Technical Project Manager III

Job description

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 Electrical Engineering department, you will own the planning, scheduling, and execution rhythm for avionics development across all of Firefly’s product lines. You will report to the Director of Electrical Engineering and serve as the programmatic arm of the department, covering Hardware, Firmware, Harnessing, Launch Vehicle Systems, and Spacecraft Systems. This is a hands-on role. You will build and maintain the integrated schedules the Director owns, keep department development programs and IRAD efforts visible, and make sure avionics commitments to vehicle programs are real, tracked, and closed. You will work directly with electrical engineering leads and subject matter experts to translate technical input into executable plans and maintain the documentation and risk posture needed for program success. Responsibilities: Build and maintain integrated schedules for avionics development, spanning all vehicle-level programs and internal IRAD. Manage schedules, backlogs, and risks for avionics teams across Hardware, Firmware, Harnessing, Launch Vehicle Systems, and Spacecraft Systems. Support the Director in staffing and resource planning by maintaining a clear picture of department capacity against program demand. Track progress on the common modular architecture effort, including reuse commitments across launch vehicles and spacecraft. Maintain schedules covering System Requirements Reviews (SRR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR), qualification and acceptance test campaigns, and flight readiness milestones. Tie avionics delivery dates to board bring-up, harness availability, and integration and test bench readiness so plans reflect real hardware constraints. Interface with vehicle Program Management to surface programmatic and technical issues early and drive them to resolution. Support department budget tracking and electrical engineering cost reduction projects with schedule and data analysis. Support documentation preparation for design reviews and program gates, aggregating inputs from engineers and functional leads. Track and manage department risks, mitigation plans, and action items to closure. Maintain and automate program metrics dashboards using Python or SQL for data extraction and reporting. Facilitate sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives for avionics teams using Agile or hybrid workflows. Maintain project information and visibility using the Atlassian Suite (Jira, Confluence). Support proposal inputs and cost estimating for avionics scope as needed. 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 hardware or embedded development in a fast-paced environment. Aerospace or space systems experience, particularly in avionics, electrical systems, or spacecraft operations. Proficiency with Atlassian tools: Jira (issue tracking, dashboards, reports) and Confluence (documentation, templates, macros). 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, IT, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing. Desired: 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 estimating, or budget tracking. Working knowledge of embedded software, real-time operating systems, or hardware-in-the-loop test environments.