Product Development Manager

DS2

$110K — $130K *
Aerospace & Defense
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree with 15+ years in U.S. defense or DoD engineering programs.
  • Strong understanding of military structure and mission planning workflows.
  • Ability to lead cross-disciplinary teams in complex environments.
  • Experience managing large-scale Agile software development efforts.
  • Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
  • TS/SCI Eligible Clearance required.
  • U.S. Citizenship and capability for government background investigation.

Responsibilities

  • Develop product strategies aligned with mission priorities and timelines.
  • Build and maintain the Agile Release Train capability roadmap with stakeholders.
  • Lead collaboration for new mission planning capabilities and legacy function maintenance.
  • Serve as SAFe Product Manager, managing backlogs and guiding implementation across teams.
  • Gather operational feedback and translate it into actionable features for mission planning.
  • Coordinate with program offices for evaluation and acceptance of delivered functionalities.
  • Drive transparency and continuous improvement across the Agile Release Train.

Benefits

  • Flexible work hours
  • Healthcare, dental, and vision coverage including STD, LTD, and AD&D
  • Generous paid time off and standard holidays
  • 401K with company-matching contributions up to 4%
  • Tuition, student loan, and certification reimbursement opportunities
  • Catered tech talk lunches organized by teams
  • Community sponsorships and volunteer events
  • Monthly office social events including game nights and cookouts.
Full Job Description
DS2 is seeking a Product Development Manager to lead innovative software development teams in building the next generation of aerospace mission planning capabilities. In this role, you will collaborate closely with clients and stakeholders to shape solutions that support complex operational needs, including Precision Guided Munitions Mission Planning and advanced workflows. You'll guide projects that streamline mission critical processes, refine software requirements, and drive strategic product outcomes across a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Agile Release Train (ART). If you're energized by developing product vision, building strong teams, and contributing to systems that directly support the warfighter, we invite you to apply and help shape the future of mission planning at DS2.

Please Note: You must be a U.S. Citizen and able to complete a U.S. government background investigation.

Responsibilities - What you'll do:
  • Develop and execute product strategies aligned with mission priorities, platform timelines, and warfighter needs.
  • Build and maintain the ART capability roadmap in coordination with Business Owners, Solution Management, and Enterprise stakeholders.
  • Lead cross team collaboration to integrate new mission planning capabilities, maintain legacy functionality, and ensure predictable delivery cycles.
  • Serve as the SAFe Product Manager, managing backlogs, defining features, and guiding implementation across multiple development teams.
  • Engage with U.S., Partner, and FMS users to gather operational feedback and translate mission planning requirements into actionable features.
  • Coordinate with Program Offices and test organizations to support evaluation, test planning, compliance, and formal acceptance of delivered functionality.
  • Drive workflow transparency and continuous improvement by implementing tools, processes, and governance standards across the ART.

Required Qualifications - We need someone who:
  • Has a Bachelor's Degree from four-year college or university, and 15+ years supporting U.S. defense or DoW engineering programs.
  • Has a strong understanding of military organizational structure, weapon employment concepts, and mission-planning workflows.
  • Has a demonstrated ability to lead cross-disciplinary teams within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
  • Is able to manage large-scale Agile software development efforts and deliver capabilities aligned with DoW timelines.
  • Has excellent communication, prioritization, stakeholder-management skills, and ability to lead cross-functional engineering efforts.
  • Has a TS/SCI Eligible Clearance.
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen and be able to complete a U.S. government background investigation.

Preferred Qualifications - Bonus points if you:
  • Have experience in advanced aviation weapons employment, tactics development, operational mission planning, or test and evaluation within U.S. military aviation communities is strongly preferred.
  • Have experience with aerospace software development or integration, particularly within mission planning systems, Precision Guided Munitions workflows, or related DoD digital modernization efforts.
  • Are a Certified SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager.

Benefits - What we do for you:
  • Flexible work hours
  • Healthcare, dental, and vision coverage, including STD, LTD, and AD&D
  • Generous paid time off, floating holidays, and standard holidays
  • 401K savings plan with company-matching contributions up to 4%
  • Educational and growth opportunities
    • Tuition reimbursement
    • Student loan repayment
    • Certification reimbursement + bonuses and Learning Platform Subscriptions
    • Catered tech talk lunches on topics picked by you and your teammates
  • Sponsored community and volunteer events, giving back to our community
  • Monthly office social events; game night, cook outs and office parties

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