About Us
We are an international defense startup, rapidly expanding to support the Ukrainian national needs. As a startup, we operate in a highly flexible environment where agility, adaptability, and a hands-on approach are critical for success.
Position Overview
We are looking for an experienced and driven Project Manager to lead complex, cross-functional initiatives across our UAV development and manufacturing operations. This role exists to bring structure, clarity, and momentum to our growing portfolio of projects — from hardware development and production ramp-up to supplier coordination and customer delivery.
You will join our Operations team, working closely with engineering, production, procurement, and quality functions. In a fast-moving startup environment, your ability to translate strategy into actionable plans and keep multiple workstreams on track will be critical to our mission and growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Build and lead cross-functional project teams from scratch: define roles and responsibilities, onboard team members, and establish effective working practices and communication norms.
- Plan projects from zero: develop full project plans including scope definition, work breakdown structure (WBS), resource planning, budget estimation, risk assessment, and milestone scheduling.
- Execute and monitor projects across all lifecycle phases — from concept and development through pre-production, pilot builds, and ramp-up — ensuring quality gates and timelines are met at every stage.
- Drive projects to Start of Production (SOP): coordinate readiness across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain to achieve SOP on time and within budget.
- Act as the primary point of contact for customers: manage expectations, communicate project status and risks, handle escalations, and maintain strong long-term relationships.
- Support projects post-SOP: oversee sustaining engineering activities, monitor production performance, coordinate issue resolution, and manage engineering change requests (ECRs).
- Develop and maintain project documentation: project plans, status reports, risk registers, RACI matrices, and lessons learned — ensuring full transparency for all stakeholders.
- Identify, assess, and proactively mitigate project risks; escalate blockers with proposed solutions rather than problems alone.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Management, Project Management, or a related technical field.
- 3+ years of hands-on project management experience in manufacturing, hardware development, or a related technical industry.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple simultaneous projects with competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong understanding of project lifecycle: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.
- Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and external suppliers/contractors.
- Proficiency with project management tools (Jira, Asana, MS Project, or similar).
- Excellent communication skills — able to translate technical details for non-technical stakeholders and vice versa.
- Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to make decisions under uncertainty.
Nice to Have
- PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent project management certification.
- Experience in UAV, robotics, defense hardware, or aerospace industries.
- Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies combined with hardware development processes.
- Experience with NPI (New Product Introduction) processes and production ramp-up.
- Knowledge of ERP/MRP systems for resource and production planning.
- Comfort working in ambiguous, rapidly evolving startup environments.
Together We Will
- Work in a dynamic and mission-driven environment where your work has real national impact.
- Have the opportunity to build project management culture from the ground up in an innovative UAV company.
- Work alongside a senior-level, multidisciplinary team of engineers and operators.
- Full-time position & official employment.
- Competitive salary (level to be discussed individually based on interview results).
- Reservation from mobilization.