Shield AI
Principal Technical Program Manager, Ranger
$220K–$350K
San Diego, California +2 · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Oct 2, 2026
- Location
- San Diego, California
Seattle, Washington
Dallas, Texas - Experience
- 10+ years of progressive experience in aerospace engineering, technical program management, or complex hardware and software development.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
About the job
Leads execution of aircraft development for the U.S. Air Force’s Ranger program, from planning and systems integration through prototype demonstration, flight test, and production readiness.
What you'll do
- Own the integrated program baseline, including schedules, budgets, risks, engineering deliverables, supplier commitments, testing, and customer milestones.
- Coordinate cross-functional engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, government, and industry stakeholders; manage customer commitments and executive reporting.
- Plan for affordability and production readiness, including unit-cost targets, procurement, manufacturing readiness, configuration control, and quality.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in aerospace engineering, technical program management, or complex hardware and software development.
- Experience leading a major aircraft, spacecraft, unmanned system, or similarly integrated aerospace program through significant development and test milestones.
- Demonstrated ownership of integrated schedules, budgets, program risks, and cross-functional delivery; experience working directly with government customers or major aerospace partners.
Nice to have
- Experience with Group 5 unmanned aircraft, clean-sheet aircraft development, or rapid aerospace prototyping.
- Familiarity with Air Force acquisition programs and competitive prototype-to-production efforts.
Pay
USD 220,000–350,000 per year (base salary)
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative