Principal Product Marketing Manager, Counter-UAS & Layered Defense

AeroVironment•Albuquerque, NM

11d•Onsite

About The Position

AeroVironment is hiring a senior individual contributor to own product marketing for its Layered Defense/Counter-UAS portfolio. The role has end-to-end accountability for positioning, messaging, product launches, and sales and capture enablement, with direct reporting to the VP of Marketing & Communications. It brings product marketing practices from software and technology into a defense portfolio used by U.S. and allied forces, grounding messaging in operational evidence and building repeatable launch and enablement processes tied to capture outcomes. The role is embedded within the business unit and participates in its operating cadence, including program reviews, capture gate reviews, and planning. It partners with business-unit leadership, program managers, capture leads, engineering, and product managers. The position has autonomy over messaging and claims within approved positioning, enablement priorities, launch sequencing, and competitive response content. Portfolio positioning changes, budget impacts, and matters affecting corporate narrative or public-release risk are escalated to the VP. The role also partners with the Head of Product Marketing on shared standards and cross-portfolio consistency. The position is based within commuting distance of AV’s San Diego or Albuquerque campus and requires working in-office four to five days per week. Access to ITAR- and/or EAR-controlled information requires documentation verifying U.S. person status; some positions may require current U.S. citizenship due to contract requirements.

Requirements

12–15 years of total civilian work experience.
At least 8 years of product marketing experience, including meaningful experience in both enterprise software or hardware-software product marketing and defense, aerospace, or dual-use technology.
Demonstrated ownership of a product line or portfolio at $100 million or greater revenue scale.
Fluency in DoD acquisition dynamics, including program-of-record lifecycles, POM cycles, primes versus non-traditional entrants, and FMS/DCS mechanics.
Ability to demonstrate positioning and execution work through a positioning document, launch plan, campaign plan, and enablement asset that produced a measurable result.
Ability to work within export-control, classification, and public-release constraints while maintaining message strength.
Ability to operate independently with executive-level accountability and minimal day-to-day direction.
Proven ability to earn the trust of technical and program stakeholders and work as a business partner within a business unit’s operating rhythm.
Ability to work in-office four to five days per week and commute to AV’s San Diego or Albuquerque campus.
Ability to provide documentation verifying U.S. person status under ITAR and EAR requirements; some positions may require current U.S. citizenship.
Ability to work in an office environment; sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience marketing passive RF detection, multi-sensor systems, directed energy, or kinetic interceptors.
Prior military service or program-office exposure.
Active or recent Secret clearance, or ability to obtain one.
Experience competing in the modern defense technology landscape against established primes and emerging entrants.

Responsibilities

Build trusted relationships with business-unit leadership, program managers, capture leads, and engineering, and partner with product managers on roadmap milestones, launch readiness, claims substantiation, and customer evidence.
Participate in the business unit’s program reviews, capture gate reviews, and planning rhythms.
Own the positioning and messaging architecture for the Layered Defense/Counter-UAS portfolio, grounding differentiated claims in operational evidence.
Consolidate voice-of-customer and operator insights and feed them into Marketing and Communications, Product, and Business Development strategy.
Maintain buyer and user persona profiles and translate mission outcomes into customer-facing narratives using AV’s messaging architecture.
Ensure product positioning aligns with AV’s corporate narrative architecture and deliver export-aware localized positioning for priority allied regions within ITAR and export-control boundaries.
Run AV’s tiered product launch framework, including full launch plans and bills of materials, coordinating with creative, technical communications, and events teams.
Act as the single accountable owner for product launch content and claims accuracy, and support ongoing campaigns using AV’s integrated campaign model.
Build and maintain sales and capture enablement assets, including battlecards, an operational proof library, and demo and trade-show messaging.
Own the competitive picture for the counter-UAS category, including rivals’ capabilities, production capacity, pricing posture, and acquisition traction.
Support marketing’s contribution to AV’s international growth targets.
Establish a standing role in the business unit’s program and capture review cadence and earn recognition from business-unit leadership and product managers as their marketing counterpart.
Deliver an approved and adopted positioning architecture, refreshed sales and capture collateral, two full-discipline product launches under the tiered framework in FY27, quarterly refreshed battlecards for top competitors, and localized positioning for at least two allied regions.