Mission Project Lead

Locations: Denver, CO / Los Angeles, CA / Washington, D.C. Type: Full-time, hybrid About The Company We are partnering with a fast-growing space software company developing mission-management and command-and-control technology for U.S. Government space programs. The team supports a mixture of defense, intelligence, and civil space missions, including NASA-related programs, and is looking to develop the next generation of technical program leadership as its customer base and program portfolio continue to grow. The Role We are looking for a Mission Project Lead to work closely with engineering teams and Technical Program Managers to drive the day-to-day execution of government space programs. This is not a traditional project-management position. The role is expected to remain approximately 50% technical , making it particularly well suited to a software engineer, systems engineer, systems architect, product owner, or similar technical professional who has started taking on broader ownership and coordination responsibilities. The long-term opportunity is to develop into a Technical Program Manager , taking on increasing ownership of customer programs as the company grows. What You’ll Be Doing Work directly with software and systems engineering teams to drive execution against mission priorities and milestones Maintain visibility across technical tasks, owners, dependencies, deadlines, and completion criteria Identify technical, resource, and coordination blockers and drive them through to resolution Facilitate planning sessions, stand-up, milestone reviews, and other engineering team cadences Continue contributing technically while taking on increasing responsibility for program execution Coordinate across engineering, product, program, and leadership teams Provide clear updates on progress, risks, blockers, and upcoming milestones Support customer and government-facing discussions as your responsibilities grow Help translate program objectives into clear, actionable engineering work Develop toward ownership of larger technical programs and eventual TPM responsibilities What We’re Looking For 3+ years of experience in a technical environment such as: Software engineering Systems engineering Systems architecture Mission operations Space or ground systems Technical product ownership Scrum / Agile delivery Experience taking ownership beyond your individual technical tasks Strong organizational skills and the ability to keep multiple technical activities moving simultaneously Comfortable identifying blockers, asking questions, and following actions through to completion Experience working closely with engineering teams in an iterative or Agile environment Strong written and verbal communication skills Comfortable collaborating across technical and non-technical teams Previous mentoring, technical leadership, project ownership, Scrum Master, or Product Owner experience is beneficial Space, government, defense, or NASA program experience is advantageous but not essential Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance; an active clearance is not required Ideal Profile You May Currently Be a Software Engineer, Systems Engineer, Systems Architect, Product Owner, Scrum Master, Or Technical Lead Who Enjoys Staying Close To The Engineering But Increasingly Finds Yourself: coordinating other engineers; resolving blockers; driving technical work to completion; mentoring colleagues; communicating with customers or stakeholders; and taking ownership for delivery rather than simply completing your own tasks. If you want to remain technically involved while developing toward Technical Program Management , this role offers a clear progression path. #J-18808-Ljbffr