Technical Project Manager

With pan-European defence R&D programs underway and strategic government partnerships expanding, we’re looking for a world-class Technical Project Manager to own execution at the highest level.

This role is for you if you love orchestrating complex technical delivery, thrive in high-accountability environments, and can represent SE3 confidently in customer/partner project meetings: with precision, clarity, and calm.

SE3 Labs is building Spatial AI by combining 3D computer vision with large language models to give drones the ability to understand and act in the physical world.

This capability unlocks the next generation of autonomous flight, transforming how drones operate across construction, infrastructure inspection, and defence.

Now we are bringing Spatial AI into the sky through high-performance UAVs that can perceive, decide, and fly on their own.

You are the owner for delivery across multiple stakeholders: internal engineering teams, external partners, and public-sector customers. You ensure projects land on time, within scope, within budget, and with the quality and documentation expected in European defence projects.

You don’t “report status.” You drive outcomes.

Own end-to-end delivery (single-threaded owner)

• Drive European defence R&D projects from kickoff to final acceptance: scope, milestones, budget, quality.

• Ensure deliverables land on time by actively managing dependencies, critical path, and ownership across teams/partners.

Run execution with precision (the project “operating system”)

• Establish cadence + artifacts that make delivery predictable: project plan, decision log, change control.

• Turn meetings into outcomes: agendas/pre-reads, clear decisions, action items with owners and dates, rigorous follow-through.

Lead customer & consortium communication (customer-facing authority)

• Represent SE3 in customer/partner/consortium meetings with calm, credible technical communication.

• Surface risks early and manage expectations with options + trade-offs - no surprises, no vague status.

Orchestrate internal execution across engineering

• Align engineering/product/ops/leadership to deliver integrated HW/SW/autonomy milestones.

• Unblock teams by driving decisions fast, escalating early, and removing ambiguity before it becomes delay.

Operational Scaling

• Design repeatable governance frameworks so SE3 can run multiple concurrent European projects with consistency and speed.

• Improve templates, playbooks, and tooling that raise the execution bar across the company.

• 3+ years full-time professional experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives in a fast-paced environment (consulting strongly preferred, especially technical/defence-related).

• Proven track record running execution with high standards (planning, cadence, risk management, accountability).

• Technical background (Industrial Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or other MINT discipline) with the ability to engage credibly with engineers and customers.

• Fluent German (native-level) and strong English (written + spoken).

• Strong ownership mentality: you don’t wait for permission to solve problems that block delivery.

• Experience with defence/public-sector programs, EU grants, consortium structures, or regulated/mission-critical domains.

• Excellent written documentation skills (minutes, deliverable structure, decision records).

• Stakeholders feel: “SE3 is always prepared, always clear, always reliable.”

• Projects have an execution rhythm, clean artifacts, transparent risks, and fast decision cycles.

• Engineering teams are protected from chaos and can focus on building while you ensure commitments are met.

• You prefer strategy without execution ownership.

• You don’t enjoy recurring stakeholder management and customer-facing meetings.

• You see project management primarily as “status updates” rather than driving decisions and delivery.

• Make your passion your job: If you love drones, you will relish this role

• 31 Paid Days Off: 30 vacation days plus your birthday off

• Well-being Access: Free membership to gyms, yoga, and wellness through EGYM Wellpass

• Team Offsites: We go on 2 company retreats per year, our last ones were in Italy and Greece

• Mentorship: Work closely with experienced engineers and get paired with a professional mentor to support your growth

1. Intro Call (30 min): Let’s get to know each other to see if there is a fundamental fit

2. Technical Interview (30 min): We want to understand how you think about technical project delivery

3. Online Trial/Case (1.5 hrs): We’ll go through one of our projects together and workout how we can make sure that it will be a success

4. Team Dinner/Lunch: See if it’s a culture fit on both sides (can be integrated into the Onsite to accommodate long journeys)