Manager, Engineering Project Leader
About the role
Kymeta revolutionizes satellite communications through Intelligent Communications Platforms (ICPs). Our electronically steered flat panel antennas enable seamless communications on-the-move. Kymeta solutions serve government, military, maritime, transport, and public safety clients worldwide, providing uninterrupted connectivity and spatial intelligence anywhere, anytime. With over 150 patents, Kymeta is shaping the future of global communications. For more information, visit kymetacorp.com.
Kymeta is seeking a Manager, Engineering Project Leader who knows how to turn ambitious technology into products that ship. This is a player-coach role: you will personally own and drive one or more high-priority development programs end-to-end, while also leading, mentoring, and setting standards for a small team of Engineering Project Leaders (EPLs) across the portfolio. You'll partner closely with all disciplines of Engineering and interface with Supply Chain and suppliers to plan, coordinate, and drive execution — and you'll be the person other EPLs look to when a program needs to get unstuck. We’re looking for someone who thrives where the problems are complex, the path isn’t always obvious and the outcomes matter. The successful candidate combines the hands-on instincts of someone who has personally run complex hardware/software programs with the judgment and presence to coach, unblock, and elevate a team of project leaders. You are most successful in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment and bring strong communication, organization, and follow-through — for your own programs and for the team's.
Responsibilities
- Own project planning, scoping, and execution of one or more cross-functional development programs from concept through qualification and release
- Act as a driving force in defining project scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility
- Own creation and resolution of complex cross-functional tradeoff decisions to drive program progress
- Work with teams to develop project milestones and estimates
- Lead risk management processes and mitigations
- Manage engineering program budget creation, tracking, and budget exceptions
- Lead and coordinate interdisciplinary brainstorms and root cause analysis efforts
- Ensure steady progress of tasks; identify and remove stalled or blocked items
- Coordinate internal resources and third parties/vendors for project execution
- Ensure projects are delivered on-time, within scope, and within budget
- Manage vendor execution to schedule, budget, and statement of work
- Manage strategic supplier and development partner relationships
- Provide day-to-day leadership, mentorship, and coaching to a team of Engineering Project Leaders, helping them grow in scope, judgment, and effectiveness
- Set and evangelize consistent project management standards, tools, and best practices across all engineering programs
- Review and challenge other EPLs' project plans, risk registers, and tradeoff decisions; step in directly on programs that are off-track
- Aggregate and report on the health, status, and resourcing of the full program portfolio to leadership — not just your own program(s)
- Ensure resource availability and allocation across the team's portfolio, resolving cross-program conflicts and prioritization calls
- Partner with functional leaders on hiring, onboarding, and development planning for the EPL team
- Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation standards across the team
- Report to management with detailed status updates and estimation tracking across the portfolio, escalating proactively as needed
Skills
- 10+ years of Project Management experience developing and launching integrated Hardware and Software technical products, including experience personally running large, complex programs end-to-end
- 2+ years leading, mentoring, or managing other project managers/leads — comfortable