Technical Program Manager, Avionics at Cowboy Space Corp. in San Carlos, CA

Job description

About Cowboy Space Corp: Mission Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity’s most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth. Background Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport. Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases. Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others. This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you. 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),