Program Director

About the job

Anduril Australia delivers advanced maritime capability to the Royal Australian Navy and our allied partners. Our maritime programs are among the most significant and closely watched capability efforts in Australian Defence, and they are moving into operational service at a pace the sector has not seen before.

As Director, Program Management, you will lead a critical program for Anduril Australia and our Maritime division through disciplined execution, introduction into service and continuous capability development. You will own cost, schedule, risk and performance outcomes, and you will be the senior relationship lead for Navy, Defence and Government stakeholders. Working hand-in-hand with the Chief Engineer and with the engineering, operations and support teams, you will make sure capability reaches the fleet, is supported in service and keeps improving. This is an execution-focused leadership role, and stakeholder confidence matters as much as the schedule. You will both lead and execute.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and execute a large, complex, high-profile maritime program, owning delivery against contracted cost, schedule, scope and performance commitments.
• Own the program’s baselines, Integrated Master Schedule and resource plan (headcount, budget and facilities). Forecast accurately, identify variances early and drive recovery.
• Lead introduction into service. Plan and coordinate delivery, acceptance, operational test and evaluation, and transition to the operating and support organisations, working with Navy to reach initial and full operational capability milestones.
• Work with the engineering, logistics and support teams to ensure the Fundamental Inputs to Capability are in place for service entry, including training, maintenance and support, supply, facilities and documentation.
• Drive continuous capability development. Manage a regular cadence of hardware and software capability increments, balance new capability against operational availability, and keep configuration management and assurance in step.
• Capture operator and customer feedback and, with product and engineering leads, turn it into a prioritised capability roadmap that the customer understands and supports.
• Build and manage relationships across a complex stakeholder landscape, including Navy capability and fleet stakeholders, Defence acquisition and sustainment organisations, Government, industry partners and suppliers. Act as their trusted senior point of contact for the program.
• Develop and maintain stakeholder engagement and communication plans. Lead program governance forums, steering committees and executive briefings, and manage expectations proactively, particularly when the news is difficult.
• Manage delivery against Commonwealth contracts (including ASDEFCON-based contracts), covering milestones, contract deliverables, payments, contract change proposals, acceptance and reporting obligations.
• Ensure crisp communication and reporting at all levels: to Anduril Australia and Maritime senior leadership, to Defence customers, to your program teams and to functional teams across Anduril globally.
• Lead, mentor and grow a team of Program and Technical Program Managers. Set clear expectations and instil a high-ownership, delivery-focused culture.
• Partner with the Chief Engineer and engineering leaders to drive execution and team velocity. Understand the technical implementation well enough to make informed trade-offs and to propose alternatives when necessary.
• Identify, resolve and escalate key cross-team dependencies, including those spanning Anduril’s Australian and US teams, industry partners and suppliers.
• Ensure the program meets its Defence security (DISP), export control (Australian and ITAR/EAR) and Australian Industry Capability obligations.
• Identify and resolve systemic execution issues. Establish lean, effective governance, processes and tools suited to a fast-moving environment, and exercise meticulous, swift follow-through on all asks and deliverables.

Core Requirements

• Minimum of 10+ years’ experience in program and project management, including at least 5 years in senior roles such as Program Director, Senior Program Manager or Project Director leading complex defence programs through execution and into service.
• Background in Navy or military programs (as serving or former ADF personnel, within Defence, or in defence industry), with experience across maritime platforms, systems or capability.
• Significant experience delivering complex programs with the Australian Government, including strong working knowledge of the Defence capability life cycle, introduction into service and sustainment processes, and Commonwealth contracting (ASDEFCON).
• Demonstrated experience introducing capability into service, including acceptance, operational test and evaluation, the Fundamental Inputs to Capability and transition to sustainment.
• Exceptional stakeholder management, with a proven ability to build trust with and influence senior Navy, Defence and Government stakeholders, balance competing interests and keep their confidence through challenging program phases.
• Proven track record of managing cost, schedule and risk on large, technically complex programs, including resource management and integrated schedule planning.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing teams of program and project managers, and leading cross-functional teams through influence.
• Solid technical aptitude and an understanding of systems engineering, hardware and software integration, configuration management, and the associated challenges and risks.
• Practical familiarity with both Agile and Waterfall (phase-gated) methodologies, including managing incremental capability updates within a contracted environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, strong interpersonal skills and executive presence. Able to brief senior Defence and company leadership with confidence.
• An aptitude and appetite to thrive in an organisation with nascent structure, a high-ownership culture and a “whatever it takes” environment. High ownership, low ego.
• Based in Sydney and willing to travel domestically and internationally (including to the US), approximately 25% of the time.
• Australian citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain an NV1 security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Current NV2 security clearance.
• Experience with autonomous systems, robotics or other advanced and emerging maritime capability.
• Experience with in-service support and sustainment, including integrated logistics support; reliability, availability and maintainability; and performance-based support arrangements.
• Experience running programs with continuous or spiral capability development, including software release management under Defence seaworthiness or technical regulatory frameworks.
• Experience with Defence gate reviews, independent assurance reviews and capability acceptance processes.
• Experience on international or collaborative programs, including US–Australia collaboration, AUKUS-related activity and export controls (ITAR/EAR).
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, with the ability to use data and metrics to back up assumptions and recommendations and to drive decisions.
• Experience with tools such as Jira, Confluence, MS Project or Primavera P6.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science or a related discipline. Postgraduate qualifications in project management or business, or a professional certification (e.g. AIPM, PMP, PRINCE2, MSP), are desirable.