Satellite Program Manager: Hardware Delivery Lead

Telemetry Today LLC; Burlingame (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Xona in Burlingame, CA is seeking a Technical Program Manager, Satellite to lead and coordinate the development of our spacecraft program across bus and payload. You will partner with engineering teams to keep a fast-moving hardware program on track and drive cross-functional plans, risks, and milestones.

You will own schedules, coordinate with avionics, RF/payload, ground software, and production teams, and help shape lightweight program-management processes as the company scales.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in technical program management, project management, systems engineering, engineering operations, or a related role supporting complex hardware and/or software development.
• Experience supporting a technical development program involving hardware, embedded software, systems integration, testing, manufacturing, and/or external suppliers.
• Strong systems-thinking and organizational skills, with the ability to track interdependencies across mechanical, electrical, software, and integration workstreams while maintaining focus on the critical path.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain schedules, track risks and action items, and communicate program health clearly.
• Proactive and self-directed: you identify gaps, keep work moving, and know when to seek input or elevate.
• Clear communicator who can work credibly with engineers and summarize status clearly for leadership.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment with lightweight processes and shifting priorities.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and drive the satellite development schedule across bus subsystems (power, GNC, structure) and payload (electrical, antennas, RF). Track progress against milestones, manage dependencies and critical-path items, and flag schedule risks early.
• Coordinate across avionics, RF/payload, ground software, and production teams — translating technical progress into shared plans, clear accountability, and actionable next steps.
• Work alongside Supply Chain team and technical leads to track bus-vendor and payload-supplier deliverables, follow up on open items, and help keep external commitments synchronized with internal milestones.
• Maintain the risk register and issue tracker, surface risks early, and work directly with technical leads to resolve blockers before they affect the schedule. Escalate material issues to the program lead with context, impact, and a recommended path forward.
• Prepare and deliver regular satellite program-status updates to leadership, maintaining a clear and accurate picture of schedule health, milestone progress, open risks, action items, and upcoming decisions.
• Organize and facilitate program working sessions and cross-functional meetings; capture decisions and action items; and drive follow-through to closure.
• Help develop and improve lightweight, effective program-management processes suited to a small team moving quickly. Contribute ideas and practical improvements as the company scales.

Job description

Xona in Burlingame, CA is seeking a Technical Program Manager, Satellite to lead and coordinate the development of our spacecraft program across bus and payload. You will partner with engineering teams to keep a fast-moving hardware program on track and drive cross-functional plans, risks, and milestones.

You will own schedules, coordinate with avionics, RF/payload, ground software, and production teams, and help shape lightweight program-management processes as the company scales.