Technical Program Manager, Avionics - cowboyspace

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data.

By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

The Role

We are seeking an experienced and highly technical Hardware Project Manager (HPM) / Technical Program Manager (TPM) to drive the execution of our next-generation Avionics systems. In this role, you will be the absolute anchor for our hardware development lifecycle—cradling flight-critical hardware from initial concept through design, environmental qualification, and ultimate mission integration.

You will bridge the gap between complex engineering realities and tight mission milestones, acting as the central axis connecting Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Quality teams.

Responsibilities

• Translate high-level spacecraft avionics

requirements

into executable hardware development plans, breaking complex systems into trackable engineering work packages and managing execution through Jira or similar tools.

• Develop, maintain, and own the integrated hardware development schedule, including schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, bring-up, qualification, flight certification, and launch readiness.
• Drive milestone execution through agile or phase-gated development methodologies, continuously monitoring dependencies, identifying critical path risks, and proactively mitigating schedule impacts.
• Lead cross-functional execution across Hardware Engineering, Embedded Software, FPGA, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Integration & Test, and Quality to ensure successful hardware/software integration and program delivery.
• Facilitate Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and Design for Test (DFT) reviews while supporting production test development and manufacturing readiness.
• Own hardware program risk management by maintaining the risk register, resolving technical blockers, managing material shortages, and driving Engineering Change Orders (ECOs), Material Review Boards (MRBs), and configuration control.