Vice President, Product Development

McLean, VA, United States

Company Overview: Aireon deployed the world’s first global space-based air traffic surveillance system, providing real-time aircraft monitoring capabilities around the world, including over the poles, over the oceans and in remote areas.

Aireon data enables safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly aviation travel, resulting in significant CO2 emission reductions. More than 20 Air Navigation Service Providers representing more than 40 countries – including NAV CANADA, NATS (UK), Air Traffic and Navigation Services (South Africa), Airports Authority of India (AAI), and ASECNA (Africa) - rely on Aireon data to navigate aircraft in their airspaces.

We are committed to offering an employment experience and benefits package that enables you and your family to grow with us and to share in our success.

Position Summary, Job Requirements & Responsibilities: Aireon is currently seeking a Vice President of Product Development to lead and manage the ideation, development, launch and sustainment of its portfolio of air traffic services consisting of cloud-based air traffic management, monitoring / control products and administering service operations for the global aviation customer base. The VP of Product Development will be responsible for product development and shaping the commercial data services product roadmap for the company, delineating technology goals and the building blocks necessary for achieving them.

Foundational to this role is establishment and maintenance of the partnership between the VP of Product Strategy and Product Development. Who must have the ability to lead, mentor, and manage a diverse team of architects, data analysts, engineers, computer scientists, technicians, and managers, nurturing a culture of collaboration and peak performanceThis position will be in McLean, Va and will lead, develop, and manage the overall strategy and execution of an approximately $25M aerospace, defense, and civil aviation business.

What You'll Do The Aireon VP of Product Development, is the executive responsible for the growth and management of Aireon’s commercial data services portfolio over the product lifecycle. The candidate will develop and execute Aireon’s business strategy in partnership with the relevant global business partners and the rest of Aireon’s leadership team. In addition, the VP of Product Development will manage a current workforce of over 30 Aireon employees in executing this work.

The ideal candidate must have significant organizational leadership experience, very strong communication skills, a demonstrated track record of successful new product development, and the ability to strategically manage operational risks as a member of the senior leadership team. Aireon’s matrix management model requires the successful candidate to have the ability to lead and operate the IPT in a cross-cultural multi-discipline environment. The VP will be responsible to: Manage the complete product lifecycle from product ideation through launch and sustainment.

Establish a strong partnership with the sales, marketing, and product management team.

Define and implement repeatable, scalable, innovative standard operating procedures, and practices for the department, in alignment with corporate policies and procedures to ensure proactive predictability of performance across commercial data services operations.

Obtain, retain, and lead a team of highly skilled and motivated managers and employees.

Lead the development, implementation, and operational maintenance of an integrated commercial data product strategy with strong sales and product management collaboration.

Identify opportunities for product enhancements and process improvements.

Manage the financial performance of the IPT in support of Aireon’s corporate objectives.

Develop and implement an integrated high-performance culture that consistently strives to set the standard across the company.

Develop and maintain a strong process for technology transfer across the assigned portfolio supported by a clear and deep understanding of evolving market trends and specific opportunities.

Effectively serve as the executive point of contact for the IPT, while developing and managing relevant senior level internal and external stakeholder relationships

Effectively represent Aireon in community and industry engagements.

Lead end-to-end solution designs across functional areas when required for new business requirements.

Collaborate with product owners, architects, and development leaders to help iterate, prioritize, and execute the life cycle product definition, development, test, implementation, and operations.

Document and share best practice knowledge for new solutions. Regularly communicate new features and benefits to employees, executives, partners, customers, and other stakeholders.

Monitor the competitive landscape and new technologies. Proactively assess opportunities for integrations that may add value to existing products or entirely new offerings. Develop proof-of-concept or minimal viable product projects to validate and market test.

Manage the development and sustainment of a product portfolio with a demonstrated track record of delivering products, on time, within budget and meeting performance requirements.

Experience & Education Requirements / EEO: Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science or related discipline.

15+ years of progressive leadership experience with proven track record of success in leading industry or civil / DoD mid to large functional and/or business level organizations.

People management: challenges employees to be extraordinary, embraces ambiguity and complexity, and utilizes coaching to grow and improve employee capabilities.

Ability and passion to drive a complex, high-tech organization.

Effectively communicate the expectation levels and vision of the organization in a way to motivate and encourage staff to achieve high performance and generate growth.

Ability to establish and maintain a strong network of customers, industry partners and other relevant sources of information and influence.

Visionary, driven, innovative and takes initiative without being asked.

Excellent verbal and written communication and strong leadership skills.

Ability to work well independently, as well as collaboratively in a team setting.

Act as a role model according to our core values; safety minded, mission critical, customer centric and caring about people.

Proven track record of managing SaaS, PaaS, and DaaS.

Desired Qualifications Master’s degree in computer science or equivalent.

Strong proficiency in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Cognitive sensing at both the sensor and network levels is highly desirable.

Certifications in AI, Microsoft Azure, AWS or GCP equivalent, GovCloud, and PMP

About You

You are a natural leader. You demonstrate hands-on experience building and scaling software products & solutions. You have a natural ability to provide cross-functional leadership, motivate, and mentor teams in a matrix environment. Exhibit entrepreneurial mindset, and prioritize the customer experience.

You value collaboration and promote Aireon's core values. As a competent leader you possess strong relationship building skills and are highly collaborative; excellent listening skills while facilitating & guiding senior executives and stakeholders. Works effectively and collaboratively with the Aireon team, supply chain support, stakeholders, and customers. Maintain and build strong partnerships with product management in the development, launch, and sustainment of products.

You embrace change and act as a change agent within Aireon. You are Intellectually curious, stay abreast of emerging technologies, trends, risks, and opportunities. Highly analytical, able to solve complex and ambiguous problems. With strong oral and written communication skills you can communicate vision, thoughts, ideas, and solutions to various audiences.

You Inspire those around you to innovate. As an innovative leader, you are focused on the big picture. Achieving results throughout the product lifecycle and the technical roadmap while you are consistently evaluating new disruptive technologies.

1-3-6-12 Month Plan

In the first month we’ll expect you to… Take the time to get to know team members, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and build relationships with them. This will help to create a more cohesive and productive team.

Establish accountability and responsibility within the IPT team in alignment with the new VP’s authority.

Build relationships with your leadership, peers, and direct reports with special emphasis on the product management department.

Seek to understand the company's culture and politics, and to get buy-in for employee’s initiatives.

Review the current organizational structure and determine optimization opportunities for personnel realignment to leverage the strengths of the team.

Learn the company's history, products or services, target market, and competitive landscape.

Understand product baseline and budget to support operational customer services.

Set up strategic one on ones with IPT department, product management, sales, engineering, and operations key personnel.

Review direct reports performance plans and prepare cadence of interactions to ensure clarity and demonstrated empathy.

Be humble and willing to learn. You don't know everything, and that's okay. Be open to feedback and be willing to learn from your mistakes.

At 3 months we’ll expect you to… Establish baseline of performance for IPT department.

Establish mentoring relationship with select IPT personnel to ensure employee succession plans.

Review IPT culture based on baseline survey data and determine if culture tune up is required to inspire employees.

Refine product baseline / roadmap.

Develop a draft commercial data services strategic plan for the department that aligns with the company's overall goals that include specific objectives and metrics for success.

Be patient. It takes time to make a difference in a large organization. Don't get discouraged if you don't see results overnight.

Be visible and accessible. Make sure that your team members and colleagues know who you are and how to reach you.

At 6 months we’ll expect you to… Develop commercial data services strategic plan with VP of business development to grow business from an approximately $25 M to $100M in commercial data services within 5 years.

Map out current year product launches and ensure all elements required for success has been addressed.

Celebrate successes. Take the time to celebrate your team's successes, big and small. This will help to boost morale and keep your team motivated.

At 12 months we’ll expect you to… Develop annual budget in collaboration with the CFO, CEO, CTO, VP of Product and VP of Sales.

Determine employee’s succession plans and ascertain personnel budgetary needs for annual submission to corporate budget.

Perform end of year performance reviews.

Support Aireon’s perpetual transformation initiative.

Develop upcoming year department goals in alignment with the corporate objectives.

Establish / participate in customer forums to ensure understanding of the customer needs.

Continuing education to ensure freshness of ideas in the development of the transformative product roadmap.

Incorporate continuous process improvement for product delivery.

Execute commercial data services strategic plan for product development and ensure product roadmap portfolio supports growth in business

About the Team The IPT is currently close to 30 internal people with staff augmentation to accommodate product management / customers high priority needs. In addition, the IPT is supported by matrixed personnel for program management, service desk, finance, systems engineering and operations. The team made up of a multidisciplinary team that strives to develop innovative products in an agile environment. The team has both remote and local team members that stay connected through Microsoft Teams / Outlook with daily scrums to ensure collaboration and disciplined execution in product development and deployment. There is a mix of formal and informal meetings that span general communication meetings, formal development processes and team celebration gatherings. The culture of Aireon is embodied within the IPT with a focus on customer centricity, employee engagement, urgency towards performance and innovation insertion into the product roadmap. Aireon seeks to invest in our employees such that they leverage disruptive technologies and continuously share knowledge within the team and with the aviation industry associations.

Foundational to Aireon’s environment is a culture of trust and respect. Employees feel like they can trust their leaders and colleagues, and that they will be treated with respect. Open and honest communication is essential for building trust and resolving conflict and employees can share their ideas and concerns without fear of reprisal. Encouraging teamwork and collaboration ensures a positive work environment and boosts morale / productivity. Employees feel like they are part of a team and that their contributions are valued. Everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the most junior employee, should be held accountable for their work. This helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals. Regular feedback is standard practice for helping employees grow and develop. Aireon supports a culture where employees feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback. Employees are recognized for their achievements, both big and small. This boosts morale and motivation. Important to Aireon is for employees to have a healthy work-life balance. Aireon offers flexible work arrangements and generous vacation time. Aireon likes to work and play. Aireon creates an environment where employees have fun and enjoy their work. Employees are heard and are given ample opportunities to give their feedback. Aireon seeks to understand what employees value most in a workplace and what are their biggest concerns. Aireon strives to create a culture that everyone will thrive in.

Perks and Benefits Premium medical, dental and vision plan

Life Insurance and AD&D Short Term and Long Term Disability Health Savings Account (HSA) Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Retirement 401K plan with Employer Matching Education Assistance and Tuition Reimbursement Paid Time Off, Sick Leave, Floating Holidays Paid Parental Leave Company Sponsored Events Employee Referral Program

Aireon is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or status as a protected veteran. EOE of Minorities/Females/Vets/Disability and other protected categories.

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