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Pivotal · 5 months ago

Senior Program Manager - Aerospace Systems

Palo Alto, CA

Full-time

Hybrid

Senior Level

6+ years exp

Pivotal is a leader in the eVTOL aircraft market, designing and manufacturing innovative vehicles like the BlackFly. The Senior Program Manager will guide cross-functional execution across various engineering domains, driving critical programs toward flight readiness and certification milestones.

AerospaceAir TransportationAutonomous VehiclesManufacturing

Work & Life Balance

H1B Sponsor Likely

Responsibilities

Own the schedule, scope, and delivery of major cross-functional programs, including those with hardware, firmware, and regulatory deliverables

Work closely with Engineering, Flight Test, and Operations teams to maintain technical awareness and translate requirements into actionable execution plans

Run daily, weekly, and milestone-based processes to maintain team accountability and technical clarity

Identify risks, track mitigations, and maintain issue closure across departments

Support FAA certification or experimental flight activities with structured documentation and coordination

Bring engineering rigor and organization to development programs — especially where subsystems must integrate, build, and test in tight timelines

Help define and refine Pivotal’s product development process: scheduling, requirements management, change control, test planning, and validation

Serve as the connective tissue between technical execution and company-level goals — ensuring that teams stay aligned and on track

Qualification

Aerospace systemsFAA certificationProgram managementMechanical systemsPowertrain systemsJiraConfluenceCommunication skillsOrganizational skillsLeadership skills

Required

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Physics, or a technical discipline

6–12 years of experience in aerospace, automotive, robotics, or complex electromechanical systems

Proven success leading multi-disciplinary programs with schedule ownership and milestone accountability

Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and ability to guide engineers and managers on scoping and technical decisions

Experience with mechanical or powertrain systems (bonus for IC engines or hybrid systems)

Familiarity with FAA Part 23, Part 27, or experimental flight development (bonus for certification experience)

Excellent communication, organizational, and leadership skills

Hands-on mentality and willingness to deep-dive when needed

Preferred

Former Engineering Manager or Lead Engineer ready to step into a high-impact PM role

Experience managing subcontractors, supply chain, or hardware vendor deliverables

Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, 3DX/PLM tools, and Gantt-based scheduling

Comfortable in a startup environment with ambiguity, fast changes, and high accountability

Benefits

Medical

Dental

Vision

401k plans

Company

Pivotal

Pivotal develops and builds antonymous, electric propulsion VTOL aircraft for people & cargo in consumer, defense & public safety markets

Founded in 2016

Palo Alto, California, USA

51-200 employees

https://pivotal.aero

H1B Sponsorship

Pivotal has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)

Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship

Represents job field similar to this job

Trends of Total Sponsorships

2025 (8)

2024 (6)