Program Manager, GNC Software

About the role

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the GNC integrated master schedule (IMS), encompassing control law development, state estimation, software releases, HIL/SIL test campaigns, and flight test readiness milestones
• Develop detailed work breakdown structures (WBS) for GNC workstreams; decompose engineering deliverables into trackable tasks with clear owners and due dates
• Track and report on ticket velocity, backlog health, and closure rates using Jira or equivalent tools
• Proactively identify schedule risks, model impacts, and drive mitigation plans in coordination with GNC technical leads and program leadership
• Align GNC sub-schedules with the aircraft-level IMS and certification plan; surface conflicts early and facilitate resolution across disciplines
• Serve as the primary interface between the GNC engineering team and adjacent disciplines including Powertrain, Flight Software, Systems Engineering, Flight Test, and Certification
• Facilitate weekly GNC program reviews, sprint ceremonies, and monthly milestone gate reviews; own meeting agendas, minutes, and action tracking
• Cover GNC inputs into aircraft-level PDRs, CDRs, software milestones, and certification compliance reviews; ensure teams are prepared and documentation is delivered on time
• Manage dependencies between GNC software releases and HIL/SIL test infrastructure; track readiness gates for each flight test campaign
• Track GNC headcount, contractor spend, tooling, and simulation infrastructure costs against approved budgets; report actuals and forecasts monthly
• Support engineering resource planning — identify staffing gaps, coordinate with recruiting for open roles, and manage onboarding timelines to protect schedule
• Develop and maintain estimates at completion (EACs) for GNC program elements; flag budget risks to exec stakeholders with recommended actions
• Maintain a GNC-specific risk register; facilitate risk review meetings with the technical team and escalate critical risks to program leadership
• Identify gaps in development processes and technical decision-making; propose well-informed, actionable next steps
• Drive closure of open actions and decisions through disciplined follow-up; own the GNC RAID log (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Decisions)
• Support trade study and make/buy decisions for GNC tools and infrastructure (e.g., simulation platforms, sensor suites)
• Coordinate GNC contributions to FAA certification activities including DO-178C software certification, DO-331 model-based development, and ARP4754A system development assurance
• Track GNC compliance matrix items, DER review milestones, and Stage of Involvement (SOI) audit schedules; ensure the team meets certification commitments
• Support configuration management and document control processes for GNC design documentation, test reports, and software baselines

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related technical field
• 10+ years of project or program management experience in aerospace, aviation, or defense, with direct exposure to flight control, GNC, avionics, or embedded flight software programs
• Strong working knowledge of GNC fundamentals — flight control laws, state estimation, navigation filters (e.g., EKF), autopilot architectures, or similar; ability to engage credibly with PhD-level engineers
• Demonstrated experience managing complex hardware/software development programs with tight interdependencies and regulatory constraints
• Proficiency with project scheduling tools (MS Project, Smartsheet, or equivalent) and agile tools (Jira, Confluence)
• Experience supporting or directly managing DO-178C, DO-331, or ARP4754A certification activities
• Exceptional communication skills — ability to translate technical GNC content into clear executive-level status updates and risk narratives
• Hightly organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple parallel workstreams without losing fidelity

Skills

• Hands-on experience in GNC algorithm development, HIL/SIL test environments, or flight simulation platforms (e.g., Simulink, FlightGear, X-Plane)
• Familiarity with MBSE tools (e.g., Cameo, Rhapsody) and requirements management platforms (Polarion, DOORS)
• Experience with EVMS and earned value reporting in a defense or aerospace program context

Benefits

Not specified

Pay

$199,000.00 - $248,800.00

Schedule

TBD