Readiness Program Manager Jobs in Salinas, CA (NOW HIRING)

Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. At Joby, we've been working to make that dream a reality since 2009 and we're now in the final stages of certifying our aircraft with the FAA. With plans to launch our aircraft in the US and Dubai, we're now scaling manufacturing and preparing for the launch of our commercial service.

As Senior Flight Test Technical Program Manager, you will own and manage the long-range strategy and cross-program orchestration that keeps our flight test fleet on the path to certification. You'll drive test campaigns and test plans through our gate review process, set the Flight Test Fleet Integrated Master Schedule strategy, and provide executive-level risk and schedule reporting that shapes high-stakes decisions on certification, safety, and test campaign completion.

This role is deeply integrated with the Program Management Office (PMO) and interfaces closely with Systems Technical Program Managers. You'll be the primary bridge between the flight test strategy and the company's broader program plans — ensuring flight test milestones, risks, and resource needs are reflected in PMO-level reporting, and that flight test strategy stays aligned with the company-level roadmaps.

This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll mentor a lean, high-performing team and make strategic trade-offs, while partnering closely with the Flight Test Lead, Chief Test Pilot, Operations Manager, FTE Leads, the Systems Technical Program Managers, the PMO, and design engineering, safety, and certification stakeholders.

• Own the long-range program strategy for the flight test fleet through the development & certification phase of the program
• Set the Integrated Master Schedule strategy across all flight test aircraft and assets, in close partnership with the PMO's master scheduling function, ensuring campaign timelines and dependencies are aligned fleet-wide and reflected in company-level program plans
• Lead periodic (weekly/monthly) synthesis of fleet-level risk and prioritization at the OEM level, focused on systemic and cross-program issues and recommend mitigation strategies
• Deliver concise executive-level technical risk and schedule briefings to leadership and the PMO.
• Own strategic planning for all flight test operations
• Define and optimize the long-term critical path for flight test contribution to company milestones
• Set dispatch priorities and deployment strategy — including complex test deployments and the external test site footprint (hangar facilities, airspace coordination, remote-site support)
• Represent Flight Test in the definition of company-wide fleet allocation and utilization strategy
• Drive test campaigns from requirements definition through execution
• Serve as the primary flight test liaison to the PMO, ensuring flight test schedule, risk, and resource plans are integrated into overall vehicle program plans and reporting
• Serve as a key interface between Flight Test Engineering and design engineering, safety, and airworthiness/certification teams, ensuring test objectives are traceable to program and FAA certification requirements
• Represent the flight test technical strategy in program-level leadership reviews with the PMO
• Foster a healthy, execution-focused culture where junior team members are supported through both high-impact and routine, safety-critical certification work

• Bachelor’s or higher in Aerospace Engineering or a related technical field
• 8+ years of experience in development or certification flight test, ideally with a balance of large-OEM and startup or fast-paced R&D aerospace development environments
• Deep understanding of flight test operations, experimental aircraft programs, and certification pathways (Part 23/27/25)
• Demonstrated experience establishing long-range flight test schedules, and flight test fleet resource strategy
• Direct experience owning a flight test program's Integrated Master Schedule strategy
• Experience partnering with a Program Management Office and cross-functional Technical Program Managers
• Strong leadership, people management and communication skills, with the ability to lead both senior engineers and junior talent
• Proven ability to distill complex technical and operational problems into clear executive-level decisions and strategic guidance
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity in a fast-paced, iterative development environment

• Experience with international deployments or global fleet operations
• Familiarity with test readiness reviews, hardware/software-in-the-loop environments, and program or fleet management tools and professional practices
• Experience coordinating directly with the FAA and/or designated engineering representatives (DERs) on certification and TIA activities
• Engineering degree, senior program management experience, and a pilot or maintenance background are strongly preferred