SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Salary: USD 230,000 - 300,000 / annual
CHAOS Industries is seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead the planning, execution, and delivery of small Unmanned Surface Vehicle (sUSV) programs. This role owns full program P&L, including cost performance, schedule adherence, risk/opportunity management, and technical baseline control across the complete program lifecycle from development through sustainment.
You will serve as the primary interface between government customers (DoD, government agencies), internal engineering teams, operations, and supply chain partners. This position requires coordinating cross-functional Integrated Product Teams spanning systems engineering, airframe, aerodynamics, guidance, propulsion, warhead/payload integration, avionics, software, manufacturing, quality, test, and logistics.
Key responsibilities include: owning Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) and managing critical path; managing program risk and opportunity registers with mitigation planning; supporting proposal development including Basis of Estimate generation and pricing strategy; serving as primary point of contact for customer program offices and leading program reviews (PMR, technical interchange meetings, milestone reviews); providing oversight across the full system lifecycle including requirements decomposition, System Requirements Review (SRR), Preliminary/Critical Design Review (PDR/CDR), integration, flight/static test, Test Readiness Review (TRR), and Production Readiness Review (PRR); partnering with Chief Engineer on technical trade studies and design maturity gates; overseeing airworthiness, flight safety, and range safety processes; coordinating developmental and operational test campaigns (DT&E/OT&E); ensuring configuration management rigor and technical data package integrity; managing contract performance against FAR/DFARS requirements, CDRLs, and contract line items; ensuring ITAR/EAR export control compliance and DoD security requirements (NISPOM); managing supply chain and subcontractor performance for critical components; and reporting program status to executive leadership and customers.
CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised $1 billion in funding from leading investors including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, and London. The company employs 500+ people across 5 global offices and develops multi-product defense portfolios powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™).
Minimum Requirements:
- Minimum 15 years of program/project management experience within the defense industry, with direct experience managing a complex development program
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field
- Strong working knowledge of Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS), Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) development, and risk management processes
- Experience managing programs under FAR/DFARS contract types (CPFF, CPIF, FFP) and supporting government customer program offices
- Excellent leadership, negotiation, and executive-level communication skills; demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional IPTs and lead through influence
- Willingness to travel 20–30% to customer sites, test ranges, and manufacturing/integration facilities
Preferred Requirements:
- Master's degree or MBA
- PMP certification
- Experience supporting Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or international program execution
- Experience with digital engineering environments and model-based acquisition approaches
- Prior experience as a Chief Engineer, Deputy Program Manager, or Integration Lead
- Ability to obtain/maintain Secret/Top Secret/SCI clearance
