Principal Technical Program Manager, Ranger

Shield AI is seeking a Principal Technical Program Manager to lead execution of our aircraft development efforts supporting the U.S. Air Force's Ranger program. This leader will translate customer objectives into an integrated execution plan spanning concept development, aircraft and mission systems integration, prototype demonstration, flight test, and production readiness. You will partner closely with the program leader, Chief Engineer, engineering teams, manufacturing, supply chain, and government stakeholders to deliver against technical, schedule, and cost commitments. Success requires balancing mission capability with affordability, modularity, and speed. The ideal candidate combines engineering depth with program leadership experience and a record of delivering complex aerospace systems under demanding timelines.

Responsibilities

Own integrated program execution by establishing and maintaining the program baseline, connecting engineering deliverables, hardware availability, supplier commitments, integration activities, test events, and customer milestones; Translate customer needs into executable plans by partnering with systems engineering and technical leadership to define program scope, measurable success criteria, requirements priorities, and verification milestones; Drive multidisciplinary coordination by aligning air vehicle, propulsion, avionics, flight controls, autonomy, mission systems, and ground systems teams around dependencies and interface commitments; Keep affordability and production at the center of execution by incorporating unit-cost targets, component availability, manufacturing complexity, and sustainment considerations into planning and decision-making; Manage customer and partner commitments by leading program reviews with government stakeholders and industry partners and coordinating contractual deliverables; Anticipate and retire risk by identifying critical-path threats, immature technologies, supplier constraints, and resource gaps, assigning mitigation owners, and driving resolution; Build the path to production by aligning development schedules with tooling, long-lead procurement, manufacturing readiness, configuration control, and quality requirements; Provide clear executive visibility by presenting concise assessments of milestone confidence, financial performance, technical progress, and decisions requiring leadership action

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience; 10+ years of progressive experience in aerospace engineering, technical program management, or complex hardware and software development; Experience leading a major aircraft, spacecraft, unmanned system, or similarly integrated aerospace program through significant development and test milestones; Technical breadth sufficient to evaluate integration dependencies, understand engineering tradeoffs, and challenge execution assumptions across disciplines; Demonstrated ownership of integrated schedules, budgets, program risks, and cross-functional delivery; Experience working directly with government customers or major aerospace partners on requirements, reviews, and delivery commitments; Ability to lead through influence, establish accountability, and make sound decisions with incomplete information; Clear written and verbal communication, including executive briefings and customer-facing technical discussions; Has lived and experienced a demo-build cycle; Active U.S. security clearance

Nice to have

Experience with Group 5 unmanned aircraft, clean-sheet aircraft development, or rapid aerospace prototyping; Familiarity with Air Force acquisition programs and competitive prototype-to-production efforts; Experience integrating autonomy, mission payloads, avionics, or ground control systems into aircraft; Understanding of modular open systems approaches and their implications for integration, supplier coordination, and future upgrades; Experience preparing for flight-test campaigns and coordinating airworthiness and safety-review activities; Demonstrated success applying design-to-cost principles and transitioning development hardware into repeatable production