Program Manager, Archer Intelligence

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing manufacturing and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter drives better insights and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

About the Role

As an Engineering Program Manager for Archer Intelligence you will be the operational backbone of one of Archers most strategically important software initiatives. You will lead programs spanning the full product development lifecycle from early-stage scoping and architecture through software release deployment and ongoing sustainment. Working cross-functionally with software engineers product managers user experience designers and flight operations specialists you will ensure that Archer Intelligence products are delivered on time within scope and to the rigorous safety-critical quality standards demanded by the aviation industry.

What Youll Do:

Program Leadership & Execution

• Own end-to-end technical program management for Archer Intelligence product initiatives from inception through release and sustainment.
• Define program roadmaps milestones resource plans and success criteria in close partnership with engineering and product leadership.
• Integrate aviation safety and regulatory milestones (e.g. certification gates) directly into the overall program roadmap.
• Drive alignment across software engineering AI development QA and operations.
• Track program health through clear metrics proactively identify risks and lead mitigation strategies to ensure successful delivery to customers.

Software Development & Release

• Coordinate software development activities across agile teams managing sprint planning backlog grooming and release cycles.
• Lead software release processes including release readiness reviews integration testing coordination and deployment gate reviews.
• Manage dependencies between teams to ensure alignment across the development lifecycle.
• Champion software engineering best practices including CI/CD pipelines version control strategies and code quality standards.
• Lead the process for training validation and deployment of mission-critical AI/ML models.

Sustainment & Continuous Improvement

• Oversee post-release sustainment activities including bug triage patch management and ongoing feature development.
• Establish feedback loops between product and engineering to continuously improve product quality.
• Drive retrospectives and process improvements to increase team velocity and reduce cycle times.

Stakeholder Communication

• Serve as the primary point of contact for program status communicating clearly with senior leadership and technical teams alike.
• Prepare and present program reviews risk assessments and executive briefings with clarity and confidence.
• Partner with aviation safety and certification teams to ensure software programs meet applicable regulatory requirements.

What Youll Bring:

• 510 years of Technical Program Management experience with a focus on safety-critical regulated software development in aerospace or a comparable industry.
• Demonstrated experience managing the full product development lifecycle from requirements definition through software release and sustainment.
• Deep fluency in modern software development practices including agile methodologies DevOps CI/CD and cloud-based software delivery.
• Strong technical acumen with the ability to engage credibly with software engineers and data scientists on architecture implementation tradeoffs and system design.
• Proven track record of managing complex multi-team programs with competing priorities and tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to distill complex technical information for executive audiences.
• Experience with program management tools such as Jira Confluence Asana or similar platforms.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in aviation aerospace defense or other safety-critical industries.
• Familiarity with DO-178C ARP4754A or other aviation software development standards.
• Experience with AI/ML product development data platforms or autonomy systems.
• Background in embedded systems flight operations software or avionics software integration.
• PMP PgMP or SAFe certification.

Compensation: For this position we drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Companys strategy. Actual compensation offered will be determined by job-related knowledge skills and experience.

At Archer we aim to attract retain and motivate talent that possess the skills and leadership necessary to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Companys business strategy. For this position we are targeting a base pay between $207400 - $259200. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge skills and experience.

Please note that this job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position and does not include an exhaustive list of responsibilities and qualifications.