Program Manager - Aircraft

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results.

The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

Our aircraft work is scaling fast. Our Group 5 aircraft program runs alongside a growing set of research programs, with design, build, supply chain, and test all moving in parallel. We need one strong Program Manager to lead program management across all of it.

You will join our Program Management Office, reporting to the Director of PMO. You will take full ownership of our research programs and partner with the Director to run the aircraft program, owning cost, schedule, scope, risk, and the customer relationship. You will be the person who knows where every aircraft effort actually stands on any given day.

What you'll do

• Own our research programs end to end as the primary point of contact for government program managers and contracting teams

• Drive program execution on our aircraft program with the Director of PMO, from design reviews through fabrication, integration, ground test, and flight test

• Build and maintain the integrated master schedule (IMS) across both efforts, tied to contract milestones and test events

• Own budgets and burn, track against funding, and flag variance early with a recovery plan

• Deliver contract requirements on time: CDRLs, monthly status and financial reports, technical reports, and final deliverables

• Run the program cadence: weekly reviews, technical interchange meetings, milestone reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR), and status to leadership and customers

• Run the risk, issue, and opportunity process and drive mitigations to closure

• Coordinate engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, and flight test, and deconflict shared people, hardware, and test assets between efforts

• Manage scope changes, contract modifications, and follow-on work with our contracts and business development teams

• Build the PMO tools and processes we will need as we add aircraft programs

What you bring

• 7+ years of program management, with at least 4 years owning cost, schedule, and technical performance on aircraft, UAS, or other aerospace and defense hardware programs

• Direct experience managing DoD research and development contracts (S&T, prototype, or 6.2/6.3 efforts)

• Track record taking aircraft or aerospace hardware through build and test, ideally to first flight

• Working knowledge of government contract execution: CDRLs, funded vs. ceiling value, modifications, and customer reporting

• Hands-on with IMS development (MS Project, Primavera, Smartsheet or similar), budget tracking, and EVM concepts

• Ability to run several efforts at once and make clear priority calls when they compete

• Clear, direct communicator who can brief an engineer, an executive, and a government program manager

• U.S. person status as defined by ITAR, and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Nice to have

• Experience working with DoD research labs and innovation organizations

• Program experience on Group 3 to Group 5 UAS, collaborative autonomy, or experimental aircraft

• Experience with OTA, SBIR/STTR, or other rapid acquisition contract vehicles

• Familiarity with airworthiness and flight test planning

• Background at a startup or fast-scaling hardware company

• Active Secret clearance or higher

• PMP or DAWIA Program Management certification

Location and details

• Location: Remote (U.S.), with regular travel to Oxnard, CA, customer sites, suppliers, and test sites

• Reports to: Director of PMO

• Export control: This role requires access to information subject to ITAR. Candidates must be U.S. persons as defined by 22 CFR 120.62.

ITAR requirement

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Swarm Aero is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse backgrounds and experiences and make employment decisions without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability.

What We Offer

• Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience

• Medical, dental, vision, and 401k

• PTO and paid sick leave

• Monthly wellness stipend

• Daily catered lunch (office)

• Paid parental leave

• Direct impact on a critical national security mission

• A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems