Vantor is forging the new frontier of spatial intelligence, helping decision makers and operators navigate what’s happening now and shape what’s coming next. Vantor is a place for problem solvers, changemakers, and go-getters—where people are working together to help our customers see the world differently, and in doing so, be seen differently. Come be part of a mission, not just a job, where you can: Shape your own future, build the next big thing, and change the world.

To be eligible for this position, you must be a U.S. Person, defined as a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, Asylee, or Refugee.



Export Control/ITAR: Certain roles may be subject to U.S. export control laws, requiring U.S. person status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Please review the job details below.

The Role

Engineering Operations is building a common operating system for how Engineering plans, designs, delivers, and demonstrates evidence of completion.

As the Principal Program Manager for Engineering Operations, you will define and evolve the operating model for how Engineering works across the organization. This role owns the standards, lifecycle model, governance, systems-of-record expectations, and traceability required to make engineering execution consistent, visible, and scalable.

You will determine where common standards create leverage, where teams need local flexibility, and where process should be simplified or removed entirely.

What You'll Do

Define the Engineering Operating Model

Own the common engineering lifecycle model across planning, design, delivery, and evidence.
Define the minimum set of standards, reviews, artifacts, and decision points required across Engineering.
Establish clear boundaries between enterprise-wide standards and domain-specific tailoring.
Simplify existing processes before standardizing or automating them.
Ensure the operating model provides appropriate rigor for mission-critical engineering without creating unnecessary ceremony.

Establish Governance and Engineering Standards

Define lifecycle reviews, decision authorities, escalation paths, and governance expectations.
Partner with domain architects and engineering leaders to align technical and operational standards.
Clarify ownership and accountability for engineering artifacts, decisions, risks, and evidence.
Create practical playbooks, templates, and guardrails that make the model easy to adopt.

Define Systems of Record and Traceability

Establish what information must live in authoritative engineering systems of record.
Define required metadata, artifact relationships, and traceability expectations.
Improve the consistency and quality of engineering execution data.
Ensure the operating model produces reliable context for both human decision-making and agentic workflows.
Partner with Developer Enablement and other platform teams on implementation of tooling and integrations.

Drive Adoption and Continuous Improvement

Work with Engineering leaders to roll out common standards and operating practices.
Identify friction, inconsistency, and unnecessary process across teams.
Measure adoption and effectiveness of the operating model.
Evolve standards based on execution data, feedback, and lessons learned.
Challenge any process that adds effort without improving quality, predictability, safety, or decision-making.

What We're Looking For

Deep experience in engineering leadership, systems engineering, technical program leadership, engineering operations, or a related discipline.
Demonstrated ability to design and improve engineering processes across large, complex organizations.
Strong understanding of engineering lifecycle models, technical governance, reviews, risk management, and traceability.
Ability to distinguish where standardization creates leverage from where local autonomy is more effective.
Strong technical credibility across software, systems, infrastructure, or multidisciplinary engineering environments.
Experience influencing senior engineering leaders without relying on direct authority.
Strong systems thinking, judgment, and ability to simplify complex operating models.
Excellent written and verbal communication.

What Success Looks Like

Engineering teams use a common language and operating model where consistency matters.
Lifecycle expectations, standards, and decision authorities are clear and widely understood.
Engineering data is captured once in the right systems of record and is trusted.
Leaders spend less time reconciling process differences and more time making decisions.
Teams retain flexibility where local variation creates value.
Engineering rigor improves while unnecessary ceremony decreases.
The operating model becomes a foundation for scalable automation and agentic engineering workflows.

Pay Transparency: To support pay transparency, Vantor includes salary ranges in all U.S. job postings. Starting pay for this role will fall within the listed range and will be based on factors such as experience, qualifications, skills, location, and market conditions. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role should not expect to receive compensation at the top of the range. The listed range reflects the expected pay for this position, and final offers will be determined based on each candidate’s experience, expertise, and alignment with the role.

● The base pay for this position within Colorado is: $135,000.00 - $180,000.00 - $198,000.00 annually.

For all other states, we use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop market-driven ranges for our roles, and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range.

Benefits: Vantor offers a competitive total rewards package that goes beyond the standard, including a robust 401(k) with company match, mental health resources, and unique perks like student loan repayment assistance, adoption reimbursement and pet insurance to support all aspects of your life. You can find more information on our benefits at: https://www.Vantor.com/careers

Additionally, this position is incentive eligible with a target based on contribution, company performance, and/or individual results achieved; the specific incentive plan and target amount will be determined based on the role and breadth of contributions.

The application window is three days from the date the job is posted and will remain posted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire. If the job is reposted regardless of reason, it will remain posted three days from the date the job is reposted and will remain reposted until a qualified candidate has been identified for hire.

The date of posting can be found on Vantor's Career page at the top of each job posting.

To apply, submit your application via Vantor's Career page.

EEO Policy: Vantor is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace. We believe in fostering an environment where all team members feel respected, valued, and encouraged to share their ideas. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

About the company

Vantor offers an AI-powered spatial intelligence platform that unifies space, air, and ground sensor data into a real-time 3D digital twin of Earth. The Tensorglobe platform automates the full intelligence cycle—from tasking to analysis—via a subscription-based model. Key products include WorldView for imagery tasking, Raptor for GPS-denied navigation, and Sentry for automated site monitoring. By delivering an end-to-end geospatial workflow as a service rather than just raw imagery, it aims to help defense, intelligence, and commercial customers make faster, better-informed decisions.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Westminster, Colorado

Founded

1957

Get referred to Vantor

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

September 17, 2026 Pulse awards EnduroSat and CACI locked a 24-satellite build.
August 19, 2026 Will Cocos took over U.S. government sales during international expansion.
UK MoD's 2026 RAF Wyton cluster gives Vantor a visible allied-government growth channel.

What critics are saying

Pulse deploys only from 2027 to 2029, giving rivals time to copy architecture.
Susanne Hake's August 2026 exit signals churn in Vantor's largest government business.
If NGA shifts GEGD Pro spend, Vantor loses its core customer gateway.

What makes Vantor unique

Tensorglobe fuses space, air, and ground sensors into one real-time intelligence layer.
WorldView Legion, Vantor Vantage, and Pulse combine high-resolution detail with 15-minute revisit.
Vantor runs NGA's GEGD Pro and Army One World Terrain, embedding deeply in workflows.

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Benefits

Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Company Match
Paid Vacation
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Flexible Work Hours
Hybrid Work Options
Tuition Reimbursement
Family Planning Benefits

Company News

Associated Press

Oct 13th, 2026

Sightline and Vantor flight-test GPS-free drone targeting with under 3m location accuracy

Sightline Intelligence has integrated its onboard vision software with spatial intelligence company Vantor's visual positioning technology, helping drones navigate and identify targets when GPS is disrupted. Flight tests showed target location accuracy of CE90 under 3 metres in tested configurations. Vantor's Raptor software matches a drone's camera feed to its Vivid Terrain 3D data to fix position without GPS. Sightline's software then detects, classifies, and tracks objects in real time, and shares their coordinates, elevation, and estimated location error with command-and-control systems. In supported setups, both programs run on the same edge processor using the drone's existing camera. That avoids adding a separate navigation camera or processing box, and the system works day or night. Sightline customers can evaluate the features now.

Military Industry Today

Oct 13th, 2026

Sightline Intelligence and Vantor collaborate on gps-resilient targeting and navigation for autonomous systems.

Sightline Intelligence and Vantor collaborate on gps-resilient targeting and navigation for autonomous systems. Sightline Intelligence Sightline and Vantor's Raptor software connect vehicle tracking in live video (left) with mapped target locations (right). The displayed flight test results show CAT-1-level accuracy, giving operators precise coordinates to support mission decisions and target handoff. The companies successfully flight-tested Sightline's onboard vision intelligence with Vantor's visual positioning technology and high-accuracy 3D terrain On the battlefield, operators need to understand what they're seeing, where a target is, and where their platform is, even when GPS is disrupted." - Stephen Bornstein, SVP of Product and Engineering at Sightline Intelligence PORTLAND, OR, UNITED STATES, October 13, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / - Sightline Intelligence, a provider of field-proven vision intelligence for mission-critical defense and unmanned systems, today announced the successful integration of its technology with spatial intelligence company Vantor's visual positioning software and high-accuracy 3D terrain to help unmanned and autonomous systems navigate and identify targets when GPS is disrupted. The companies have completed a series of successful flight tests using Sightline's edge vision intelligence software with Vantor's visual positioning capability, demonstrating target location accuracy of CE90 < 3 meters in tested configurations. Vantor's Raptor(TM) visual positioning software georegisters a drone's on-board camera to the company's high-accuracy Vivid Terrain(TM) 3D data, enabling precise navigation in the absence of GPS. Then, Sightline's onboard video processing, AiTR (Aided Target Recognition), and object tracking capabilities detect, classify, and track objects of interest or threats at the edge in real-time. That information - including latitude, longitude, elevation, and an estimate of location error - can be shared with command-and-control systems alongside the video. By integrating these technologies, an end user can operate in one unified workflow instead of a set of disconnected capabilities. "On the battlefield, operators need to understand what they're seeing, where a target is, and where their platform is, even when GPS is disrupted," said Stephen Bornstein, SVP of Product and Engineering at Sightline Intelligence. "Bringing that information together onboard gives our customers an integrated capability to support navigation and target handoff, helping operators maintain situational awareness and coordinate action in contested environments." In supported configurations, Sightline's software and Vantor's Raptor technology can run on the same edge processor using a drone's existing camera, avoiding the need for a separate navigation camera or dedicated processing box. This approach helps address the size, weight, and power constraints of unmanned systems. The combined capability can also handle day or night operations. "Target recognition software can recognize an object, but that information becomes far more useful when it can also determine where the object is, and where the drone itself is, even without GPS," said Peter Wilczynski, Vantor's Chief Product Officer. "By connecting Sightline's onboard vision software to our Raptor software and high-accuracy 3D terrain, we're bringing those capabilities together for customers operating in GPS-challenged environments." Features of this combined capability, including target location estimates and autopilot messaging, are available to Sightline customers for evaluation now. To arrange a demo of the solution, contact Sightline Intelligence. About Sightline Intelligence Sightline Intelligence provides onboard video processing, AI-enabled target recognition, and advanced camera system software for mission-critical applications across air, ground, and maritime domains. The company's technology enables real-time image enhancement, stabilization, detection, classification, tracking, geolocation, and actionable intelligence at the edge. Sightline Intelligence supports defense, security, unmanned systems, and advanced sensing customers with software and hardware solutions designed for demanding operational environments. Learn more at sightlineintelligence.com. Media Contact Makayla Thomas Director of Marketing Sightline Intelligence press@Military Industry Today.sightlineintel.com Peter Moran Indicate Media [email protected] Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. Military Industry Today do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.

Intelligence Community News

Sep 18th, 2026

Vantor selects EnduroSat and CACI for Vantor Pulse.

Vantor selects EnduroSat and CACI for Vantor Pulse. 0 Comments On September 17, Vantor announced it has selected EnduroSat and CACI to develop and build the initial Vantor Pulse satellites, a fleet of 40 cm-class satellites designed to image the same location on Earth as often as every 15 minutes. Pulse will provide frequent, broad-area monitoring and feed Tensorglobe, Vantor's spatial intelligence platform, where its data can be fused with AI, 3D data, and high-resolution imagery to identify change sooner and cue targeted collection. The first phase of the planned 24-satellite fleet marks a key step in moving the fleet toward deployment. EnduroSat, which has deployed more than 100 satellites to orbit, will provide the satellite buses and integration services. CACI, which brings more than 50 years of experience developing and fielding space-based optical systems, will provide optical imaging payloads. Payload integration and testing will take place in the United States, with Pulse satellites expected to deploy between 2027 and 2029. Once deployed, Pulse will work with Vantor's high-resolution satellites to automatically cue targeted collection, helping customers identify change sooner and focus detailed imaging on activity of interest. That will support time-sensitive missions including site monitoring, change detection and rapid 3D mapping. Pulse is also being designed as a flexible, multi-sensor fleet rather than a constellation of identical satellites. Its architecture can accommodate different types of sensors, including electro-optical and radio-frequency payloads, allowing Vantor to add new sensing capabilities over time. That flexibility will also support growing international demand for sovereign satellite capabilities, with configurations that can be adapted for U.S. and allied customers. "The key to Pulse is the systems engineering behind it," said Matt Jenkins, chief space systems officer at Vantor. "We're designing the fleet to support different sensor types over time and feed that data into Tensorglobe, where it can be brought together with AI and other data sources. Combined with our higher-resolution satellites, that gives customers both the persistence to see change and the detail to understand what matters. Together, they create one of the broadest remote-sensing architectures in the commercial market." Pulse builds on the operational success of Vantor's WorldView Legion program and was announced alongside Vantor Vantage, the company's next-generation 20 cm-class imaging satellites. Together, Pulse and Vantor Vantage are designed to create the first commercial space-based architecture combining exquisite, high-resolution imagery with persistent, real-time global monitoring in a single system. "Vantor is eliminating the oldest tradeoff in Earth observation: resolution or revisit, never both," said Raycho Raychev, founder and CEO of EnduroSat. "We could not be more proud to support the first commercial architecture to deliver both, supplying standardized, payload-agnostic buses from a production line that has already put more than 100 satellites in orbit." "CACI is proud to provide advanced optical imaging payloads that deliver rapid, reliable insight from orbit," said Andreas Nonnenmacher, CACI senior vice president of space. "Our collaboration with Vantor and EnduroSat enhances timely change detection and supports critical national security operations, reflecting CACI's commitment to delivering innovative space technologies that meet evolving mission needs." Stay in the know with breaking news from across the IC and IC contracting landscape by becoming a paid subscriber to IC News. Your support makes its work possible.

Defense Daily

Sep 17th, 2026

EnduroSat and CACI to Build Vantor's Pulse Smallsat Fleet.

EnduroSat and CACI to Build Vantor's Pulse Smallsat Fleet. Thursday, September 17th, 2026 Vantor has selected EnduroSat and CACI to provide the satellite bus and payloads for its upcoming Pulse fleet, the company's move into the smallsat imaging market. Bulgaria-based EnduroSat will build buses for the 24 satellites and CACI will provide the optical imaging payloads. Pulse satellites are expected to deploy between 2027 and 2029. Integration and testing will take place in the United States. Vantor announced the selection on Thursday during World Space Business Week. The Pulse satellites, which Vantor introduced plans for in April, will be 40-centimeter-class... Not a subscriber or registered user yet? Please contact us at [email protected] or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.

Business Wire

Sep 16th, 2026

UK MoD and Vantor launch Defence Intelligence Innovation Cluster at RAF Wyton

The UK Ministry of Defence has partnered with Vantor and other industry players to launch the UK Defence Intelligence Innovation Cluster through Project FAIRFAX. The collaboration aims to accelerate development of next-generation defence and intelligence capabilities whilst strengthening Britain's sovereign defence industrial base. The cluster will establish a permanent hub at RAF Wyton, bringing together government, industry and academia to tackle operational challenges and evaluate emerging technologies. Founding partners include Vantor, CGI UK, MAIAR and Huntingdonshire District Council. Vantor will contribute expertise in commercial spatial intelligence, including mission software, AI-enabled analytics and 2D and 3D spatial data. The facility will host operational sprints, technology demonstrations and innovation challenges, working alongside the Ministry of Defence's National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence. The cluster plans to expand beyond founding partners to include additional defence companies, universities and technology innovators across geospatial intelligence, artificial intelligence and space-enabled technologies.

Vantor

Principal Program Manager - Engineering Operations

About the job