Technical Program Manager, Systems Development & Implementation

Joby Aviation • Santa Cruz, CA

9h • $149,500 - $192,000

About The Position

Joby is looking for a Technical Program Manager to take program execution from concept into practical, on-the-ground project delivery. This role sits at the intersection of systems and aircraft interfaces: you will scope work, build and maintain roadmaps, and then personally drive the cross-team execution needed to hit aircraft-level milestones — not just author the plan, but chase it to closure as new information and issues surface.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical field with 5+ years of relevant experience
• Working technical literacy sufficient to understand system requirements, software/verification concepts, and engineering trade-offs to translate them for cross-functional and leadership audiences
• Demonstrated experience scoping ambiguous, high-risk technical work into structured plans and actionable execution roadmaps
• Proven track record managing schedules, dependencies, and critical paths across multiple engineering teams, including identifying constraints and recommending recovery options when plans slip
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills with the ability to build trust across teams and keep cross-functional partners aligned under time pressure
• Comfort with ambiguity and a strong bias toward driving execution forward

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience in flight controls, propulsion, avionics, embedded software, or safety-critical/regulated system development
• Experience with verification processes (requirements-based testing, DO-178C/DO-254-style environments, or equivalent)
• Familiarity with project/program management tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Jira, Confluence) and AI-native tools
• Experience running structured retrospectives or continuous-improvement processes on technical programs
• Experience as an engineer transitioning into program management with demonstrated informal program leadership (e.g., driving cross-team schedules or owning roadmaps)

Responsibilities

• Provide dedicated program support to mature ongoing S4 design areas that still carry high technical risk — taking them from early scoping through to readiness for commercial operation
• Scope and structure roadmaps for system areas carrying open technical risk, defining the path from current state to inhabited-operation readiness, including early execution learnings
• Build risk mitigation plans for each area, sequencing the work needed to retire risk before it becomes a schedule or safety issue
• Drive the maturation path end to end: system requirements validation → software/feature development → verification approach and execution, including continuous improvements
• Translate system-level roadmaps into integrated program schedules, keeping them tightly synchronized with overall aircraft program and operational milestones
• Continuously iterate the plan as new technical information, test results, or issues surface
• Pull in the right engineering, verification, and airworthiness stakeholders at the right time to keep cross-team development and verification efforts converging toward aircraft-level outcomes

Benefits

• paid time off
• healthcare benefits
• a 401(k) plan with a company match
• an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
• short-term and long-term disability coverage
• life insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior