Program Development Manager Jobs in Killeen, TX (NOW HIRING)

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

This position is based at our manufacturing and test facility in Briggs, TX.

SUMMARY

The Development Scheduler is responsible for building and managing integrated schedules that connect engineering development, qualification testing, and early production builds into a single executable plan.

This role operates at the intersection of program management and manufacturing execution, ensuring development hardware progresses through design release, fabrication, assembly, integration, and qualification in alignment with program milestones. The Development Scheduler translates program objectives into integrated, resource-loaded schedules, drives alignment between design maturity, build readiness, and test timelines, and ensures development builds are executablenot just planned.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and maintain Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) for engineering development, prototype and development builds, and qualification test campaigns
• Ensure alignment between development, qualification, and production readiness gates
• Build schedules that reflect actual execution constraints, resource availability, and operational priorities
• Partner closely with Program Managers, Engineering Leads, Test & Validation, and Manufacturing to translate program-level objectives into executable schedules
• Ensure development builds are ready for execution, including released work instructions, validated tooling, available materials, and aligned routings
• Own schedule structure, dependency logic, and integrity within Microsoft Project
• Apply scheduling best practices including critical path management, dependency logic, resource loading, and schedule leveling
• Identify and actively manage critical path activities across development and qualification phases
• Perform what-if scenario analysis to evaluate impacts from design changes, supply disruptions, and test delays
• Track milestone adherence, schedule variance, and critical path health against baseline plans
• Generate schedule reports for internal leadership, program reviews, and customer visibility as required
• Maintain short-interval execution schedules tied to shop floor activity
• Capture lessons learned from development execution and support transition into stable production environments
• Drive cross-functional alignment to improve schedule credibility and execution success across programs

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years of experience in development scheduling, program scheduling, or engineering/manufacturing program environments
• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Project
• Strong experience with complex dependency logic, resource loading and leveling, critical path analysis, and scenario modeling
• Strong understanding of Integrated Master Scheduling (IMS) principles
• Experience supporting development and qualification lifecycle

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, pet Insurance, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status