Principal Program Manager (Strategic Integration)

Karman Space & Defense is a leader in the rapid design, development, and production of critical, next-generation system solutions that align with the U.S. Department of War and its allies’ core mission priorities, and meet the accelerating demand for access to space. Building on nearly 50 years of success, we deliver Payload & Protection Systems, Aero/Hydrodynamic Interstage Systems, and Propulsion & Launch Systems to more than 80 prime contractors supporting over 130 space and defense programs.

This role is part of our Space and Launch business, which has contributed to the nation’s space programs for decades by delivering complete solutions from concept to flight. We enable successful space operations with mission-critical technology supporting every step from first launch to final landing, including launch vehicle subsystems, propulsion systems, aerodynamic and interstage systems, and payload protection and deployment. Our high-performance solutions are engineered to operate in the most extreme environments and meet precise mission requirements.

In this role, you serve as the senior integration leader for enterprise-level programs and strategic initiatives that span multiple sites, functions, and product lines. You translate executive priorities into executable plans, create accountability across diverse teams, remove cross-functional barriers, and drive disciplined performance across cost, schedule, technical, quality, and contractual objectives. You operate with broad autonomy, navigating ambiguity, aligning senior leaders, and ensuring execution maturity across the Space and Launch organization.

Responsibilities

• Leads enterprise-scale aerospace and defense programs from planning through qualification, industrialization, production ramp, and delivery.
• Owns integrated performance across cost, schedule, technical, quality, customer, and contractual commitments; drives corrective actions when needed.
• Develops and maintains integrated master plans and schedules connecting engineering, qualification, manufacturing readiness, staffing, capital, supply chain, and site dependencies.
• Leads cross-site work transfers, ensuring strategy, readiness, configuration control, tooling, supplier transition, validation, and customer approvals.
• Drives new product introduction and development-to-production transitions, ensuring design maturity, producibility, test readiness, configuration discipline, and production readiness.
• Partners with engineering, manufacturing, and site leadership to establish executable manufacturing plans, rate ramps, constraint mitigation, capital needs, and recovery actions.
• Identifies and manages technical, manufacturing, supply-chain, cost, schedule, quality, and customer risks; establishes mitigation plans and escalates only when required.
• Leads high-consequence recovery efforts involving late hardware, quality escapes, supplier disruption, qualification challenges, or schedule compression.
• Serves as a principal interface for customers, suppliers, prime contractors, U.S. Government stakeholders, and executive leadership, communicating program status and decisions.
• Prepares and leads executive program reviews, manages contractual scope, supports proposals, and develops executable strategies for new business and growth initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering, a technical discipline, Business or Program Management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant aerospace or defense leadership experience.
• 12 or more years of progressive experience in aerospace, defense, space, advanced manufacturing, or similarly complex technical environments, including responsibility for program execution, manufacturing integration, and cross-functional leadership.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-site or multi-business integration efforts with senior-executive visibility and accountability for cost, schedule, technical, manufacturing, customer, and growth outcomes.
• Extensive experience managing complex aerospace and defense programs involving mission-critical flight hardware.
• Hands-on leadership experience with manufacturing, new product introduction, industrialization, production-rate growth, work transfer, and cross-site execution.
• Strong technical acumen with the ability to integrate engineering, manufacturing, qualification, quality, configuration, and supply-chain considerations.
• Proven ability to operate independently in high-ambiguity environments while maintaining disciplined execution and strong executive communication.
• Strong financial and business acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, cost/schedule tradeoffs, risk management, and contract performance.
• Working knowledge of U.S. Government and prime-contractor program environments, formal deliverables, change control, and compliance expectations.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly among company sites, customers, suppliers, and partner locations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master of Science in Engineering or a related technical discipline, Master of Business Administration, or other relevant advanced degree.
• Experience managing Department of Defense, U.S. Government, allied-defense, or major prime-contractor programs.
• Experience with propulsion, launch systems, payload integration, separation systems, energetic devices, or other mission-critical flight hardware.
• Experience leading development-to-production transitions, qualification, rate ramp, and sustained manufacturing.
• Experience managing factory transitions, consolidations, supplier transitions, or other strategic work transfers.
• Knowledge of fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, and incentive-based contracts and corresponding program behaviors.
• Experience with Earned Value Management, integrated master scheduling, estimate-at-complete development, or comparable program-control methods.
• Experience supporting proposals, negotiations, contract modifications, capture efforts, and growth strategy execution.
• Experience with enterprise resource planning, product-lifecycle management, manufacturing execution, scheduling, or program-performance systems.
• Project Management Professional certification or equivalent formal program-management training.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged sitting, sustained computer use, and regular review of technical, financial, and program documentation. The essential functions of this position must be performed with or without reasonable accommodation.

Special Mentions

• Moderate travel up to 25%.

This position requires U.S. person status under U.S. export control laws, including U.S. citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contribution
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Tuition reimbursement

Karman Space and Defense is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.