Senior Engineering Program Manager II - New Ventures

Join Axon and be a Force for Good.

At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We’re explorers, pursuing society’s most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other.

Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you’ll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter.

Your Impact

Axon's Robotics & New Ventures division is building the next generation of autonomous public safety technology -- TASER-enabled drones, ground control stations, ground robots, and the command-and-control ecosystem that connects them. These are complex, multi-disciplinary hardware-software-firmware systems designed, manufactured, certified, and launched for law enforcement agencies across three continents.

You will own the integrated execution of the hardware portfolio for our flagship robotics platform -- spanning drone hardware, ground control station hardware, radio integration, international contract manufacturing, regulatory certification, and product launch. The work crosses multiple engineering disciplines, multiple build phases, multiple countries, and multiple vendor relationships simultaneously. Your job is to hold all of it together, see around corners, and drive outcomes that no single team could deliver alone.

You will report directly to the Director of PMO and operate as the single-threaded hardware execution leader -- owning the integrated master schedule, the risk register, vendor and manufacturing relationships across 3 countries, phase gate governance, and executive communication. You are stepping into a live, complex program mid-flight. There is no ramp-up runway. You must be someone who has walked into ambiguity before, built situational awareness fast, and started driving outcomes within weeks.

What You'll Do

Location: Onsite in Scottsdale, AZ (travel 20-30% -- Taiwan, Belgium, Poland, vendor sites)

Reports to: Director, PMO - Robotics & New Ventures

Direct Reports: None initially; potential to build hardware program operations team

INTEGRATED SCHEDULE & EXECUTION

Own the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) across drone, GCS, radio, and supporting subsystems -- from SP2 design through EVT, PVT, and mass production -- ensuring all workstreams are synchronized, dependency-mapped, and resource-loaded

Manage the cross-functional integration points where design, manufacturing, firmware, test, and certification converge -- these are where execution breaks down, and your job is to see it before it happens

Drive formal change control: evaluate scope, schedule, and cost impacts of proposed changes before they are accepted; maintain a change log with full traceability

Ensure configuration management discipline across hardware revisions, BOM versions, ECOs, and firmware builds so that every unit in every location is on a known, controlled configuration

GOVERNANCE & PHASE GATES

Own phase gate execution (Concept, SP, EVT, DVT/PVT, Mass Production) with formally defined entry/exit criteria, evidence packages, and readiness reviews

Prepare and present gate readiness assessments to leadership -- evidence-based arguments for why the program is or is not ready to proceed, not status slides

Establish and enforce governance cadence: weekly execution reviews, bi-weekly risk reviews, monthly executive briefings, and ad-hoc decision forums when issues demand rapid resolution

Maintain the decision log -- every material decision, who made it, what alternatives were considered, what evidence supported it, and what constraints applied

RISK MANAGEMENT

Own the risk register end-to-end: identification, qualitative and quantitative assessment (likelihood, severity, detectability, schedule/cost impact), response planning, and active monitoring

Conduct structured risk analysis using FMEA methodology for hardware and manufacturing processes

Drive risk response strategies (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept) with assigned owners, funded mitigations, and measurable triggers

Quantify schedule confidence on key milestones -- probabilistic assessment, not single-point estimates

Track risk velocity and trending: which risks are heating up, which are cooling down, and what the aggregate posture looks like week over week

STAKEHOLDER & EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION

Serve as the primary hardware execution voice to VP-level and C-level leadership -- milestone readiness, risk posture, budget health, and critical path

Translate complex technical situations into decision frameworks: options, tradeoffs, recommendation, and rationale

Represent the hardware program in cross-program reviews, QBRs, MBRs, and customer trial readiness assessments

Manage expectations proactively -- bad news delivered early with a mitigation plan is always better than surprises at the gate

VENDOR & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Manage contract manufacturer relationships across multiple international sites (Taiwan, Belgium, Poland) -- accountability, delivery performance, quality, and cost

Own PCB/PCBA supply chain execution: fab house qualification, dual-sourcing strategy, yield tracking, root cause analysis on quality escapes, and supplier corrective actions

Drive factory readiness for each build phase: test fixtures, assembly stations, calibration equipment, operator training, SOPs, production line layout, and throughput validation

Lead hardware build execution at contract manufacturers -- on-site during critical builds

Manage vendor budgets, purchase order tracking, and statement-of-work execution within approved spend envelopes

Drive procurement planning aligned to the IMS: long-lead item identification, vendor lead time management, and material availability gates

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

Lead design reviews (CDR, TRR, MRR) and drive engineering closure on open items with assigned owners and due dates

Partner with EE, ME, FW, and test engineering to ensure design intent translates into manufacturable, testable, certifiable hardware

Drive DFM/DFA/DFT reviews at the design stage -- before parts are ordered, not after

Manage the BOM lifecycle from prototype through production: ECO processes, alternate part qualification, and design-to-cost optimization

CERTIFICATION & COMPLIANCE

Coordinate hardware certification activities (FCC, CE, radio type approval) with test labs and regulatory agencies, ensuring certification milestones are integrated into the IMS

Ensure export control compliance (ITAR/EAR) for international hardware shipments and controlled technical data access at contract manufacturer sites

Drive product safety and reliability requirements through design, manufacturing, and field operations

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Ensure execution is aligned to the division's strategic objectives: international GA by EOY 2026, customer trials mid-year, and next-gen product announcements at key industry events

Track and report program-level KPIs: schedule performance, cost performance, risk burn-down, milestone completion rate, and build yield

Drive lessons learned capture at each phase gate as a living input to the next build cycle and to next-generation products

Identify and champion process improvements across program execution, tools, and cross-functional interfaces

What You Bring

Required:

10+ years of engineering program management in hardware product development (aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, medical devices, or complex consumer electronics)

Track record of owning and delivering complex multi-disciplinary hardware products from prototype through mass production at scale (10K+ units), managing the interdependencies across hardware, firmware, test, manufacturing, certification, and supply chain simultaneously

Direct experience managing contract manufacturers in Asia (Taiwan, China, Korea, or Japan) including on-site build oversight and supplier quality management

Integrated Master Schedule ownership: building, maintaining, and defending schedules with 500+ tasks, cross-functional dependency chains, and critical path analysis

Formal risk management practice: risk registers, quantitative scoring, FMEA, response planning, risk trending, and executive risk communication

Phase gate process ownership: defining entry/exit criteria, assembling evidence packages, and presenting readiness arguments to senior leadership

Change control and configuration management discipline across hardware revisions and multi-site builds

Deep understanding of PCB/PCBA manufacturing, supply chain management, yield optimization, and supplier corrective action processes

Strong technical foundation: ability to read schematics, understand mechanical tolerances, and engage credibly with EE, ME, and FW engineers on design and manufacturing tradeoffs

Excellent written and verbal communication: executive-ready briefings, vendor negotiations, and the ability to translate technical complexity into leadership decision frameworks

Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related technical field

Must be able to qualify for an export control license (ITAR)

Preferred:

PgMP (Program Management Professional) or PMP certification

Experience with autonomous systems, UAS/drones, or robotics hardware

Familiarity with Earned Value Management (EVM) principles applied to hardware programs

Experience with schedule risk analysis (Monte Carlo simulation or equivalent probabilistic methods)

Experience managing programs with $5M+ annual budgets and 5+ active vendors simultaneously

MS Project, Jira, Confluence, or equivalent integrated scheduling and tracking toolsets

Lean/Six Sigma methodology, PFMEA, or structured quality framework experience

Experience with ITAR/EAR-controlled hardware programs and international shipment compliance

Multi-lingual or experience working across culturally diverse international teams

What Success Looks Like

Within 90 days:

Own the integrated hardware schedule, present critical path posture and top 5 risks to leadership with confidence