Reports to: Production Manager

Ensure that R&D projects are executed with discipline, predictable timelines, and full alignment with engineering, manufacturing, quality, and regulatory requirements. The role translates strategic technical objectives into structured project plans and drives them to completion, while building product management capabilities to support the company's evolution toward product-centric operations.

Project Planning & Control

- Plan and maintain charters, schedules, budgets, and resource plans using industry-standard tools (e.g. Jira, MS Project).
- Define clear scope, milestones, deliverables, and stage-gate criteria aligned with Agile/Scrum.
- Track progress with Gantt/Burndown charts, risk and issue registers, and keep change-control up to date.
- Turn project data into KPIs and concise executive dashboards.

Cross-Functional Coordination

- Coordinate mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, test, and quality teams to keep work aligned and on schedule.
- Run Agile ceremonies and structured technical reviews, ensuring early input from downstream functions to avoid rework.
- Use collaboration platforms to keep decisions, actions, and status transparent.

Technical Governance & Documentation

- Ensure adherence to engineering standards, test protocols, and configuration management.
- Keep documentation complete, version-controlled, and auditable in Confluence or similar systems.
- Maintain requirement–design–test–acceptance traceability and support product backlog and requirements documentation

Data Analytics, Performance Management & Cost Discipline

- Define, monitor, and report KPIs and success metrics, by building and enhancing dashboards (PowerBI or similar).
- Analyse project data to spot trends, risks, and improvement opportunities, and feed insights into decision-making, track resource allocation and utilization metrics
- Lead risk identification, mitigation, and tracking, maintaining a live risk register.
- Monitor and report spend, forecast variances, and highlight cost and manufacturability impacts or key decisions.

Risk & Issue Management

- Lead risk identification, quantification, mitigation planning, and monitoring.
- Escalate blockers early and ensure corrective actions are implemented and recorded.
- Maintain active risk registers with quantitative impact assessments

Regulatory & Compliance Oversight

- Ensure R&D activities consider UAV-specific requirements (e.g., airworthiness, safety, cybersecurity).
- Coordinate compliance documentation required for certification or customer acceptance.
- Support regulatory filing and audit processes

Product Management Readiness & Handover to Production

- Participate in market research and customer feedback collection, translating into product roadmap development and feature prioritization
- Develop understanding of product lifecycle management and go-to-market strategies
- Oversee pilot builds and resolve design-for-manufacturing issues, ensuring full BOM accuracy, work instructions, and quality criteria.
- Facilitate smooth transition from development to production teams

Education & Experience

- Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering (Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, or related)
- 5+ years' experience managing technical projects in a manufacturing or aerospace environment
- Prior experience working in a start-up environment is advantageous
- Prior exposure to UAVs, robotics, aerospace electronics, brushless DC motors, or complex mechatronic systems is an asset

Technical Knowledge

- Solid understanding of engineering design cycles, prototyping, testing, and industrialization
- Basic familiarity with CAD, PLM systems, and standard engineering documentation structures
- Knowledge of regulatory or certification frameworks relevant to UAVs is a plus
- Basic understanding of hardware design principles, control systems, and testing methodologies

Project Management Tools & Software

- Advanced proficiency in Jira for project tracking, backlog management, and sprint planning
- Expert knowledge of Confluence for documentation and knowledge management
- Experience with PowerBI or Tableau for dashboard creation and data visualization
- Knowledge of Figma or similar tools for workflow visualization and collaborative design
- Strong command of MS Project, Excel, and other project planning tools
- Familiarity with version control systems (Git) and CI/CD concepts

Methodologies & Frameworks

- Proven experience with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, Lean). Agile/Scrum certifications (CSM, PSM, PMI-ACP) are highly valued
- Strong command of traditional project management methodologies (Waterfall, Stage-Gate)
- Ability to apply hybrid approaches combining Agile and traditional methods
- Knowledge of critical path analysis, earned value management, and risk management frameworks
- Understanding of product management frameworks (Jobs-to-be-Done, OKRs, product discovery)

Data & Analytics Competencies

- Strong ability to work with complex datasets and translate technical data into business insights
- Experience defining, measuring, and reporting on KPIs and success metrics
- Proven track record creating executive dashboards and data visualizations
- Analytical mindset with capability to identify trends and drive data-informed decisions
- Proficiency in data analysis tools and statistical methods

Core Competencies

- Ability to enforce discipline, deadlines, and structured reporting
- Direct and clear communicator; avoids ambiguity
- Firm approach to schedule control and scope containment
- Analytical mindset with high attention to detail
- Strong stakeholder management and ability to steer engineers toward practical outcomes
- Sound judgment grounded in proven methods balanced with innovation
- Adaptability to transition between project and product management mindsets
- Customer-centric thinking with ability to balance technical constraints and market needs
- Fluent in English.
- Must be a national from a NATO member country or one of the following NATO Indo-Pacific partners: Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand or Ukraine.