Program Operations Manager

Mach Industries•Huntington Beach, CA

About The Position

Mach Industries is seeking a Program Operations Manager – Flight Test & Demonstrations to own coordination, planning, and execution overhead currently distributed across Flight Operations leadership, Product, and Engineering teams. This role sits at the intersection of flight operations and the rest of the company, providing dedicated ownership of the planning, coordination, documentation, and execution mechanics required to run tests, demos, and exercises reliably and professionally. These responsibilities are currently distributed across multiple teams; this role exists to centralize and elevate that work, ensuring it is handled with focus, consistency, and accountability. This is a hands-on individual contributor role that requires judgment, follow-through, and comfort operating across teams. It is not a technical design role or a people management position. You will serve as the primary customer- and range-facing coordinator for flight operations activities, working closely with Flight Operations, Product, and Engineering to plan and execute tests, demos, and exercises. Success in this role is measured by operational clarity, predictable execution, and a consistently high standard of flight test and demonstration operations.

Requirements

Experience in program management, operations, or project coordination within defense, aerospace, or other highly regulated technical environments.
Demonstrated experience interfacing with external stakeholders such as customers, test ranges, government organizations, or operational partners.
Strong familiarity with operational documentation, approval workflows, and compliance requirements for fielded or test activities.
Proven ability to manage multiple parallel efforts, track complex dependencies, and drive follow-through across cross-functional teams.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear operational documentation, schedules, and status updates.
High degree of ownership, judgment, and comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
Willingness to travel as required to support tests, demonstrations, and exercises.

Nice To Haves

Prior military experience or extensive experience supporting military customers, exercises, or test programs.
Experience working with flight operations, test organizations, or fielded technical systems.
Familiarity with range operations, range approval processes, or operating on DoD or private test sites.
Experience coordinating international operations, export-controlled activities, or complex shipping and logistics efforts.
Background in finance, cost tracking, or operational budgeting.
Experience improving operational processes and coordination workflows.

Responsibilities

Coordinate flight test, demonstration, and exercise activities at the customer, range, and partner interface, ensuring external requirements, constraints, and timelines are understood and integrated into internal planning.
Build and maintain integrated visibility into test, demo, and exercise schedules, highlighting dependencies, conflicts, and readiness issues for Flight Operations and Engineering leadership.
Serve as the central coordination point for external-facing operational planning, ensuring alignment between customer and range expectations and internal execution owners.
Act as the primary flight operations point of contact for ranges, customers, and partners during tests, demos, and exercises.
Coordinate range onboarding, approvals, access, and operational requirements for new and existing test sites.
Support customer-facing preparation and execution by coordinating required documentation, briefings, and operational materials in partnership with Flight Operations and Engineering.
Represent Mach Industries at customer and range planning conferences (e.g., IPCs, MPCs, FPCs), coordinating flight operations requirements, timelines, and documentation in advance of tests, demonstrations, and exercises.
Own and track documentation required for flight operations, tests, demos, and exercises, including range packages, safety documentation, and regulatory approvals.
Coordinate export, shipping, and compliance artifacts such as hazard approvals, DD1750s, IATT documentation, and international shipment requirements.
Ensure required paperwork is complete, accurate, and submitted on schedule to support planned operations.
Track cross-functional action items related to flight operations, tests, demos, and exercises across Engineering, Flight Operations, and supporting teams.
Identify blocked, delayed, or at-risk tasks and work with appropriate owners to develop and drive resolution paths.
Improve operational coordination processes, templates, and documentation to reduce friction and repeated failure modes.
Track high-level costs associated with tests, demos, and exercises in coordination with Flight Operations and Product.
Compare actuals against estimates or quotes for paid demonstrations and exercises.
Provide visibility into operational cost drivers and resource constraints to inform planning and decision-making.