Senior Hardware Technical Project Manager

RAVE Aerospace LLC; Brea (CA); On-site; USD 112,000 - 127,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Home allowance for home workspace

Discretionary bonus program

401(k) with company match

Paid time off with year-end shutdown

9/80 alternative work schedule

Job summary

RAVE Aerospace LLC is seeking a Senior Hardware Technical Project Manager in California to lead avionics LRUs through planning, development, qualification, and production readiness. You will own schedules, milestones, risks, and action items across hardware, software, and prototype builds.

You will collaborate with engineering, operations, and quality teams, drive readiness reviews, manage supplier relationships, and ensure delivery on time and within scope while maintaining product quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of experience in hardware project management.
• Experience leading complex hardware/software development programmes.
• Hands-on Jira and MS Project experience.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define project plan and milestones.
• Own schedule, milestones, risks, blockers, defects, and actions.
• Lead hardware readiness reviews and dependency management.
• Coordinate corrective actions with engineering, software, quality and test.
• Track and report project status and drawing tree status regularly.
• Provide recovery plans when critical dates or quality risks arise.
• Facilitate design reviews, tear-downs, and Kanban sessions.
• Define SOW, terms, and negotiate costs with suppliers.
• Manage OEM/customer design compliance and risk sessions.
• Influence cross-functional teams to meet deadlines and quality.

Skills

Hardware project mgmt

Technical leadership

Jira

Microsoft Project

Agile/Scrum

Cross-functional collaboration

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Engineering

Tools

Jira

Microsoft Project

Job description

Job Summary:

The Senior Hardware Technical Project Manager is responsible for the planning and execution of new avionics LRUs developed internally at the company or outsourced to a supplier. This role owns the project schedule, milestones, dependencies, risks, blockers, defects, and action items across hardware, software, prototype builds, qualification, certification, and release readiness. The Senior Technical Project Manager collaborates with cross-functional project teams from engineering, operations, and quality to define the project plan, milestones, project risks, and leads the execution effort to effectively and efficiently deliver projects according to plan. The role requires deep hardware technical understanding and the leadership ability to influence cross-functional team members so they improve execution, meet commitments, and protect critical path dates and product quality. This position works with internal stakeholders and external subcontract management to foster an open communication while implementing project-based processes to bring increased efficiency in the delivery of all projects.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define project plan, milestones, risks, hardware demand, Hardware Kanban board, and document tree
• Own schedule, milestones, dependencies, risks, blockers, defects, and action items for assigned hardware programs
• Lead hardware checkpoints and proactively drive readiness reviews, issue reviews, dependency reviews, and action-item closure
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to drive the required corrective actions to execute the project to the plan
• Drive defect visibility, prioritization, ownership, containment, corrective actions, and closure in partnership with engineering, software, quality, and test teams
• Work with internal stakeholders and supplier management to foster an open communication channel to drive the project execution to the plan
• Track and report project status, risks, and drawing tree status on a regular basis.
• Provide recovery plans when critical path dates, major milestones, defect closure, or product quality are at risk
• Facilitate internal design reviews, prototype and production unit tear-down sessions, hardware design refinement sessions, and hardware Kanban review sessions.
• Manage prototype build readiness, including hardware availability, software/firmware readiness, test readiness, build issues. Coordinate with engineering and buyers to get the prototype units built
• Define the SOW, develop T&Cs, and negotiation strategy for non-recurring and recurring costs for all buy LRUs and lead the negotiation sessions with supplier management
• Collaborate with OEM management and OEM technical teams on an as‑needed basis to drive project execution
• Manage design compliance against OEM/customer requirements including requirement alignment, design gaps, qualification impacts, and open technical actions
• Facilitate the project risk management sessions with the project team to identify and mitigate critical project risks
• Effectively manage risks and weigh the pros and cons of important decisions that affect multiple team members
• Influence and motivate cross-functional team members without direct authority, creating urgency and accountability so teams put in the required effort, improve execution, and meet deadlines. Push teams for results and completion by example and team spirit
• Think critically about the task at hand and maintain a good understanding of problems regarding the bigger picture
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned
• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or equivalent experience in a related field
• 6+ years of experience in hardware project management, technical project management, or hardware program/product management
• Experience leading complex hardware and software development programs, including prototype builds, qualification, certification, production readiness, and customer/OEM delivery
• Strong technical understanding of hardware systems, including PCB, PCA/PCBA, electronics, mechanical design, system integration, qualification testing, and release to manufacturing
• Ability to manage technical tradeoffs across cost, schedule, quality, reliability, manufacturability, and customer requirements
• Hands-on experience with Jira for task tracking, defect management, dependencies, and execution follow-up
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Project for planning, milestones, dependencies, timeline, critical path, and schedule reporting
• Strong understanding of defect management, risk follow-up, corrective actions, verification, and closure
• Familiar with phase-gated development and Agile/Scrum principles

The starting pay range for this position is $112,000 - 127,000 per year however, the base pay offered may vary depending on the level of the position, skills, experience, job-related knowledge, and location.

In addition to a comprehensive package of health benefits that include company contributions, RAVE Aerospace offers a variety of additional benefits and perks to enhance your work-life balance experience including but not limited to:

• A home allowance to elevate your home workspace
• Discretionary bonus program
• Future financial security with a 401(k) program with a company match
• Paid time off covering vacations, personal time off, and sick days, capped off by an exciting year-end holiday shutdown
• Embraced flexibility with our alternative work schedule (9/80) to navigate your workweeks with every other Friday off