Senior Program Manager, Tactical Robotics & Defense

PDW; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical coverage

401K with company match

Parental Leave

On-site gym (Huntsville, AL & Denver,

Life insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Generous PTO

Job summary

Performance Drone Works (PDW) in Huntsville, AL, seeks a seasoned Program Manager to own schedule, cost, and scope across major cross-functional development programs for partner designs, translating strategy into high‑quality execution.

You will lead programs from concept through design, integration, verification, and readiness for production, manage risk and milestones, and coordinate with internal teams and external partners to deliver mission-ready systems for defense and national security

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Program Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience leading complex product development programs in engineering-intensive environments.
• Proven track record managing multidisciplinary hardware and software development from concept through TRL6.
• Background in aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, or other complex technical industries.
• Familiarity with prototype development, system integration, verification/validation, and transition-to-production processes.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance or higher.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional programs from concept through design, integration, verification, and readiness for production transition; shape program priorities.
• Manage schedules, risk registers, implementation plans, and action-item tracking for disciplined execution.
• Lead production reviews, change control boards, and cross-functional readiness assessments.
• Track and report key program metrics: delivery performance, production readiness, change status, schedule adherence, risk mitigation.
• Exercise independent judgment to resolve cross-functional challenges and escalate as needed.
• Track progress against design reviews, milestones, prototypes, tests, and validation to achieve production release.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Risk management

Independent judgment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Program Management or related field

Master’s degree in PM/Business Administration (MBA)

Job description

Performance Drone Works (PDW) in Huntsville, AL, seeks a seasoned Program Manager to own schedule, cost, and scope across major cross-functional development programs for partner designs, translating strategy into high‑quality execution.

You will lead programs from concept through design, integration, verification, and readiness for production, manage risk and milestones, and coordinate with internal teams and external partners to deliver mission-ready systems for defense and national security