Program Manager - Scheduler

• Build from the ground up: Directly shape our Albuquerque lab and R&D test environment.
  
• Make an impact: Your systems will enable critical research in optics, lasers, and energy systems for space.
  
• Grow with us: Work alongside leading engineers, operators, and investors in a mission-driven environment.
  
• Competitive pay, full benefits, and equity in a company shaping the future of energy and space.
  

Mantis Space is seeking a Program Manager / Scheduler to support the planning, execution, and control of advanced spaceflight programs from contract award through hardware development, integration, launch, and operations.

Reporting to the Director of Space Systems, this role will serve as a key program-controls resource responsible for developing and maintaining integrated schedules, coordinating cross-functional execution, tracking milestones and dependencies, and providing program leadership with clear visibility into progress, critical-path activities, risks, and resource requirements.

The ideal candidate has experience supporting complex aerospace, defense, space hardware, or advanced manufacturing programs and understands how engineering, procurement, manufacturing, integration, test, launch, and operations activities fit together within a program schedule.

This is a highly collaborative role for someone who can translate complex technical work into realistic execution plans, identify schedule risks before they become program issues, and drive accountability across a multidisciplinary team.

As Mantis Space scales its program portfolio, this individual will also help establish consistent scheduling, reporting, and program-controls processes that can be applied across multiple missions.

Key Responsibilities

Program Scheduling & Controls

• Develop, maintain, and actively manage Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) for spaceflight and hardware development programs.
  

• Build detailed schedules covering systems engineering, design, procurement, manufacturing, assembly, integration, test, launch, commissioning, and operations.
  

• Establish program milestones, task dependencies, schedule logic, deliverables, and completion criteria.
  

• Identify and monitor critical-path activities and near-critical-path activities.
  

• Maintain schedule baselines and document approved changes.
  

• Track schedule performance against baseline and forecast completion dates.
  

• Develop schedule recovery plans when activities fall behind plan.
  

• Identify schedule conflicts, resource constraints, and cross-functional dependencies.
  

• Maintain accurate schedule data and ensure updates are incorporated in a timely manner.
  

Cross-Functional Program Execution

• Work closely with engineering leads, program managers, functional managers, procurement, manufacturing, finance, quality, and operations teams to develop realistic schedules.
  

• Partner with technical leads to understand technical dependencies, work scope, task durations, and resource requirements.
  

• Coordinate activities across mechanical, optical, electrical, systems, software, thermal, manufacturing, integration, and test organizations.
  

• Facilitate schedule working sessions and drive resolution of schedule conflicts.
  

• Track action items, decisions, commitments, and dependencies through completion.
  

• Establish clear ownership and accountability for program activities.
  

Program Reporting

• Provide regular schedule updates, forecasts, and program status reports to program leadership.
  

• Develop schedule-based metrics and dashboards that clearly communicate program health.
  

• Identify emerging schedule risks and communicate their potential impact to cost, technical performance, and customer commitments.
  

• Support development of program-level status reports, customer briefings, executive reviews, and milestone reporting.
  

• Support cost, schedule, and performance reporting, including earned value management or equivalent program-control methodologies.
  

• Assist with resource loading, capacity planning, and schedule-driven budget forecasting.
  

Program Reviews & Milestones

• Support preparation and execution of major program reviews and milestone events, including:
  

• Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR)
  

• Critical Design Reviews (CDR)
  

• Manufacturing Readiness Reviews
  

• Integration Readiness Reviews
  

• Test Readiness Reviews
  

• Launch Readiness Reviews
  

• Program milestone reviews
  

• Ensure schedule commitments and action items resulting from reviews are captured and tracked.
  

• Maintain visibility into upcoming program gates and required decision points.
  

Customer & Supplier Coordination

• Support customer reporting and program meetings by providing accurate schedule status and forecasts.
  

• Coordinate schedule information with external suppliers, subcontractors, manufacturing partners, and spacecraft vendors.
  

• Track supplier milestones, long-lead items, deliverables, and dependencies.
  

• Identify supplier-related schedule risks and communicate potential impacts to program leadership.
  

• Support development and maintenance of supplier and subcontractor schedules.
  

Program Management Infrastructure

• Help establish standardized scheduling and program-controls processes across Mantis Space.
  

• Develop templates, scheduling standards, reporting formats, and program-control procedures.
  

• Support implementation and continuous improvement of scheduling and program-management tools.
  

• Help establish consistent definitions for milestones, schedule health, critical path, risks, dependencies, and completion.
  

• Contribute to lessons-learned activities and improve future program planning based on execution experience.
  

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Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Project Management, Operations, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.
  

• 5+ years of experience in program management, project controls, scheduling, planning, or related functions within aerospace, defense, space, engineering, manufacturing, or another complex technical environment.
  

• Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining complex integrated schedules.
  

• Proficiency with scheduling and project-management tools such as Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, Smartsheet, or equivalent.
  

• Understanding of critical-path analysis, dependencies, schedule baselines, milestones, and schedule forecasting.
  

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
  

• Strong organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail.
  

• Ability to coordinate effectively across technical and non-technical teams.
  

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  

• Ability to manage multiple programs, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  

• Ability to work onsite in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  

Benefits