Job Overview
The Program Manager 2 supports the planning, execution, and delivery of aerospace, defense, and advanced technology programs across the company's product portfolio. Working in support of Senior Program Managers and the Portfolio Director, this role manages defined programs, projects, workstreams, or portions of larger programs to achieve Cost, Schedule, and Performance (CSP) objectives. The Program Manager 2 serves as a key execution leader within the portfolio, coordinating activities across engineering, operations, supply chain, manufacturing, finance, contracts, quality, and test organizations to maintain executable program plans, track performance, identify and mitigate risks, resolve execution issues, and meet customer and contractual commitments. This role provides Senior Program Managers and the Portfolio Director with accurate and timely program information, analysis, and recommendations necessary to make informed business and execution decisions. The Program Manager 2 is expected to operate with increasing independence while appropriately escalating issues, risks, and decisions that require Senior Program Manager or Portfolio Director involvement.
Essential Functions
- Manage Cost, Schedule, and Performance (CSP) for assigned programs, projects, workstreams, or portions of larger programs in support of Senior Program Managers and the Portfolio Director.
- Support Senior Program Managers and the Portfolio Director in developing and executing program and portfolio strategies, priorities, milestones, customer commitments, and business objectives.
- Provide timely, accurate, and objective program information to Senior Program Managers and the Portfolio Director, including program health, financial performance, schedule status, risks, opportunities, resource constraints, and recommended actions.
- Coordinate cross-functional execution across engineering, operations, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, finance, contracts, and test organizations to ensure program activities remain aligned with established objectives.
- Develop, maintain, and manage Integrated Master Schedules (IMS), program action plans, milestone plans, and other execution tools for assigned scope.
- Monitor program performance against established cost, schedule, technical, and contractual baselines and identify emerging variances, issues, and trends requiring corrective action or escalation.
- Partner with Finance and Senior Program Managers to develop and maintain program budgets, Estimates to Complete (ETC), Estimates at Completion (EAC), spend plans, staffing forecasts, and financial performance reporting.
- Analyze program financial performance, including actual costs, forecasts, variances, and potential impacts to program profitability, and develop recommended corrective actions.
- Identify, document, assess, and manage program risks and opportunities for assigned scope, including development and tracking of mitigation and realization plans.
- Coordinate engineering development, integration, manufacturing, test, qualification, delivery, and fielding activities to ensure program milestones and customer requirements are achieved.
- Support development and maintenance of program execution plans, Integrated Master Plans (IMP), resource forecasts, risk registers, action-item trackers, and other program management artifacts.
- Support and participate in program reviews, technical interchange meetings, milestone reviews, design reviews, customer meetings, Program Management Reviews (PMRs), and portfolio-level reviews.
- Prepare and present program status, schedule performance, financial performance, risks, opportunities, actions, and recovery plans to Senior Program Managers, the Portfolio Director, customers, and other stakeholders.
- Serve as a day-to-day customer interface for assigned areas of responsibility while maintaining alignment with the Senior Program Manager and Portfolio Director on overall program strategy, commitments, and communications.
- Develop and maintain strong working relationships with customers, subcontractors, suppliers, and internal cross-functional stakeholders.
- Support the interpretation and execution of Statements of Work (SOW), Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs), contractual requirements, deliverables, and other program documentation.
- Monitor program scope and requirements and identify potential changes that may affect cost, schedule, technical performance, contractual commitments, or program profitability.
- Coordinate with Contracts and Senior Program Managers to ensure potential scope changes are appropriately documented and addressed before execution.
- Support subcontractor and supplier management activities, including development of requirements and Statements of Work, schedule coordination, performance monitoring, and resolution of programmatic issues.
- Lead or coordinate assigned Integrated Product Team (IPT) activities, ensuring actions, dependencies, risks, and commitments are clearly identified and tracked to closure.
- Drive disciplined action-item management and follow-through across assigned program activities.
- Proactively identify issues requiring Senior Program Manager or Portfolio Director involvement and escalate them with a clear assessment of cost, schedule, technical, customer, or business impacts and recommended courses of action.
- Support portfolio-level activities as requested by the Portfolio Director, including program performance reviews, resource planning, financial forecasting, strategic initiatives, and cross program execution priorities.
- Support proposal development, Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimates, Basis of Estimates (BOEs), capture activities, customer requests, and new business opportunities associated with assigned programs and the broader portfolio.
- Support transition of development efforts into production, fielding, sustainment, or follow-on customer-funded activities as applicable.
- Ensure assigned programs and activities are executed in accordance with applicable safety, quality, contractual, regulatory, and company requirements.
- Perform other duties as required.
- Regular and reliable attendance on a full time basis [or in accordance with posted schedule].
- Responsible for exhibiting professional behavior with both internal and external business associates that reflects positively on the company and is consistent with the company's policies and practices.
- Embodies AEVEX’s cultural values and aligns daily actions with department goals and company culture.
Qualifications and Competencies
- Working knowledge of Cost, Schedule, and Performance (CSP) management principles within aerospace, defense, aviation, autonomous systems, or advanced technology environments.
- Understanding of program financial management concepts including budgets, actual costs, forecasts, ETC, EAC, variance analysis, and program profitability.
- Working knowledge of program risk and opportunity management, including identification, assessment, mitigation planning, and tracking.
- Understanding of Statements of Work (SOW), contractual requirements, deliverables, scope management, and change control.
- Ability to integrate activities across engineering, operations, manufacturing, supply chain, finance, contracts, quality, and test organizations.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to evaluate cost, schedule, technical, customer, and operational impacts.
- Ability to translate program data into clear assessments and actionable recommendations for Senior Program Managers and portfolio leadership.
- Ability to identify emerging issues, develop recommended solutions, and appropriately escalate matters requiring Senior Program Manager or Portfolio Director decisions.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with customers, suppliers, technical professionals, and leadership.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams in a matrixed organization.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and execute effectively in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
- Detail-oriented and organized with a strong bias toward execution, accountability, and closure.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and program management/scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project.
- Demonstrates a strong desire to grow as a program leader and take on increasing levels of Cost, Schedule, and Performance responsibility.
Leadership Competencies
- Directs and provides expert knowledge in the day-to-day function of the department.
- Identifies, recruits, and retains top-notch talent.
- Champions AEVEX’s culture and empowers employees to take responsibility for their jobs and goals.
- Coaches, mentors, engage and develop the team, including overseeing new employee onboarding and providing career development planning and learning opportunities.
- Sets performance standards and encourages employee engagement and results through delegation, continuous feedback, goal setting, and performance management.
- Maintains transparent communication. Appropriately communicates organization information through department meetings, one-on-one meetings, and appropriate email, and regular interpersonal communication.
- Provides oversight and direction to the employees in accordance with AEVEX’s policies and procedures.
- Leads through influence and collaboration across cross-functional program teams.
- Establishes clear expectations, priorities, actions, and accountability for assigned program activities.
- Demonstrates ownership and accountability for commitments within assigned scope.
- Builds effective working relationships across functions and promotes teamwork in support of program and portfolio objectives.
- Communicates program status, risks, issues, and decisions clearly and transparently.
- Uses data and objective information to support decision-making and recommendations.
- Proactively identifies barriers to execution and works across the organization to resolve or escalate them.
- Demonstrates sound judgment regarding when to act independently and when to seek guidance or elevate decisions to Senior Program Managers or the Portfolio Director.
- Seeks opportunities for continued development and increasing program leadership responsibility.
Education / Certifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, Program Management, or related field; equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience may be considered.
- Program Management Professional (PMP), DAWIA certification, or equivalent program management training preferred.
Experience
- 5+ years of relevant program management, project management, engineering, operations, manufacturing, or related aerospace/defense experience.
- Experience supporting or managing aerospace, defense, autonomous systems, aviation, robotics, or advanced technology programs preferred.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating cross-functional teams to achieve cost, schedule, technical, and delivery objectives.
- Experience developing and maintaining program schedules, forecasts, risks, action plans, and performance reporting.
- Experience supporting program financial management, including budgets, ETC/EAC forecasting, spend plans, and variance analysis.
- Experience working directly with customers, suppliers, subcontractors, engineering teams, and operations organizations.
- Experience supporting development, production, integration, test, fielding, or sustainment programs preferred.
- Experience supporting proposals, ROMs, BOEs, or new business activities preferred.
- Experience developing, maintaining, and managing Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) and using schedules to drive program execution.
- Experience with ERP/MRP, collaboration, or program management systems such as Jira, Confluence, or similar tools preferred.
Physical Requirements
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties the employee is:
Physical Requirements
- Frequently required to sit, and to reach to use computers and other office equipment
Note: For the purpose of this summary, occasionally is used to represent up to 1/3 of the time given to the work day, frequently represents 1/3 to 2/3 of the time and constantly represents 2/3 or more of the time.
Security Clearance
- Ability to obtain/maintain a Top Secret/SCI DoD clearance, U.S. Citizenship required.
Disclaimer
AEVEX Aerospace is an Equal Opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, religious creed, color, sex (including pregnancy, breast feeding and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, military and veteran status, marital status, age, protected medical condition, genetic information, physical disability, mental disability, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws.
About AEVEX
AEVEX, headquartered in Solana Beach, California, supports the U.S. national security mission and partner nation needs around the world by providing full-spectrum aviation, remote sensing, and analysis solutions. The company's capabilities include custom design and engineering; rapid prototyping; sensor integration and sustainment; aircraft modification and certification; flight test instrumentation and support; mission operations service; advanced intelligence data processing, exploitation, and dissemination solutions; and tailored hardware and software mission-system tools. AEVEX uses agile and customized approaches to rapidly define, develop, and deliver specialized solutions for airborne special mission needs for the U.S. Government, partner nations, and commercial businesses. AEVEX has major offices in California, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia.
AEVEX provides a full suite of comprehensive benefits, including a 401(k)-retirement plan, comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability and Life insurance group coverage with a portion of the premiums paid by the company, professional development funds, and an Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) with counseling, legal help, child and elder care support, among other benefits for qualified employees.
Recruitment Communication Notice: All official correspondence regarding your application, application status, interviews, or the AEVEX hiring process will come directly from an AEVEX representative using an @aevex.com email address or through Greenhouse, our applicant tracking system. Please use caution with communications claiming to represent AEVEX from other email domains, and always verify the sender before responding or providing personal information.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
AEVEX is an Equal Opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, religious creed, color, sex (including pregnancy, breast feeding and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, military and veteran status, marital status, age, protected medical condition, genetic information, physical disability, mental disability, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws.
