Senior Program Manager, Defense

Sphere Defense is a technology startup developing autonomous countermeasures for allied countries. As Senior Program Manager, you will coordinate the company's participation in multinational defense programs, managing stakeholders such as NATO, national MODs, and academic institutions. You will build proposals, timelines, and budgets, ensure activities are delivered on time and with quality, and participate in test campaigns alongside engineering teams. The role requires travel to onsite meetings and test campaigns across Europe and abroad.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate Sphere Defense participation to multi-national defence programs.
• Manage stakeholders such as industry partners, NATO, national MODs, academic institutions, etc.
• Build realistic, long term proposals, including budgets
• Build timelines and schedules and update them based on actual results
• Ensure that internal and external activities are carried out on-time, with the right quality level
• Be hands-on and participate to test campaigns, working close to the engineering teams when needed
• Travel to onsite meetings and test campaigns, in Europe and abroad, depending on program needs
• Draft, review and take ownership of program documentation
• Be a team player and a mentor, being available to support and grow the team when needed

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Engineering, Economics, or equivalent
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multinational defense program with the involvement of prime defense contractors, governmental and academic institutions.
• Good understanding of missile systems
• Solid understanding of RFx and tender processes of governmental procurement organizations
• Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality, customer-facing proposals and documentation
• Obsessive attention to detail when needed, without losing track of the bigger picture
• Experience with planning, budgeting, resource allocation and scheduling, and with project management tools such as Microsoft Project, Wrike and Jira
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills in written and spoken English; French, Dutch, Italian or German is a plus
• You are a self-starter, able to work in a high-ambiguity environment and willing to take up new challenges

Nice to have

• Experience with drones (quadcopters, VTOL) or precision-guided munitions

Benefits

• Attractive compensation
• Year-end bonus eligibility
• Stock Options Plan
• Mobility Budget
• 32 days of holidays
• Meal vouchers
• Private Health insurance