Senior Product Development Manager

Description

Position Summary

Red Cat Holdings is seeking a Senior Product Development Manager to join our Global Product Development team. As a parent company leader, you will play a pivotal role in unifying and scaling the product development engines of our subsidiaries, including Teal Drones, FlightWave, Blue Ops, and Apium, as well as future acquisitions.

Your primary mission is to provide the connective tissue between Red Cat leadership and subsidiary product teams, ensuring that groundbreaking unmanned technology is delivered through world-class, standardized practices.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Subsidiary Support & Enablement: Act as a strategic advisor to Product Managers within Teal Drones, FlightWave, Blue Ops, Apium, and other teams. Aid them in defining and executing their individual product roadmaps while ensuring alignment with the broader Red Cat vision.

Process Standardization: Create, maintain, and evangelize standardized Product Development practices across the entire Red Cat family. Develop and implement a common set of processes, templates, and tools (e.g., PRD templates, gate review structures, and NPI checklists) to drive consistency and quality.

Integrated Master Scheduling: Support Red Cat leadership by building and maintaining integrated master schedules and timelines. Consolidate milestones from all subsidiaries to provide a single, transparent view of the portfolio’s progress, risks, and dependencies.

Resource & Tool Leverage: Identify opportunities to leverage common tools and platforms across subsidiaries to reduce redundancy and accelerate time-to-market for air and maritime systems.

Acquisition Integration: Lead the "Global Product Development" onboarding for newly acquired companies, integrating their existing workflows into the standardized Red Cat framework.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in technical, product, or project management field. Equivalent fields include: Business Administration, Engineering, Manufacturing, Marketing, or Operations.

• 7+ years in product development or program management, with a heavy focus on hardware-software integration specifically within a holding company or multi-subsidiary environment. 11+ years of directly related work experience in lieu of a degree.

• Proven track record of building and scaling standardized product development lifecycles (e.g., Phase-Gate, Agile-Hardware) across disparate teams.

• Expert-level proficiency in creating Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) and managing complex, multi-layered timelines.

• A "servant-leader" approach with the ability to influence and support Product Managers who may report to different business units.

• Familiarity with the unique challenges of unmanned systems (UAVs/USVs), including defense compliance, hardware-software integration, and aerospace manufacturing.

Additional Desired Qualifications

• Experience in M&A integration, specifically merging product development cultures and toolsets.

• Advanced proficiency in portfolio management tools (e.g., Jira Align, Smartsheet, or Microsoft Project).

• Deep understanding of Red Cat's Family of Systems and its role in all-domain defense.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

• Must be able to walk, stand, and navigate large indoor and outdoor facilities for extended periods of time.

• Ability to lift, carry, and move materials and equipment weighing up to 25 lbs on a regular basis.

• Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) may be required in designated areas or when performing specific tasks, in accordance with safety protocols and company policy.

• May be required to climb ladders, stoop, kneel, or crouch during inspections, maintenance walk-throughs, or emergency response situations.

• Regular exposure to facility operations including noise, dust, temperature fluctuations, and industrial equipment.

• Occasional off-hours or weekend work required for emergency facility responses or projects as needed

• Requires frequent use of a computer and other standard office equipment for documentation, communication, and coordination tasks.

Background Check

This position will require successfully completing a post-offer background check. Qualified candidates with a criminal history will be considered and are not automatically disqualified, consistent with federal and state law.

EEO and ITAR/EAR Work Authorization Disclosure

Red Cat Holdings provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software, technology or technical data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Successful candidates for positions subject to ITAR/EAR restrictions must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residence and must not require sponsorship for export-restricted work authorization.

E-Verify

The company participates E-Verify ensure eligibility for employment and compliance with Right to Work rules.

Compensation: Base pay, plus generous annual equity package and potential bonuses.