Technical Project Manager

ABOUT THIS ROLE

As a Technical Project Manager at HIGHCAT, you’ll own the coordination and day-to-day operations that enable our teams to deliver products that save lives. You’ll drive our technical units (engineering, design, manufacturing, production, and software) from development to field deployment. Your impact cannot be understated. You will affect strategy, drive cross-functional execution, and make pivotal decisions that directly impact operator survival. If you steer with exceptional autonomy and have a track record of building operational excellence, particularly in environments with no margin for error, then this role is worth considering

CORE TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES

Cross-Functional Leadership:

• Lead planning and resource allocation, making tough tradeoffs between competing priorities while maintaining team cohesion and strategic clarity.

• Serve as the connective tissue between engineering, sales, customer success, and finance, translating technical capabilities into successful customer outcomes

Project Execution:

• Establish and refine our project management practices, taking products like our Ocelot from concept validation to field deployment

Scalable Systems and Infrastructure:

• Implement tools, workflows, and metrics that provide real-time visibility into operational health while minimizing bureaucracy and maintaining execution speed.

• Anticipate operational bottlenecks before they constrain growth, deploying solutions that scale without requiring extra headcount

High-Performance Culture:

• Create a culture of excellence where accountability is high, feedback is direct, and learning from setbacks drives improvements

• Ensure intelligent risk-taking, rapid iteration of development cycles, and unwavering commitment to customer success

• Maintaining clear and consistent communication with stakeholders, team members, and upper management, ensuring that information isn’t lost.

ABOUT YOU

• 3+ years in PM leadership roles at high-growth startups, defence tech companies, mission-critical technology providers, or consumer electronics companies, overseeing projects requiring hardware and software integration.

• Track record of building operational systems from scratch in a hyper-fast-paced environment where the demand for new products and release of product updates is max every 1-2 years.

• Proven ability to lead cross-functionally without direct authority, influencing engineering roadmaps, sales strategy, and company direction through data, relationships, and strategic clarity.

• Exceptional judgment under pressure: you've made consequential decisions with incomplete information, owned the outcomes, and earned trust through consistent performance.

• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, building operating models, and making resource allocation decisions that balance growth and sustainability.

• Genuine passion for HIGHCAT's mission. You're motivated by the knowledge that your efforts directly enable those who serve in harm's way.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

Compensation and Ownership:

• Competitive compensation package with a significant equity stake that reflects the strategic importance of this role and allows you to share meaningfully in the company's success

Mission and Impact:

• Daily work with tangible real-world consequences: your decisions directly affect the safety and effectiveness of firefighters, soldiers, and emergency responders

• Opportunity to affect company strategy at the highest level, with a seat at the table for major decisions

Culture and Environment:

• High-trust, low-bureaucracy culture where ownership is real, decisions move fast, and competence is rewarded with increasing responsibility

• Work alongside our company founders, Jan Hartmann and Dominik Faißt, who are builders first and optimise for mission success over politics.

• Transparent communication from leadership about company performance, strategic challenges, and growth trajectory

Professional Growth:

• Complexity that will stretch your capabilities and accelerate your development as an operational leader

• Exposure to cutting-edge technology deployment in some of the world's most demanding operational contexts

• Foundation-building experience at a company where your operational skills will shape organiSational DNA for years to come

ABOUT HIGHCAT

Europe’s airspace is evolving. We are building the systems that help secure it.

HIGHCAT is a team of builders, engineers, and problem-solvers. We develop modular unmanned systems designed for real-world deployment. Built and manufactured in Germany, our platforms support the people and organisations that protect critical infrastructure, public services, and operational capabilities.

We like solving difficult problems. From first concept to deployment, we build technology that performs when it matters most. Our focus is simple: reliable systems, intuitive operation, and real-world impact.

Our work enables safer and more effective operations across security, industry, and defence-related applications. Guided by strong ethical principles and a commitment to European technological sovereignty, we are helping build the next generation of operational capabilities for Europe.