedule, or performance.
• Report program health, forecasts, and decisions to leadership and customer stakeholders.
• Coordinate with Franklin production to plan rate production, monitor sequencing, and ensure acceptance criteria.
• Balance standardization with mission-package variance across hulls, kits, and payloads.
• Lead reviews with government stakeholders, operators, and evaluators and deliver concise updates.

Skills

Communication skills

Cost management

Production experience

Government contracts

Travel readiness

Defense program mgmt

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Naval Architecture

Job description

Saronic Technologies is a leader in revolutionizing autonomy at sea, dedicated to developing state-of-the-art solutions that enhance maritime operations through autonomous and intelligent platforms.

Job Overview

Saronic Technologies is seeking a Program Manager to own the execution and delivery of Marauder, our 180-foot Autonomous Surface Vessel (ASV) produced at our Franklin, LA shipyard. This is a flagship large-scale production program, and the Program Manager is accountable for its cost, schedule, scope, and customer outcomes from contract award through delivery and sustainment.

Marauder is built at production scale and fielded across a wide and evolving range of complex missions. The Program Manager must pair deep expertise in large-scale shipbuilding and rate production with an instinct for modular kits, payloads, and mission-package integration—understanding how a common hull is configured, re-configured, and sustained to meet diverse customer needs. This role owns the balance between production throughput and mission flexibility.

The Program Manager serves as the primary customer-facing owner of the program, partnering closely with the internal Saronic growth, engineering, production and quality teams. The right candidate brings the customer fluency to manage government stakeholders and contracts, the technical acumen to make technical decisions aligned to the customer needs and contract requirements, and the programmatic discipline to deliver a large, complex platform at scale.

Responsibilities

Program Ownership & Delivery

• Own end-to-end execution of the Marauder program, holding accountability for cost, schedule, scope, and quality from award through delivery and sustainment.
• Serve as a leader and owner of the customer contract, deliverables, milestones, CDRLs, and contractual obligations.
• Build and maintain the integrated program plan, aligning production scheduled, engineering milestones, and integration timelines to customer commitments.
• Drive risk and opportunity management across the program, escalating and resolving issues that threaten cost, schedule, or performance.
• Report program health, forecasts, and decisions to Saronic leadership and customer stakeholders.

Large-Scale Production Interface

• Partner with the Franklin production team to plan and execute rate production of a 180-foot ASV, from long-lead procurement through hull construction, outfitting, and delivery.
• Monitor build sequencing, work breakdown, and production milestones to protect throughput while meeting quality and acceptance criteria.
• Monitor and mitigate production risks—supply chain, labor, tooling, and facility constraints—unique to large-vessel shipbuilding.
• Coordinate with Quality and Production to ensure build configurations and acceptance events meet customer and contractual standards.

Kit & Mission Package Integration

• Own the configuration strategy for Marauder across a variety of mission packages, kits, and payloads on a common production hull.
• Partner with Mission Package Integration Managers to plan integration of bespoke and commercial-off-the-shelf kits into the production and delivery flow.
• Balance production standardization against mission-driven variance, protecting throughput while enabling flexibility.
• Ensure integration timelines, dependencies, and configuration baselines are reflected in the master program plan.
• Capture mission-package lessons learned and feed them back into production and product roadmaps.

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the primary point of contact for the customer, managing expectations, requirements, and relationships across the program lifecycle.
• Elicit and clarify evolving mission needs, translating them into actionable program and technical direction.
• Lead program reviews, delivery events, and technical exchanges with government stakeholders, operators, and evaluators.
• Deliver clear, concise program updates and after-action reporting to leadership and customer audiences.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Direct and synchronize a cross-functional program team spanning Production, Engineering, Software, Mission Services, and Forward Deployed Engineering.
• Partner with Technical Program Managers to align technical execution with programmatic commitments.
• Make and defend tradeoff decisions across capability, schedule, cost, and risk.
• Drive disciplined configuration management across vessels, kits, payloads, and software versions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Naval Architecture, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in program management of large-scale production, shipbuilding, or complex defense development programs. Program Management experience of Unmanned Surface Vessels highly desirable.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to interface confidently with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ownership of cost, schedule, and scope on programs of significant size and complexity.
• Experience managing production at rate, including supply chain, build sequencing, and delivery of large or complex hardware systems highly desirable.
• Proven ability to manage government or defense customers, contracts, and deliverables.
• Willingness to travel up to 25% of the time.
• Secret security clearance eligibility required, active preferred.

Key Competencies

• Can own a large, complex program end-to-end while balancing production throughput against mission flexibility.
• Can connect production and configuration decisions to overall program cost, schedule, and mission outcomes.
• Can translate evolving customer requirements into disciplined, executable program plans.
• Leadership of high-performing, cross-functional, and distributed teams.
• Established track record of clear, consistent, and correct communications with peers, leaders, and external stakeholders.
• Comfort guiding customers through ambiguous or evolving requirements and shaping actionable solutions.

Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Occasional standing and walking within the office
• Manual dexterity to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and other office equipment
• Visual acuity to read screens, documents, and reports
• Occasional reaching, bending, or stooping to access file drawers, cabinets, or office supplies
• Lifting and carrying items up to 20 pounds occasionally (e.g., office supplies, packages)

Benefits

• Medical Insurance: Comprehensive health insurance plans covering a range of services
• Dental and Vision Insurance: Coverage for routine dental check-ups, orthodontics, and vision care
• Time Off: Generous PTO and Holidays
• Parental Leave: Paid maternity and paternity leave to support new parents
• Competitive Salary: Industry-standard salaries with opportunities for performance-based bonuses
• Retirement Plan: 401(k) plan with company match
• Stock Options: Equity options to give employees a stake in the company’s success
• Life and Disability Insurance: Basic life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage
• Pet Insurance: Discounted pet insurance options including 24/7 Telehealth helpline
• Additional Perks: Free lunch benefit and unlimited free drinks and snacks in the office

Saronic CCPA Notice for Candidates and California Employees If this role is based in the United States, it requires access to export-controlled information or items that require “U.S. Person” status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a “U.S. Person”: (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Saronic does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.