Program Manager, Major Deployments

Skydio

4d•$150,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond. About the role Skydio builds autonomous drones. Our largest commercial customers run global logistics and site security operations, and they're moving from one-off drone flights to standing programs that run every day across dozens of sites. Getting there takes more than shipping hardware. That's this role. You'll own commercial deployments end to end: planning, rollout, operational handoff, and the stabilization period after go-live. You'll work directly with the customer's operators and safety leads to build the procedures, training, and maintenance practices a program needs to run without you. And you'll bring what you learn in the field back to Product and Engineering. The work spans piloted operations and dock-based remote operations. It sits at the intersection of hardware, software, operations, and aviation compliance, and there is no playbook yet for much of it. You should be comfortable writing one.

Requirements

5+ years in a customer-facing program or professional services role delivering complex technical programs
Track record running multi-phase implementations that combine hardware, software, and operational process change
Strong project management fundamentals: planning, dependency tracking, risk management, execution tracking
Experience standing up new technology at customer sites, including the workflow design, documentation, and training that makes it stick
Clear writing and speaking, with equal comfort in a customer's operations meeting and an internal engineering review
Ability to diagnose and resolve execution problems independently

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with sUAS, robotics, or aviation-adjacent platforms
FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate - helpful on day one, but you'll have time and support to earn it after you join
Familiarity with dock-based or remote/BVLOS operations
Experience in global logistics or site security environments
Experience working alongside agile product and engineering teams on customer-driven roadmaps

Responsibilities

Own planning and execution for commercial deployments, from pilot through scaled rollout, including dock-based remote operations programs
Manage scope, schedule, dependencies, and risk across hardware, software, and operational workstreams - and flag the technical, regulatory, and logistical problems early, with a plan attached
Partner with customers to build the operational foundation: Standard Operating Procedures, Safety Management System inputs and operational controls, and maintenance and support plans matched to Skydio platforms
Run the handoff to steady-state operations, and confirm the customer's team is genuinely ready before you step back
Translate customer operational requirements into execution plans and clear internal deliverables
Coordinate across Mission Success, Support, Product, Engineering, and Operations
Keep customer expectations and Skydio's actual capabilities in the same place, including saying no when that's the honest answer
Support commercial expansion - early deployments, new use cases, and the groundwork for scaling them