--- title: 'Senior Technical Program Manager at Furientis' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-program-manager-furientis-los-angeles-4grsk7gbzxn1' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-05' --- # Senior Technical Program Manager at Furientis - **Company:** Furientis - **Location:** Los Angeles, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-11-05 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/furientis/76e306b2-2318-4b3d-bd9e-c2ee885333dd ## Job description America is critically deficient in production of defensive munitions- we currently produce shipborne interceptors in the few hundreds per year while our adversaries are producing offensive threats in the tens of thousands per year. Furientis was started to help solve this problem- introducing a new class of cost-effective, high production rate, interceptor missiles. We're seeking motivated individuals who internalize this problem and are eager to apply their past experience in similar industries (aerospace, defense, automotive/racing, robotics) and out of the box thinking to solve this problem for the US and its allies. ## About the Role As a Senior Technical Program Manager, you will own the commitments on your assigned programs to government customers, company partners, and vendors, and ensure each one is delivered on its contracted date. This is a technical role. You will understand the product deeply enough to assess engineering plans and technical risk, translate customer requirements for the engineering team, and represent the technical program directly to customers. This role carries a high degree of ownership and autonomy. You will have broad latitude to decide how your programs are planned and run, along with direct accountability for their results. This role reports to program leadership and is based on-site in Los Angeles, with travel to Mojave, test sites, customers, and vendors. It requires access to ITAR-controlled information, so you must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR. ## What You'll Do - Customer deliverables: Own contracted deliverables to government and company customers on your assigned programs, including hardware, test events, reports, contract data requirements, and technical data packages. - Technical translation: Convert contract requirements and customer requests into clear priorities and tasks for the engineering team. Lead requirements breakdown, support design reviews, and manage technical and contract changes. - Cost and schedule execution: Build and maintain integrated program schedules and budgets from contract award through delivery, and drive the team to contracted dates. - Technical risk: Identify technical and schedule risks early, work through tradeoffs with engineers, and lead them to resolution. - Customer interface: Serve as the program contact for specific customers, leading technical reviews, status updates, and milestone discussions. Work with Business Development team to shape and identify follow-on work. - Proposals and contracts: Support proposal development and contract negotiations, confirming that proposed scope, price, and schedule are achievable and that terms meet FAR and DFARS requirements. - Program processes: Use and improve lightweight planning and reporting processes that give leadership a clear view of program status without slowing the team down. ## Skills We're Hiring For - Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent hands-on technical experience - 5+ years of experience on complex engineering programs - Program/Mission management experience on complex hardware programs, with direct ownership of cost, schedule, and deliverables - Experience in a high-pressure, rapid R&D environment, such as SpaceX or a comparable organization - A record of delivering hardware programs to committed dates - Working knowledge of how the U.S. government buys, contracts for, and fields defense systems - Ability to learn the full product in depth and earn the trust of senior engineers - Clear written and verbal communication with engineers, executives, customers, and vendors, including technical writing Bonus Points For - ## Experience at another deep tech startup - Experience as an engineer on complex hardware systems, especially missile, launch vehicle, spacecraft, or other aerospace and defense systems - Experience managing government contracts, including FAR-based contracts and Other Transaction Agreements - ## Experience taking hardware from R&D into production - An active security clearance Eligibility & Logistics Location: On-site at our Los Angeles, CA HQ; remote work is not available. Monthly weekend travel for test events and supplier engagements. Clearance: A clearance is not required for this position. Must be a U.S. Person. Equal Opportunity & Export Compliance Furientis is an equal-opportunity employer. To comply with U.S. export control laws, employment is contingent on eligibility to access export-controlled information. ## About Furientis ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Furientis is a defense technology startup building low-cost, production-scalable interceptor missile systems for the U.S. military. - **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-seed) - **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, USA (operates out of a facility in Playa Vista, Los Angeles) - **Founded**: 2025 - **Founders**: Brody Franzen (CEO) and Aris Simsarian ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Aerospace & Defense / Defense Technology - **Target customers**: U.S. military and defense organizations, particularly naval and ship-based interceptor procurement buyers - **Mission or purpose statement**: "We believe the future of warfare is dictated by production capacity, and our current system of manufacturing critical defensive munitions cannot meet demand." The company aims to build cost-effective defensive munitions at scale. ## Products & Services - **F 1.0 Interceptor Missile System**: A low-cost interceptor missile architected for an annual production volume of 1,000 units per factory. Designed to counter low-cost threats (drones, cruise missiles) that are expensive to stop with legacy systems. Uses automotive-style materials and assembly processes, commercial off-the-shelf components, and in-house solid rocket motors to achieve a cost of ~$250,000 per missile versus the $1–$5 million normally spent per interceptor. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (Private, early-stage) - **Key Metric**: $5M total funding raised (Pre-Seed round, announced May 2026) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Silent Ventures (lead), Bessemer Venture Partners, Multiball Capital, SV Angel, Humba Ventures, BVVC, Liquid 2 Ventures, MVP Ventures, Channel 39 Ventures, Vanderbilt University, Gaingels. Angel investors include founders of Anduril, Armada, and Erebor. - **Growth Signals**: Emerging from stealth with $5M pre-seed; completed six flight tests and ten static-fire tests within its first six months; named a finalist in the Office of Naval Research Tactical Missile Innovation Challenge; actively hiring with 4+ open roles; projected "significant demonstrations" later in 2026. ## Competitive Advantages - **Design for manufacturing from day one**: Unlike legacy primes that spend a year on modeling before building hardware, Furientis runs four-week design cycles with monthly flight tests—a "build fast, test often" approach. - **In-house solid rocket motor production**: Most primes outsource this critical component, creating supply chain bottlenecks. Furientis makes its own, giving it control over the most constrained piece of the supply chain. - **Cost advantage**: Target price is ~$250,000 per missile vs. $1M–$5M for incumbent systems from primes like Lockheed Martin, enabled by automotive-style materials, off-the-shelf components, and simplified assembly. - **Production scalability**: Designed from scratch for a throughput of 1,000 units per year per factory, addressing the core national security bottleneck of ammunition production capacity. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale production**: Move from prototype flight testing to initial production tooling and build-out of a 9,000-square-foot Los Angeles factory. - **Team expansion**: Actively hiring elite engineers across opto-mechanical, perception hardware, and finance roles to accelerate development. - **Demonstrate to the Navy**: Use ongoing flight tests and the ONR challenge to secure a production contract with the U.S. Navy. - **Prove the thesis**: Continue monthly flight tests to validate the cost and performance of its interceptor system. ## Why Work Here - **High-impact mission**: Work directly on solving a critical U.S. national security shortage—the ability to produce defensive munitions at the volumes needed to counter modern threats. - **Fast-paced engineering culture**: Four-week design cycles, monthly flight tests, and a "build and break things" mentality that contrasts with slow, traditional defense primes. - **Elite team and mentorship**: Leadership includes veterans of Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit, and Castelion (a hypersonics startup that raised $350M). Advisors/investors include founders of Anduril and Armada—among the most successful modern defense startups. - **On-site in Los Angeles**: Roles are on-site in the Playa Vista / El Segundo area. The office is notably located in Lenny Kravitz’s former studio. - **Early-stage equity**: Joining at pre-seed stage ($5M raised) provides significant ownership potential for early engineers alongside a small, tight-knit team (11-50 employees). - **Active hiring**: As of mid-2026, open roles include Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer, Perception Hardware Integration Engineer, and Finance Manager. ## Sources 1. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/furientis) 2. [Fortune (Exclusive launch article)](https://fortune.com/2026/05/14/furientis-missiles-defense-anduril-military-drone-interceptors/) 3. [PitchBook](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/894465-28) 4. [Fusion42 Profile](https://scout.fusion-42.com/startups/ff72fe16-9489-4f67-ae18-a3c6dd66edd4) 5. [Clera](https://www.getclera.com/companies/furientis) ## Other roles at Furientis - [Head of Programs](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-programs-furientis-los-angeles-8k5ezfc51ftg) — Los Angeles, CA - [Head of Brand](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-brand-furientis-los-angeles-t5ccpevj57eg) — Los Angeles, CA - [Director of Business Development](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-business-development-furientis-los-angeles-9yshc5h2c62r) — Los Angeles, CA - [Modeling and Simulation Engineer (Encounter & Environment)](https://feeny.ai/job/modeling-and-simulation-engineer-encounter-environment-furientis-los-angeles-rrzfbg1zwgt7) — Los Angeles, CA - [Optical Engineer (Laser Systems)](https://feeny.ai/job/optical-engineer-laser-systems-furientis-los-angeles-z5gvkqxmvm51) — Los Angeles, CA - [Perception & Algorithms Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/perception-algorithms-engineer-furientis-los-angeles-hvkng1pmdc6j) — Los Angeles, CA - [Laser Engineer (Pulsed Solid-State)](https://feeny.ai/job/laser-engineer-pulsed-solid-state-furientis-los-angeles-1j7f1ybkenjt) — Los Angeles, CA - [Embedded Firmware Engineer, Avionics](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-firmware-engineer-avionics-furientis-los-angeles-mjb2vzd6wcpx) — Los Angeles, CA - [Engineering Internship - 2027 (MechE, EE, ME, GNC, Seekers)](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-internship-2027-meche-ee-me-gnc-seekers-furientis-los-angeles-0qn855hy9sv5) — Los Angeles, CA - [Sr Technical Recruiter (Hardware)](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-technical-recruiter-hardware-furientis-los-angeles-b4whxq8byk6e) — Los Angeles, CA