Senior project manager

AscendArc is a venture-backed startup transforming the future of satellite communications by fundamentally changing the economics of GEO satellites. We’re developing a new approach to satellite design and production to deliver dramatically better bandwidth economics and expand access to reliable, affordable connectivity around the world.

Come join us in shaping the future! AscendArc is seeking an experienced Senior Project Manager to lead planning, scheduling, and execution of complex satellite programs. This role will work directly with engineering leads, supply chain, manufacturing, and program leadership to translate technical development activities into credible, executable, integrated Master Schedule (for multiple customer programs) and assist in managing engineering/subsystem teams to deliver work on time. This individual must be capable of working directly with engineers to understand the work being performed, identify potentially missing activities and dependencies, challenge assumptions, establish realistic durations and milestones, and maintain an integrated schedule that accurately forecasts program execution.

This position requires strong critical thinking, complex schedule management expertise, and strong cross-functional coordination skills and the ability to identify and communicate program risk to both engineering subsystem teams and management.

RESPONSIBILITIES

INTEGRATED SCHEDULING AND ENGINEERING COORDINATION

• Partner with responsible engineers and leads to translate technical deliverables into bottoms-up schedules with realistic durations, dependencies and measurable completion criteria.
• Develop and maintain integrated schedules across multiple customer programs, aligning engineering, procurement, manufacturing, qualification, integration, test, verification and delivery activities.
• Apply a strong understanding of spacecraft and hardware development lifecycles to identify missing activities, sequencing issues, unrealistic assumptions, and schedule risks.
• Establish and maintain schedule logic, critical and near-critical paths, schedule margin, baselines and milestone forecasts.
• Work with engineering leads to understand progress, validate remaining work, and maintain accurate forecasts based on actual program execution.

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL PROGRAM EXECUTION

• Drive coordination across engineering, supply chain. Manufacturing, and program leadership to resolve dependencies, remove execution blockers, and maintain progress against program commitments.
• Incorporate supplier lead times, procurement milestones, and hardware delivery dates into program schedules.
• Facilitate schedule reviews and drive closure of action items, decisions, and recovery plans that affect program milestones.
• Support customer and internal program reviews including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, MRR, and other major milestones.
• Prepare and present schedule status, critical-path changes, schedule risks, recovery actions, and decisions required from leadership.
• Maintain schedule baselines and support change control to ensure impacts to committed dates are evaluated, communicated and approved.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-7+ years of project/program management, engineering project management, program controls, scheduling, or related experience supporting complex technical programs.
• Experience in aerospace, spacecraft, defense, aviation, or another complex engineering/hardware-development environment.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with engineering teams to translate technical activities and deliverables into realistic, bottoms-up schedules.
• Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining detailed, logic-driven project schedules, including dependency management, and schedule risk management.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project or comparable project management/scheduling software.
• Strong understanding of project Management fundamentals. Such as Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), Critical Path Method (CPM), etc.
• Ability to identify schedule risks, understand their potential program impact, and report risks and potential mitigation strategies to management.
• Strong analytical and cross-functional communication skills.

NICE TO HAVE

• Demonstrated experience building detailed Microsoft Project schedules with fully developed schedule logic and a clearly identifiable critical path.
• Experience developing and maintaining an aerospace Integrated Master Schedule (IMS).
• Experience managing schedules spanning design, procurement, manufacturing, qualification, integration, test, and flight hardware delivery.
• Experience with spacecraft or satellite development programs.
• Experience with supplier and long-lead procurement schedule management.
• Experience working in a startup or rapidly evolving engineering organization.
• Experience supporting customer-facing program reviews and presenting schedule status, risks, and recovery strategies to customers and executive leadership. Familiarity with Teamcenter, Jira, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) or similar engineering/program management systems.
• PMP certification or equivalent project/program management experience.

Location

We are open to individuals based locally in the Portland Metro area, or fully remote within the United States. Occasional travel to our Beaverton, OR office may be required for team meetings, integration, and other in-person work.

Base Salary

The base salary range for this position is $135,000-165,000/year. When determining an individual’s compensation, we consider several factors including skillset, experience, job scope, and current market data, so pay for this role may vary from the amounts listed.

Legal Eligibility to Work

Due to U.S. export control regulations, this position is only open to “U.S. persons.” That means you must be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or have refugee/asylee status. Unfortunately, we cannot consider applicants on temporary work visas (such as H-1B, TN, O-1, etc.) for this role.

Equal Employment Opportunity

AscendArc is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor or legally protected status.