Title: Senior Engineering Project Manager
Company: Heven AeroTech
Location: Bingen, Washington
FLSA: Exempt
About Our Company:
At Heven AeroTech (Heven), we don’t just believe in the power of people—we build our success on it. As a recognized leader in hydrogen-powered drones, we’ve earned recognition for creating a workplace where innovation thrives, collaboration is second nature, and every employee feels valued. Our culture is anchored in trust and a shared commitment to excellence.
We believe great teams are built on individuals who are humble, hungry, and smart—those who put team success first, take initiative to continuously improve, and demonstrate strong interpersonal awareness. At Heven, your voice matters, your ideas are heard, and your contributions make a tangible impact as you grow through hands-on experience and collaboration across the team.
Role Summary:
Heven AeroTech is seeking a Senior Engineering Project Manager to plan, coordinate, and drive the technical execution of our unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) engineering programs. This role sits at the intersection of engineering and program management: you will own the integrated technical schedule, translate systems engineering and design requirements into executable work plans, and keep multidisciplinary engineering teams (airframe, propulsion, avionics, software, and payload) aligned against cost, schedule, and technical performance targets. Beyond running individual programs, you will build and continuously improve the engineering project management processes, tools, and gating criteria that the broader organization uses to deliver UAS hardware and software from concept through flight test and production. Success in this role requires genuine technical fluency — the ability to read requirements and drawings, understand test data, and engage credibly in engineering design reviews — combined with strong program management discipline.
Essential Responsibilities:
- Lead technical project management for one or more UAS engineering programs, spanning airframe/structures, propulsion, avionics, flight software, and payload integration workstreams.
- Develop and maintain the integrated master schedule (IMS), work breakdown structure (WBS), and critical path analysis; proactively identify schedule risk and drive recovery plans.
- Partner with systems engineering to translate requirements, interface control documents, and verification plans into actionable engineering task plans and staffing assignments.
- Plan and facilitate technical design reviews and program milestones (e.g., SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, flight readiness reviews), including agenda development, entrance/exit criteria, and action item tracking to closure.
- Own program-level technical risk and opportunity management: identify, quantify, track, and drive mitigation of engineering risks in coordination with discipline leads.
- Manage engineering change requests and configuration control in support of the company's design change (PDCR) process, ensuring changes are scoped, reviewed, and communicated to affected teams.
- Develop, standardize, and continuously improve engineering project management processes, templates, and tools (scheduling, requirements traceability, risk registers, metrics/dashboards) across programs.
- Manage program technical budget and resource allocation; support staffing plans and headcount forecasting in coordination with engineering leads.
- Coordinate with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and test/flight operations to ensure engineering deliverables support build, integration, and flight test schedules.
- Interface directly with internal leadership and external customers/partners to communicate technical status, risks, and trade-offs; prepare and deliver program reviews and status reporting.
- Support compliance with applicable engineering standards, airworthiness, and regulatory requirements (e.g., FAA Part 107/UAS regulations, relevant MIL-STD or RTCA/DO guidance) as they apply to program execution.
- Drive lessons-learned capture and process retrospectives at program milestones to feed continuous improvement of engineering execution practices.
- Professional working proficiency in English (spoken and written) is required to perform the responsibilities of this role.
- This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, now or in the future.
- If this role requires access to information controlled under U.S. export control laws (ITAR/EAR), applicants must also qualify as a "U.S. person" under 22 CFR §120.62 (U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee).
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications & Experience:
Required:
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- 4–10 years of experience in engineering project management, technical program management, or systems engineering, ideally within UAS, aerospace, or defense product development.
- Demonstrated technical fluency: able to read and interpret engineering drawings, requirements documents, interface control documents, and test/analysis data well enough to plan work and challenge technical assumptions.
- Proven experience building and maintaining integrated schedules (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet) and work breakdown structures for multidisciplinary hardware/software programs.
- Experience managing technical risk registers, action item tracking, and design review gating (PDR/CDR-type milestones).
- Track record of developing or improving engineering project management processes, templates, or tools within an organization.
- Strong cross-functional communication and stakeholder management skills, with experience presenting technical status to engineering leadership and customers.
- Working knowledge of configuration management and engineering change control processes.
Preferred:
- Master's degree in an engineering discipline or a technical MBA.
- PMP, PgMP, or equivalent project/program management certification.
- Direct experience on UAS, drone, or other aerospace/defense flight vehicle programs.
- Familiarity with systems engineering lifecycle practices (requirements management, V&V/test planning, MBSE tools).
- Experience with PLM/ALM tooling (e.g., Windchill, Teamcenter, Jira, Confluence) and requirements management tools (e.g., DOORS, Jama).
- Familiarity with FAA UAS regulations, airworthiness processes, or relevant military/commercial aviation standards (e.g., DO-178C, DO-160, MIL-STD-810).
- Experience with earned value management (EVM) or similar program performance metrics
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to work in both office and engineering lab environments for extended periods.
- Ability to sit, stand, walk, and use a computer for prolonged periods throughout the workday.
- Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 25 pounds of engineering equipment, prototypes, test hardware, or program materials.
- Ability to attend and participate in engineering design reviews, manufacturing floor activities, integration events, and flight test operations.
- Ability to travel domestically up to 20% of the time, with occasional international travel as required.
- Ability to access manufacturing, test, and flight operations environments, including navigating hangars, workshops, and outdoor test sites.
- Ability to visually inspect engineering drawings, schedules, technical documentation, hardware, and test data.
- Ability to communicate effectively in person, by phone, and through virtual collaboration tools.
Benefits Overview:
Heven AeroTech offers a competitive benefits package designed to support the health, financial security, and overall well-being of our employees and their families. Benefits in protectional, dental, and vision coverage, retirement plans, paid time off/sick, and additional protections such as critical illness, hospital indemnity, accident coverage, and short- and long-term disability.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
Heven AeroTech is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
