Composites Program Manager

Eleven Recruiting is searching for a Composites Program Manager specializing in high-temperature composites to join a leading aerospace and defense manufacturer onsite near Everett, Washington. This team works at the forefront of advanced materials, including carbon-carbon composites engineered to survive the extreme thermal and structural demands of hypersonic flight.

Role Overview

The Composites Program Manager owns cost, schedule, and technical performance across a portfolio of high-temperature materials programs. This is a customer-facing leadership role requiring someone who can speak the language of carbon-carbon and hypersonic environments while driving rigorous EVM, integrated master scheduling, and R&D program execution from early-stage development through technical testing and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer interactions — conference calls, technical interchange meetings, design reviews, and written communications including reports and proposals.
• Own program planning: define cost baselines, build integrated master schedules, identify resource requirements, and align technical objectives.
• Develop and maintain Earned Value Management (EVM) metrics; report CPI/SPI to leadership and customers on a consistent cadence.
• Drive integrated master scheduling (IMS) across multidisciplinary teams, ensuring milestones, dependencies, and critical path items are tracked.
• Oversee R&D program phases — from concept validation through material characterization and subsystem development.
• Coordinate technical testing activities including materials qualification, environmental testing, and component-level evaluations; own test readiness reviews and test report documentation.
• Track and report cost, schedule, and technical performance; proactively identify risks and drive corrective actions.
• Ensure proper documentation of system requirements, contract deliverables, and configuration control artifacts.
• Support business development through proposal writing, BOE development, and new business meetings.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 3+ years of engineering experience, with a minimum of 2 years in aerospace and/or systems engineering.
• Hands-on experience with EVM — CPI/SPI reporting, variance analysis, and EAC forecasting — in a government or defense contract environment.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain integrated master schedules across cross-functional teams.
• Experience supporting or managing R&D programs, including technical testing and test readiness activities.
• U.S. citizenship required; must be able to obtain and maintain a DoD SECRET clearance.

Preferred

• M.S. in a technical discipline or MBA.
• Familiarity with carbon-carbon composites, ablatives, or thermal protection systems for hypersonic or re-entry applications.
• 2+ years of experience managing engineering teams and/or multi-disciplinary programs.
• Prior exposure to hypersonic, missile, launch vehicle, or spacecraft R&D or production programs.
• Experience with scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, or similar IMS platforms.
• Experience working within an AS9100-certified manufacturing environment.

Salary: $100,000 - $150,000