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Kela Technologies is seeking an experienced Product Program Lead to own the counter-UAS product line end-to-end. You will drive mission definition, performance envelope, system trade-offs management, development planning, and the path from prototype through trials into production.
In this role, you will be the person who sits with operators to write specifications engineers can build from, conducts design reviews, unblocks workstreams, and understands bill-of-materials costs. You set the product strategy and run the program with full ownership and accountability.
Key responsibilities include:
**Product Definition**: Own requirements including threat set, mission envelope, performance targets, reaction time, and physical/environmental constraints. Define testable requirements and explicit priorities.
**System Trade-offs Management**: Drive hard decisions between intercept performance, platform mass and endurance, seeker choices, operator workload, and unit cost. Keep the system within target price.
**Program Ownership**: Own the plan across mechanical, hardware, embedded, guidance, and integration workstreams. Set milestone gates, demonstration dates, and manage the critical path.
**Team & Execution**: Direct day-to-day priorities, ensure clarity on deliverables, escalate blockers rapidly, and prevent program drift.
**Field Trials**: Define test objectives with Systems Engineering, participate in field testing, and translate results into product decisions quickly.
You must have 5+ years as a Product Manager, Systems Engineer, or Program Lead on defense or complex hardware systems, with at least one product taken from concept to fielded or demonstrated status. You need deep technical fluency in complex hardware or weapons systems, the ability to write testable requirements, and experience managing BOMs and target pricing. IDF operational background is required. Bachelor's degree in engineering or equivalent hands-on technical depth is essential. Strong advantages include UAV/FPV platform experience, electro-optics/seekers/RF/radar knowledge, counter-UAS development background, and DFM/NPI expertise.
