Technical Program Manager (Director level possible)

Consortium & Defense Customer Engagement (DUTCH NATIVE WANTED)About Guardian DynamicsGuardian Dynamics is a Dutch defense-technology company developing a sovereign family of short- and medium-range air defense interceptor systems, closing a critical capability gap in the Netherlands' integrated air and missile defense architecture. Founded by a team with deep experience across aerospace, defense, and technology entrepreneurship, and advised by senior former military leadership, we are moving at start-up speed on a mission with national-security relevance.We develop our systems through an industrial consortium built with some of Europe's most established engineering and manufacturing names, partners chosen because a capability this critical demands nothing less than best-in-class execution. Our ambition is not to be one more supplier in the defense supply chain, but to build the sovereign, national capability the Netherlands currently lacks.We are a small, fast-moving team scaling rapidly from concept to fielded systems. Every early hire shapes not just their own role but how the company operates.The RoleWe are looking for a Technical Program Manager to become the operational backbone of our development consortium and a trusted, technically credible face of the company to our defense customer.You will sit at the intersection of engineering, industrial partners, and the customer, translating requirements and commitments in both directions, keeping a multi-partner development program on schedule and aligned, and representing Guardian Dynamics in negotiations and program reviews. This is not a back-office coordination role: you will be expected to hold your own technically in a room with engineers, industrial partners, and Ministry of Defence stakeholders, and to carry commercial and contractual conversations on the company's behalf.This role reports directly to the founding team and offers significant scope for growth as the company scales.Level and ScopeWe are open at two levels. For a candidate who has carried program accountability at scale, this is a Senior Director role from day one, with a broader mandate across the program portfolio and responsibility for building and leading a small program team. For a strong program manager, the role starts as described below and grows with the company. Title, scope, and package follow the person we hire.Key Responsibilities· Consortium coordination: Own the working rhythm of a multi-party industrial development consortium: schedules, deliverables, technical baselines, document control, and issue escalation across all workstreams.· Partner interface: Serve as the primary day-to-day point of contact with our industrial and engineering partners, established, market-leading organizations in their respective fields, ensuring their work stays aligned with the company's requirements, architecture, and acceptance criteria.· Internal interface: Bridge the consortium and the internal engineering team, ensuring technical decisions, risks, and trade-offs are communicated clearly in both directions and nothing falls through the cracks.· Customer-facing program management: Represent Guardian Dynamics in meetings, reviews, and negotiations with the defense customer; lead and be accountable for the delivery of customer-facing projects and contracts.· Commercial representation: Lead negotiations with partners and customers alongside the founding team, and carry accountability for commercial terms, scope, and risk on the programs you own.· Governance and reporting: Maintain program documentation, risk registers, and status reporting to a standard suitable for defense-industry and institutional stakeholders.· Building the function (Senior Director scope): Set up and lead the program management function as the company moves into development and industrialization, including hiring and leading a small team.What We're Looking For· Defense-sector experience is essential, ideally including direct experience with, or inside, a Ministry of Defence, armed forces, or a defense prime/contractor. Former military (officer-level program, procurement, or capability development background) is a strong plus.· Demonstrated experience running or coordinating multi-stakeholder technical programs: consortiums, joint development programs, or complex supplier and partner ecosystems. Candidates for the Senior Director level should be able to point to programs they have owned end to end, with schedule, budget, and customer accountability sitting with them.· Comfortable operating in regulated, security-conscious environments (export control, classified or sensitive program information, formal engagement with authorities).· Strong technical fluency, able to engage credibly with systems, mechanical, and software engineers on design trade-offs, without necessarily being the one doing the engineering.· Proven ability to represent an organization externally at senior level: negotiations, customer meetings, partner relationship management, and program reviews with institutional stakeholders.· High degree of autonomy and comfort with ambiguity. This is an early-stage, fast-scaling environment with evolving processes, not a mature corporate structure.· Dutch: native or near-native required. English: fluent. You will need both for day-to-day work with the customer, partners, and international stakeholders.Nice to Have· Prior program or project management certification (PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent) or systems-engineering exposure (INCOSE, requirements and architecture tools).· Experience with EU or national defense funding instruments (EDF, EDIP, national MoD procurement processes).· Existing network within Dutch or European defense institutional and industrial circles.What We Offer· A ground-floor seat in the team building the Netherlands' sovereign capability in this domain, working alongside, not underneath, some of the strongest names in European defense and industry.· Scope that matches the person: for a senior candidate, a Senior Director mandate and the room to build the program function from the ground up.· Direct, close working relationship with the founding team, with high visibility and high influence.· Competitive compensation aligned with an early-stage, high-growth environment, including equity participation.· Based in Limburg (Maastricht Airport area), with travel to partners and customer sites.Guardian Dynamics B.V. operates in a regulated defense environment. Candidates should be prepared for background and security screening as appropriate to the role.