Technical Project Manager III

Job description

ABOUT Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space. SUMMARY As a Technical Project Manager in Firefly’s Aerospace Software Engineering department, you will own the planning, scheduling, and execution rhythm for software development across all of Firefly’s Launch Vehicles programs. You will report to the Director of Aerospace Software Engineering and serve as the programmatic arm of the department, covering Flight Software, Ground Software, and Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) for launch vehicles programs. This is a hands-on role. You will build and maintain integrated schedules that span software and hardware milestones, keep department development programs and IRAD efforts visible, and make sure software commitments to vehicle programs are real, tracked, and closed. You will work directly with software engineering leads and subject matter experts to translate technical input into executable plans and maintain the documentation and risk posture needed for program success. Cross-functional communication and coordination with hardware teams, test engineering, and vehicle programs is essential to this role. RESPONSIBILITIES Build and maintain integrated schedules for software development, spanning all vehicle-level programs and internal IRAD. Coordinate across software and hardware teams to ensure integrated schedules reflect critical dependencies, hardware delivery dates, and test bench availability. Manage schedules, backlogs, and risks for software teams across Flight Software, Ground Software, and Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC). Support the Director in staffing and resource planning by maintaining a clear, data-driven picture of department capacity against program demand. Maintain schedules covering System Requirements Reviews (SRR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR), qualification and acceptance test campaigns, and flight readiness milestones. Support documentation preparation for design reviews and program gates, aggregating inputs from engineers and functional leads. Tie software delivery dates to team capacity, dependencies, hardware availability, and integration and test bench readiness so plans reflect real constraints and hardware-software integration points. Interface with vehicle Program Management to surface programmatic and technical issues early and drive them to resolution. Track and manage department risks, mitigation plans, and action items to closure. Maintain and automate program metrics dashboards. Facilitate sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives for software teams using Agile or hybrid workflows. Maintain project information and visibility using the Atlassian Suite (Jira, Confluence). QUALIFICATIONS Required Bachelor’s degree in a technical field such as engineering, computer science, or similar. 5+ years of experience in technical project management or program integration for complex engineering systems. Demonstrated success building and maintaining integrated schedules for software development in a fast-paced environment. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail in maintaining schedules, risks, and review materials. Basic proficiency in Python and SQL for data analysis, automation, or reporting. Excellent written and oral communication skills, capable of distilling technical details into clear, actionable plans. Proven ability to collaborate across multiple engineering disciplines and with internal customers including Program Management. Desired Aerospace or space systems experience, particularly in Flight Software, Ground Software, Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems, or spacecraft operations. Strong cross-functional communication skills with demonstrated ability to coordinate between software, hardware, and test engineering teams. Proficiency with Atlassian tools: Jira (issue tracking, dashboards, reports) and Confluence (documentation, templates, macros). Experience managing schedules through qualification and acceptance test campaigns. Experience managing development in a hardware-constrained environment where delivery depends on board, bench, or vehicle availability. Familiarity with system-level design reviews and program lifecycle processes. Experience integrating Agile practices within a systems engineering or hardware-centric organization. Understanding of configuration management, documentation control, and technical baseline maintenance. Exposure to proposal writing, cost est