Manager, Project Management and System

Airbus•Bingen, WA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

As the Manager of Project Management & Systems Engineering for Airbus – Flexrotor, you will serve as the central nervous system of our engineering efforts. This is a rare leadership opportunity to oversee the entire technical lifecycle—from initial architecture and MBSE modeling to flight test validation—for one of the most sophisticated VTOL unmanned aerial systems in the industry. In this role, you aren’t just tracking schedules; you are the guardian of the Flexrotor’s architectural integrity. You will lead a high-performing team of seven professionals, including Project Managers, Systems Engineers, and Autonomy Specialists, ensuring that every design decision aligns with our cost, schedule, and airworthiness objectives. From governing product development gates (P0-P3) to defining verification strategies for autonomous flight, your leadership will directly determine the maturity and success of the Flexrotor portfolio. The Airbus Helicopters Flexrotor Program offers one of the most sophisticated small tactical unmanned aerial systems (STUAS) with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). It can be used day or night by US and allied forces for a diverse range of intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) on land and at sea.

Requirements

Possess a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related technical discipline from an accredited institution.
Have eight (8) + years of aerospace project management and/or systems engineering experience.
Have five (5) + years experience leading development programs involving UAS, VTOL, or complex aerospace systems.
Have five (5) + years experience with MBSE tools (SysML/UML).
Engineering collaboration and issue tracking tools (e.g., JIRA, Confluence or equivalent)
High attention to detail; delivers accurate, complete work with consistently minimal errors and omissions .
Travel Required: 20% Domestic and International
Citizenship: Must be a US Person under ITAR definition (U.S. Citizen, green card holder or person covered under our existing ITAR license)
Vision: able to see and read computer screens and other electronic equipment with screens, able to read documents, reports and engineering drawings daily.
Hearing: able to participate in conversations in person and via teleconference or phone and to hear sounds on the production floor including safety warnings or alarms daily.
Speaking: able to speak in conversations and meetings, deliver information and participate in communications daily.
Equipment Operation: able to operate most office and personal electronic equipment and some tools including production tools such as hydraulic lifts daily.
Carrying/Lifting: able to carry/lift documents, tools, drawings, electronic equipment up to 15lbs daily.
Pushing / Pulling: able to push and pull small office furniture and some equipment and tools occasionally.
Sitting/Standing/Walking/Squatting: able to sit for long periods of time, stand for discussions, walk through office and production areas (including uneven surfaces), and squat or kneel to retrieve or replace items occasionally.
Travel: able to travel independently and at short notice, monthly.
Walking: Include routine walking such as to a shared printer to retrieve documents, able to walk through office and production areas including uneven surfaces, daily.

Responsibilities

Lead engineering project schedule development and execution oversight across multiple development efforts.
Manage and mentor team of Project Managers, ensuring performance, development, milestone alignment and risk visibility.
Oversee cost, schedule, and performance metrics to ensure delivery within defined program objectives.
Govern product development gates including Kick-off, CoDR, P0, P1, P2 and P3 reviews.
Drive technical risk identification, mitigation planning, and risk burn-down tracking.
Ensure cross-functional alignment between engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, quality and certification teams.
Escalate high-impact program risks and architectural decisions appropriately.
Lead and mentor Systems Engineers and System Architect.
Maintain ownership of the system architecture baseline and configuration control.
Ensure end-to-end requirements traceability from mission needs through subsystem verification.
Enforce MBSE methodologies using SysML/UML for system modeling and interface management.
Oversee Interface Control Documents (ICDs) and cross-domain integration.
Provide architectural guidance for hardware, software, autonomy, and data systems integration.
Ensure compliance with applicable aerospace standards and regulatory frameworks.
Lead Verification & Flight Test Engineer and Lead Autonomy & Data Validation Engineer.
Approve system-level verification and validation strategy (ground and flight).
Ensure test readiness criteria are met prior to test campaigns.
Oversee autonomy validation strategy including dataset governance and performance acceptance criteria.
Ensure flight test data analysis drives configuration-controlled improvements.
Ensure Safety-of-Flight considerations are incorporated into system design and testing.
Drive continuous product maturity improvements aligned with operational performance.

Benefits

Competitive base salary
incentive compensation which may include profit sharing schemes
retirement savings plan
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”)
Paid time off including personal time
holidays
generous paid parental leave program
Comprehensive insurance coverage including medical (traditional and high-deductible health plans)
prescription
dental
vision
life
disability
Employee Assistance Plan (“EAP”)
other supplemental benefit coverages