Staff Program Manager, Structural Validation

Archer Aviation•San Jose, CA

30d•$150,000 - $200,000

About The Position

As a Staff Program Manager for Structural Validation team, you will be responsible for managing and coordinating efforts between Archer's Structural Validation team, external structural testing vendors, Structural analyses/FEM team, and product design teams. This is both an internal and external facing cross-functional role that requires close coordination with Archer Engineering, Program Management, Supply Chain, and Supplier or customer teams.

Requirements

Understanding of design, development, test and production of mechanical systems.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent industry experience.
Demonstrated ability to understand complex development processes and to distill large amounts of information into executive level reviews.
A minimum of 5 years related experience involving product and program leadership and management roles.
Project management experience.
Analytical capabilities to identify schedule critical paths and optimize engineering / supply chain timelines.
Familiarization with Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, or other scheduling software.
Demonstrated skills in supplier operational and relationship management.
Ability to operate in an ambiguous environment with little direction.
Ability to react to resets and constant changes in a demanding, time-sensitive environment.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of, and experience within aerospace systems.
Thorough understanding of engineering product development including design phases, manufacturing processes and global supply chain management.
Familiarization with Atlassian Jira and Confluence for task management and collaborative documentation.
Part 23 Certification Experience and/or experience working with ARP4754A.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain strong relationships across Archer teams, inclusive of suppliers and customers involved in your areas of deployment. Take action as necessary to optimize the customer experience and continually enhance and improve their relationship with Archer.
Act as the primary interface between Structural Validation, Engineering, Program Management, and Supply Chain on project deliverables, issues, and resolution for test plans. Escalate to commercial or technical partners when required.
Primary accountability and responsibilities are the management of cost, schedule, and technical performance to program requirements and milestones for your areas of responsibility. You will openly collaborate with the Engineering Directors and Work Package Managers for the scope defined for your program.
Develop strong relationships across Archer, inclusive of suppliers, and lead a multidisciplinary team to execute complex development programs within schedule and budget.
Build program task-based schedules, lead program kickoff and / or gate meetings, track/report milestone progress against the program management plan.
Identify and manage program Risks, Issues and Opportunities to closure.
Identify issues, propose solutions and drive recovery plans to closure.
Execute within project schedule and budget, tracking expenses, and identifying cost-savings opportunities.
Relentlessly drive on-time execution both internally and at suppliers, finding creative ways to pull in delivery timing.
Communicate regularly with stakeholders, providing updates on project milestones, risks, and issues.
Prepare and present project reports, status updates, and performance metrics to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
Utilize configuration control and change management to maintain technical discipline of the program.
Identify areas of improvement or gaps in current processes and develop strategies to promote efficiency and productivity.
Compare actual performance against planned performance to identify variances, and help manage tasks on the Critical Path.
Collaborate with program team members and departments to establish plans and schedules that allocate resources to best achieve program requirements and service internal and external client or customer needs.
Provide guidance and best practices across the organization for planning and scheduling processes, procedures, tools and systems.