Technical Program Manager, Hardware

Proven TPM to drive the timely delivery of new releases related to the Geode and Satellite Modem teams of our core product, ExoSphere

About Fleet Space Technologies
Fleet is a space-enabled exploration technology company on a mission to dramatically accelerate the discovery of critical minerals needed to decarbonize our global economy. Electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies are vital elements of the world’s efforts to combat climate change, and these will demand many times more critical minerals than today, with an incremental value of over USD $13 trillion. At the same time, finding new mineral deposits is becoming more challenging as we increasingly exhaust the supply of shallow deposits and are forced to explore deeper underground. Traditional exploration methods are poorly suited to address this challenge, so a new approach is needed.
Our approach is to combine space technology, proprietary seismic sensors, cutting edge Ambient Noise Tomography, and machine learning to provide the world’s first scalable 3D exploration dataset with near-real-time insights to guide active exploration programs far more efficiently to new deposits. This is Fleet’s flagship product, ExoSphere - a space-enabled solution for mineral exploration in real-time, in 3D, and under cover with very low environmental impact. Since launching ExoSphere in March 2022, Fleet has signed contracts with over 30 clients including Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Core Lithium and completed over 120 Ambient Noise Tomography surveys, more than any other company in the world.
As part of Fleet’s founding vision to connect the Earth, Moon, and Mars, we also apply our technology to innovative solutions for defense and space exploration, including an upcoming mission to the Moon. Headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, Fleet has rapidly grown to over 100 employees including a growing team in the USA, Canada, and beyond. We have raised over AUD $85M in venture funding, backed by premier investors including Blackbird, Grok, and In-Q-Tel – and in 2023 we were recognized by AFR on their Fast 100 list, as the #1 fastest growing company in Australia.
The Team
Product development at Fleet Space Technologies is cutting edge, fast-paced, and exciting, bringing together diverse disciplines and backgrounds to create unique new products that could change the world (and others beyond Earth). The Product team is right at the heart of this endeavour, responsible for guiding Fleet’s products through every step of their lifecycle: from understanding customer needs, to defining product roadmaps and releases, rallying cross-functional teams to build and deliver new product releases, and collecting feedback to inform future iterations. We measure ourselves on how much value we add for customers through the products we shape, and how rapidly we deliver and iterate those products as we pursue Fleet’s ambitious vision to connect the Earth, Moon, and Mars.
As the strategic force behind our flagship mineral exploration product ExoSphere, the Product team works to ensure we build the right thing – the right product releases, for the right customers, at the right time. We are creative, combining space technology and in-house sensors with computational geophysics, machine learning, and beautiful intuitive user experiences to unlock geological insight from the subsurface in a way that nobody else has tried before. And we are bold, applying this technology not just on the Earth, but on the surface of other planetary bodies in our solar system. We value diversity of perspective, journey, industry experience, skillset, working style, communication preference, and identity; the fact that we come from over 37 nationalities across Fleet only reinforces our commitment to Inclusion & Diversity.
As a business, we are ambitious, innovative, and collaborative and we put our customers first in everything that we do. We love celebrating our successes, and we have had a lot to celebrate to date including Series C Funding and selection of our technology to be among the first Australian hardware to be deployed on the Moon. We are a diverse group of professionals who have come together to build a new kind of technology company: delivering high-value industrial applications of space technology, and driven by a passion for exploration, on a path to connecting the Earth, Moon and Mars. Come help shape the future through this fantastic opportunity!
Core Values
The Core Values at Fleet Space Technologies guide us to our North Star of ambitious, collaborative success - AD ASTRA (“To the Stars!”)

• Add Value: Obsessively add value for our customers
• Drive Excellence: Benchmark against the best
• Agile Action: Take Action. Independent, fast, frugal action
• Seek Truth: Be curious. Explore
• Take Responsibility: Make decisions and own them
• Radical Ideas: We are unique. We do things differently
• Always Deliver: We always find a way to get it done on time

The Role
Fleet Space Technologies is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Technical Program Manager (TPM) to drive the timely delivery of new releases related to the Geode and Satellite Modem teams of our core product, ExoSphere — managing schedule, execution risks, budgets, DACI decisions, planning, and daily coordination across development teams, and communicating upward to company leadership. This TPM will report to our Lead TPM, and work closely with Product Managers, Technical Leads, and many other cross-functional stakeholders in Fleet’s product development programs.
This challenging and inspiring role is ideal for candidates who have a minimum of 5 years of experience as a Technical Program Manager in a fast-paced agile product development setting, including specific expertise in developing and scaling products that combine both hardware and software. Candidates should be passionate about partnering with multi-disciplinary technical teams to develop and deliver valuable new products at a market-leading pace, within an agile, high-growth, cutting edge technology organization.
This TPM role will have many collaborative partners within Fleet, including:

• Partnering with Product Management to trade schedule and budget with product scope during the product definition phase of each project, and during delivery, to ultimately ensure we deliver the right product at the right time
• Partnering with Technical Leads (engineering) to develop estimates used in schedules and budgets, and personnel assignments
• A wide range of other cross-functional stakeholders, including teams focused on Geophysics, Data Science, Regulatory, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Operations, and Finance

Location
The preferred location of this role is Australia (remote or based in Adelaide, South Australia) or the West Coast of North America (USA or Canada); based on prior experience and ability to team remotely.
***Applicants must have full working rights from one of the following jurisdictions: Australia, Canada, United States of America, Chile, or the European Union.
Main Responsibilities
This is an individual contributor role, with core responsibilities including:

• Drive the timely delivery of new releases of our core product, ExoSphere, specifically around our Geode and Satellite Modem systems
• Manage schedule, sprints, executionrisks, budgets, DACIdecisions, planning, and dailycoordination across teams to deliver on aggressive but achievable timelines
• Communicateupwards on a weekly basis to company leadership regarding owned teams development schedule and risks in the context of company goals, as a core input to company planning
• Communicate outwards across development teams, Product Management, Finance, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Geophysics, Operations, and other cross-functional stakeholders to advance development programs
• Prioritize effectively for the goals of the business, with the mindset of an owner of the business, and apply this prioritization across all development activities
• Drive transparency across the company on progress, blockers, and priorities every week
• Surface and resolve blockers to development progress, escalating and influencing effectively
• Contribute to the establishment of company-wide processes and tools to enhance development velocity at Fleet

For further detail on individual responsibilities with the cloud software development teams, key responsibilities will include:

• Schedule: define, track, adapt, and communicate aggressive but achievable schedules for product development projects; provide insight on critical path, key risks and opportunities to accelerate schedule; ultimately deliver fast-paced new product releases to market
• Resources: define, track, adapt, and communicate lean budgets and personnel assignments (collaborating with engineering managers) to deliver product development projects efficiently
• Efficient execution: organise and run regular project management activities for product development projects, including standups, sprint planning, and schedule/budget reviews; efficiently identify and escalate/resolve blockers to project delivery

Key Skills and Required Experience

• 5+ years of experience as a Technical Program Manager (or equivalent) driving product development projects for complex multi-disciplinary hardware/software products in a startup or other similar fast paced environment, on aggressive timelines with constrained resources
• Proven ability to navigate challenges typical in a fast-paced agile hardware product development setting, driving products towards launch at a market-leading pace
• Specific expertise in developing and launching combination hardware/software products (e.g. consumer electronics, space hardware, scientific instruments)
• Deep experience with both waterfall and agile development methods
• Strong communication skills with well-honed ability to communicate with stakeholders on all levels, from development teams to C-suite
• Ability to prioritise and manage multiple projects in an efficient manner, on the basis of a deep understanding of business goals and priorities
• Strong capability in preparing budgets and forecasts for product development projects
• Organised and detail-oriented mindset
• Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering or Science discipline, with preference for Mechanical Eng, Electrical Eng, Geology, or Geophysics (but not required)
• Formal Project Management training and certifications preferred (but not required)

Fleet is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Fleet is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, colour, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Learn More & Stay Connected:
Explore more about Fleet Space Technologies on our company website, and follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date with all company news & developments in our pursuits to accelerate discovery of critical minerals and connect the Earth, Moon & Mars!
https://fleetspace.com/