Staff Project Engineer, Digital

Aerospace is at a turning point - costs are rising, supply chains are strained, and old ways of building can’t keep up. At Neon Aero, we’re breaking that mold. We move fast, think big, and combine start-up agility with aerospace expertise to design, build, and scale aircraft in ways the industry has never seen. Our team leverages automation, AI-driven tools, and a fully connected digital backbone to accelerate innovation and reduce barriers to production.

Here, you won’t just take a job - you’ll help reinvent how the world flies. If you’re ready to solve complex problems, push technology further, and work alongside some of the brightest minds in aerospace, this is your chance to make a real impact.

The Digital Principal Project Engineer is responsible for driving execution across Neon’s enterprise digital programs, including the deployment and integration of the PLM, ERP, MES, QMS, supply chain, data, and AI platforms that make up Neon’s digital backbone. This role serves as the connective point across Digital teams, engineering and business stakeholders, implementation partners, and software vendors to coordinate deliverables, manage dependencies, track decisions, resolve blockers, and elevate technical risks.

Operating in a manner similar to a technical program manager for enterprise systems, this individual keeps Digital programs aligned as capabilities move from requirements and design through configuration, integration, validation, cutover, and adoption. The role preserves accountability, schedule integrity, and the compliance rigor required of a regulated aerospace supplier handling export-controlled data.

Why This Role Matters

• Drive end-to-end execution of Neon’s enterprise digital programs, including PLM, ERP, MES, QMS, supply chain, data platform, and AI tooling deployments, from requirements through go-live and adoption.
• Build, maintain, and communicate integrated program plans, roadmaps, milestones, and critical paths across concurrent Digital workstreams and their dependencies on engineering, operations, supply chain, and finance.
• Coordinate cross-functional activities among Digital, IT, information security, export control, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality, finance, and operations stakeholders.
• Manage implementation partners and software vendors against statements of work, deliverables, and milestones; track partner performance and escalate gaps.
• Track system integration dependencies, interface points, data flows, open actions, and decision logs across Neon’s enterprise application landscape.
• Plan and coordinate environment promotion, data migration, cutover, and hypercare for system deployments, including the retirement of legacy systems and tools.
• Coordinate user acceptance testing, validation, and release readiness with business owners, ensuring deployments meet Neon’s quality system and documentation requirements.
• Engage information security and export control early in planning so that deployments respect Neon’s ITAR and controlled unclassified information (CUI) boundaries.
• Identify technical, schedule, integration, and adoption risks early; drive mitigation planning, escalation, and follow-through to closure.
• Lead recurring program reviews, steering meetings, partner syncs, and go-live readiness reviews with clear agendas, action ownership, and status reporting.
• Partner with Digital technical leads and platform owners to translate Digital strategy into executable workstreams, timelines, and measurable checkpoints.
• Coordinate training, communication, and change management so that engineering and business users adopt new systems and processes.
• Track program budgets, partner spend, and license commitments against plan.
• Prepare concise, accurate program status updates for Digital and executive leadership, including schedule status, top risks, decisions needed, budget status, and mitigation plans.
• Promote disciplined execution through structured planning, Jira-based work tracking, change control, and documentation aligned with Digital team standards.
• Foster strong working relationships across technical and business teams while maintaining accountability for execution and follow-through.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, information systems, industrial engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent professional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in technical program management, enterprise systems program management, systems integration, technical project engineering, or a closely related role.
• Experience leading deployments of enterprise systems such as PLM, ERP, MES, or QMS from requirements through go-live.
• Experience managing integrated schedules, dependencies, risks, action registers, and program reviews across concurrent technical workstreams.
• Experience managing implementation partners and software vendors against statements of work and milestones.
• Strong working knowledge of system integration, data migration, cutover planning, user acceptance testing, and release management.
• Working knowledge of how engineering and manufacturing data flows across the product lifecycle, including requirements, CAD and BOM, engineering change, production, and quality records.
• Ability to communicate credibly with engineers, business users, partners, and executive leadership.
• Experience in fast-paced environments with shifting priorities, aggressive milestones, and concurrent deployments.
• Proficiency with Jira, Confluence, or similar tools for work tracking, scheduling, and program reporting.
• Experience in aerospace, defense, or other regulated manufacturing environments is preferred.
• No certifications required; PMP or PgMP certification is a plus.

Why Join Us

• Work alongside elite engineering talent and innovators from across aerospace and tech.
• Be part of a team moving faster than the industry standard.
• Shape solutions that are lower-cost, autonomous, and scalable: the future of aviation.
• Competitive compensation, including equity participation, growth opportunities, and full health benefits (health, vision, dental, 401(k)) designed to support you in and out of work.

This is the expected compensation range for this role. Final compensation will be based on role scope, experience, skills, internal equity and location. This role may also be eligible for bonus/equity/benefits, if applicable.

$150,000—$175,000 USD

Neon Aero, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation, and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

All final candidates must successfully complete a background check and drug screening as a condition of employment.

At this time, Neon Aero and its divisions are not accepting unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters or staffing agencies.