Technical Program Manager – Defense Hardware

Location: Leander, Texas

Employment Type: Full-Time, Direct Hire

Work Arrangement: To be confirmed

Compensation: To be confirmed

Work Authorization: U.S. citizenship required

Position Overview

An early-stage defense technology organization is seeking a Technical Program Manager to serve as the primary connection between engineering execution and program or contract delivery.

This position combines technical program management with engineering oversight. The successful candidate will manage program schedules, budgets, risks, deliverables, and customer relationships while participating meaningfully in engineering design reviews and technical decision-making.

The role will support hardware programs from early development through testing and final delivery, ensuring that technical execution remains aligned with schedule, cost, contractual, and regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Program Management

• Manage schedules, budgets, risk registers, milestones, and deliverables across one or more defense hardware programs


• Apply earned value management or an appropriate equivalent to monitor program performance


• Serve as the primary customer contact for program status, technical interchange meetings, and deliverable reviews


• Manage subcontractors, vendors, supply-chain dependencies, and external partners against program milestones


• Prepare and present internal and customer-facing program reviews


• Manage contract deliverables, status reports, and risk-mitigation plans


• Coordinate contract compliance for cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, and Other Transaction Authority agreements


• Work closely with contracts and finance teams to maintain program compliance and financial control

Engineering Program Management

• Partner with engineering leaders on system architecture, design maturity, technical planning, and risk management


• Translate test failures, design changes, and supply-chain substitutions into schedule and cost impacts


• Support requirements management and traceability


• Drive verification and validation planning, including test plans and acceptance criteria


• Participate as a technical stakeholder in preliminary design, critical design, and test-readiness reviews


• Evaluate engineering trade-offs and support technical schedule decisions


• Resolve conflicts between changing engineering scope and approved program baselines


• Help maintain alignment among engineering requirements, contractual obligations, schedules, and budgets

Compliance and Process

• Support compliance with ITAR, EAR, CMMC, and DFARS requirements as applicable


• Contribute technical and scheduling input to proposals and business-development efforts


• Maintain configuration-management and documentation practices throughout the program lifecycle


• Ensure program documentation and customer deliverables are accurate, current, and complete

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of experience in defense program management, systems engineering, or a combined program management and engineering role


• Demonstrated experience managing physical hardware development programs


• Working knowledge of Department of Defense acquisition processes


• Familiarity with Contract Data Requirements Lists and common government contract types


• Experience managing program schedules, budgets, risks, milestones, and deliverables


• Ability to interpret and discuss engineering drawings, test data, specifications, and technical requirements


• Experience working directly with engineering teams and participating in technical design reviews


• Strong customer communication, presentation, organization, and problem-solving skills


• Ability to manage vendors, subcontractors, and supply-chain dependencies


• U.S. citizenship required

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with counter-unmanned aircraft systems, munitions, kinetic effectors, or related defense hardware


• PMP or equivalent program-management certification


• Familiarity with CMMC Level 2 requirements


• Familiarity with ITAR, EAR, and DFARS compliance


• Experience working in an FFL- or FEL-regulated environment


• Previous experience with a startup or small defense contractor


• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment with evolving priorities

Qualified candidates with defense hardware program-management experience and strong technical credibility are encouraged to apply.