Mission Manager

Hermeus is a venture-backed defense aviation company reclaiming the lost art of rapid iterative prototyping to build the fastest aircraft in the world today. By prioritizing relentless hardware iteration, we deliver high-speed systems at the pace of the modern battlefield. We work with the Department of War to provide the high-speed capabilities our nation and its allies need to maintain a durable, asymmetric advantage.

We are seeking a highly motivated ‘owner’ to join our team as Mission Manager. The ideal candidate is an accountable, curious, and competitive problem owner and solver. Someone who seeks to deliver the ‘right’ solution and overcome bureaucratic inertia at every turn. Mission Managers do not simply implement the contract; they deliver capabilities to the warfighter while serving as the glue that connects Hermeus’ technical teams with the customer. You should have a passion for, and endurance to, work on delivering high-Mach and Hypersonic aircraft to the customer.

Key Responsibilities

Government Customer Engagement & Deliverable Execution

• Serve as a primary point of contact for the government customer, supporting regular status briefings, milestone reviews, and deliverable coordination.
• Ensure all program deliverables—including documentation, engineering artifacts, schedules, and contract-required reports—are developed, reviewed, approved, and submitted on time.
• Align on government expectations, technical direction, and contractual requirements, and translate them into actionable program activities.
• Ensure high-quality execution and compliance with all delivery commitments.

Program Planning and Execution

• Assist with development of the program schedule, milestones, and work breakdown structures (WBS) in collaboration with engineering leads and contractors.
• Track progress against cost, schedule, and performance baselines; provide regular updates to senior leadership and government stakeholders.

Supplier & Contractor Management

• Support the selection, onboarding, and oversight of suppliers and contractors, ensuring delivery of key work packages on time and to spec.
• Assist with subcontracts, statements of work (SOWs), deliverables, and performance milestones.

Team and Stakeholder Coordination

• Facilitate meetings, action tracking, and resolution of issues across engineering, logistics, safety, security, and operations functions.
• Ensure alignment between technical activities (led by the Chief Engineer) and broader program objectives, contract deliverables, and customer expectations.

Risk and Change Management

• Maintain and update the project risk register; proactively identify, assess, and mitigate schedule, funding, or integration risks.
• Manage scope changes and assess impacts on schedule, cost, resources, and contract execution and deliverables.

Budget and Resource Oversight

• Assist in budget planning and monitoring; track obligations, expenditures, and funding profiles in coordination with finance teams.
• Assist with coordinating resource needs and staffing plans to ensure adequate coverage across phases of the project and timely contract execution.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering , Aerospace Engineering , or a related field (Master’s or PhD preferred).
• 5–10 years of experience managing complex technical programs or infrastructure projects, preferably in aerospace, defense, or R&D environments.
• Demonstrated experience in direct execution of deliverables under contract to a government customer.
• Strong understanding of project management best practices (e.g., execution, risk analysis, scheduling, budget planning).
• Familiarity with propulsion test infrastructure, ground test facilities, or aerospace systems integration.
• Experience managing external suppliers and contractors in high-complexity technical environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; adept at briefing senior leadership and managing multi-stakeholder dynamics.
• Proficiency in project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Jira, Confluence).
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain and maintain a US Security Clearance (TS preferred).