Staff Technical Program Manager, Air Dominance & Strike, Autonomous Airpower

About the role

This position manages the full lifecycle of Air Dominance and Strike programs, guiding initiatives from early research through contract execution and fielding. The hire will partner directly with the Chief Engineer and senior leadership to architect and deliver autonomous airpower solutions for the Department of Defense. Decisions made will consistently balance technical feasibility, cost constraints, schedule adherence, and overarching mission needs. The role demands ownership of end-to-end program execution, ensuring alignment between technical teams and operational requirements. The individual will drive rigorous analysis to translate complex concepts into actionable development pathways. Success in this position will be defined by the ability to navigate ambiguity and deliver critical capabilities on time. This role is central to advancing the state of autonomous airpower within a high-velocity defense environment.

Key facts

What you'll do

Develop strong relationships with DOD customers to enable rapid feedback, shape solutions, and accelerate the fielding of capabilities.

Track program progress against cost, schedule, and resources, making necessary tradeoffs to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery of solutions.

Coordinate multiple internal and external teams within a complex engineering or technology-focused organization.

Operate at the intersection of engineering and delivery, ensuring fluency in systems engineering, cost and schedule controls, and stakeholder communication.

Communicate clearly and concisely for diverse audiences, serving both written and verbal needs with precision.

Leverage roadmap planning, risk registers, and cross-functional collaboration to drive program success.

Maintain eligibility to obtain and sustain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance for continued access to sensitive projects.

Contribute to strategic thinking, analysis, and problem-solving that moves between tactical details and high-level oversight.

Requirements

The posting states a pay range of $191000 to $253000.

A Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field (technical background preferred) is required.

At least 10 years of experience managing the development of complex technical systems across the product lifecycle is mandatory.

A proven record of successfully managing multi-million-dollar projects and delivering them on schedule and on budget must be demonstrated.

Strategic thinking, analysis, and problem-solving must allow movement between tactical details and high-level oversight.

Coordination of multiple internal and external teams within a complex engineering or technology-focused organization is required.

Clear and concise communication must serve written and verbal needs for diverse audiences.

Eligibility to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Top Secret security clearance is required.

Practical notes

This role is based in Costa Mesa, California, and may involve U.S. government facility access requirements.

Travel may be required to support program objectives.

Team collaboration occurs with engineering, finance, and business development functions.

Typical interview steps

Operations interviews usually include a process scenario, an analytics question, and behavioral rounds. Candidates may be asked to improve a workflow or plan an event. Attention to detail and clear communication are tested throughout. Interviewers often ask how you would fix a process that is failing. Walking through diagnosis, a plan, and measurement is the winning structure.

Good to know

Technical program managers operate at the intersection of engineering and delivery in defense environments. Success depends on fluency in systems engineering, cost and schedule controls, and stakeholder communication. Common tools include roadmap planning, risk registers, and cross-functional collaboration. Roles of this level often influence strategy, governance, and execution across large, multi-team programs.

Questions to ask

Useful questions for the interview: what a typical week looks like, how work is assigned, what tools the team uses, and how feedback works. Asking how the role has changed recently and what the team wishes it had known when joining is also reasonable. Questions about the manager's priorities are especially valued.

Career growth

Operations careers grow from coordinator to manager, director, and chief operating officer roles. Some people specialize in supply chain, facilities, or program management. Success depends on reliability and on improving the systems you own. Operations careers reward reliability and continuous improvement. Operators who quantify the impact of their fixes move into leadership fastest.