Technical Program Manager

Wild West Systems Inc.; Leander (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Wild West Systems in Leander, TX, is hiring a Technical Program Manager to coordinate hardware programs from development through delivery. You will own schedules, budgets, and customer relations while engaging in design reviews to balance technical trade-offs.

The role requires 5+ years in defense program management or engineering, DoD process knowledge, and the ability to read engineering drawings. This hybrid, on-site position supports ITAR/EAR and DFARS compliance as part of contract delivery.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in defense program management, systems engineering, or a hybrid PM/engineering role.
• Experience managing hardware development programs (not pure software/IT).
• Working knowledge of DoD acquisition processes, CDRLs, and contract types.
• Ability to read and engage with engineering drawings, test data, and technical requirements documents.
• U.S. Citizen.

Responsibilities

• Own program schedule, budget, risk register, and deliverables across one or more counter-UAS or kinetic programs.
• Serve as primary customer POC for program status, TIMs, and deliverable reviews.
• Manage subcontractors, vendors, and supply chain against milestones.
• Prepare and present program reviews, including CDRLs and risk mitigation plans.
• Manage contract compliance (CPFF, FFP, OTA) with contracts/finance.
• Partner with engineering leads on architecture, design maturity, and risk tracking.
• Translate engineering realities into schedule and cost impact.
• Drive requirements management and test/acceptance criteria planning.
• Participate in design reviews (PDR/CDR/TRR) as a technical stakeholder.
• Identify conflicts between scope creep and program baseline.
• Ensure program execution aligns with ITAR/EAR, CMMC, and DFARS requirements.
• Support proposal development with technical inputs.
• Maintain configuration management across lifecycle.

Skills

Defense program management

Systems engineering

Hardware development

DoD acquisition

Engineering drawings

U.S. citizenship

Job description

Position Overview

Title: Technical Program Manager

Position Overview

Title: Technical Program Manager

Company: Wild West Systems

Location: Leander, TX

Employment Type: Full-time

Company Overview

Wild West Systems is an American defense technology company with the mission to equip the civilized world with superior and affordable arms and advanced technologies to dominate the battlefield of present and future threats in a new era of asymmetrical warfare. We fuse versatile domain experience with novel approach and creativity to change the paradigm of defense - both for military arenas and civilian soft targets. We're an early-stage startup, rapidly moving and growing.

Position Profile

WWS is seeking a Technical Program Manager to serve as the primary integration point between engineering execution and program/contract delivery. This is a hybrid role for someone who can own a program's schedule, budget, and customer relationship while also being technically credible enough to sit in design reviews, understand engineering trade-offs, and help the team make sound technical-schedule decisions. You'll be the person who keeps hardware programs - from early development through test and delivery - on track, on budget, and aligned to contract requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Program Management

• Own program schedule, budget (EVM or lightweight equivalent), risk register, and deliverables across one or more counter-UAS / kinetic effector programs
• Serve as primary customer POC for program status, technical interchange meetings (TIMs), and deliverable reviews
• Manage subcontractors, vendors, and supply chain dependencies against program milestones
• Prepare and present program reviews (internal and customer-facing), including CDRLs, status reports, and risk mitigation plans
• Manage contract compliance (CPFF, FFP, OTA) in coordination with contracts/finance

Program Engineering Management

• Partner directly with engineering leads on system architecture, design maturity, and technical risk tracking
• Translate engineering realities (test failures, design changes, supply chain substitutions) into schedule/cost impact assessments
• Drive requirements management and verification/validation planning (test plans, acceptance criteria)
• Participate in design reviews (PDR/CDR/TRR) as a technical stakeholder, not just a scribe
• Identify and resolve conflicts between engineering scope creep and program baseline

Compliance & Process

• Ensure program execution aligns with ITAR/EAR, CMMC, and DFARS requirements as applicable
• Support proposal development and capture activities with realistic technical/schedule inputs
• Maintain configuration management and documentation discipline across the program lifecycle

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years in defense program management, systems engineering, or a hybrid PM/engineering role
• Demonstrated experience managing hardware development programs (not pure software/IT)
• Working knowledge of DoD acquisition processes, CDRLs, and contract types
• Ability to read and engage with engineering drawings, test data, and technical requirements documents
• U.S. Citizen

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with counter-UAS, munitions, kinetic effectors, or related weapons systems programs
• PMP or equivalent certification
• Familiarity with CMMC Level 2 requirements and FFL/FEL-regulated environments
• Prior startup or small-defense-contractor experience (comfort with ambiguity and wearing multiple hats)