Senior Technical Program Manager - Defense Hardware

Hernshead Recruitment

Southern Pines (NC)

On-site

USD 120,000 - 150,000

Full time

14 days+

Get more replies from employers

Send a job-specific resume in minutes.

Job summary

Hernshead Recruitment in the United States seeks an experienced technical leader to drive execution across defense product development and production-support programs. This role sits at the intersection of engineering, business development, production, supply chain, quality, and leadership, bringing structure and visibility to fast-moving efforts without adding unnecessary bureaucracy.

The ideal candidate is an engineer who has moved into program leadership and is ready to own schedule, risk,

Qualifications

Technical degree (Engineering or related discipline)
3+ years managing technical projects, engineering programs, hardware development efforts, or complex cross-functional initiatives
Experience in defense, aerospace, robotics, electronics, or hardware product development
Demonstrated ability to coordinate work across engineering and non-engineering teams
Strong organizational skills managing multiple priorities, schedules, and stakeholders
Clear communicator across technical and non-technical audiences
Track record identifying risks, dependencies, and blockers, and driving them to resolution
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with incomplete information
Strong ownership mindset, able to build structure where process is still maturing

Responsibilities

Lead project kickoff activities in coordination with engineering, business development, production, and leadership
Translate customer commitments and internal objectives into executable project plans
Track schedules, milestones, risks, dependencies, deliverables, and action items across active engineering programs
Coordinate cross-functional communication between engineering, production, supply chain, quality, and business stakeholders
Identify resource conflicts, schedule risks, long-lead items, technical blockers, and decision points early
Maintain project dashboards, status reports, risk registers, decision logs, and meeting notes
Facilitate program reviews and ensure follow-up actions are assigned, tracked, and closed
Develop lightweight program management practices, project templates, and kickoff processes
Partner with engineering leadership to prioritize work and protect teams from uncontrolled scope growth
Support proposal planning, customer updates, and internal leadership briefings