Payload Planning Manager (PPM) Team Lead

Job description

Be visionary Teledyne Technologies Incorporated provides enabling technologies for industrial growth markets that require advanced technology and high reliability. These markets include aerospace and defense, factory automation, air and water quality environmental monitoring, electronics design and development, oceanographic research, deepwater oil and gas exploration and production, medical imaging and pharmaceutical research. ​ We are looking for individuals who thrive on making an impact and want the excitement of being on a team that wins.

Job Description

Job Summary: Teledyne Brown Engineering is seeking a Payload Planning Manager (PPM) Team Lead to join our management team in Huntsville, AL. This role combines technical leadership with direct personnel and operational management. The PPM Team Lead manages a senior planning team of 10-15 employees supporting International Space Station (ISS) payload operations for NASA and international partners. The ideal candidate will oversee end-to-end planning integration across all mission phases while maintaining an active PPM certification.

Detailed Description

Team Management & Leadership

• Manage daily tasking, workload allocations, and cross-team integration for a 10-15 member payload planning team.
• Execute administrative leadership duties, including approving timecards and travel requests, conducting annual performance reviews, and interfacing with Human Resources.
• Oversee recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and certification.
• Lead succession planning, targeted mentoring, and cross-training strategies to address workforce continuity and preserve critical technical expertise.
• Provide clear technical direction, delegate tasking effectively, and foster professional development across a diverse team.

Technical Integration & Mission Execution

• Maintain active PPM certification and support nominal Short Term Plan (STP) operational rotations.
• Direct planning integration for ISS payload activities across Weekly Lookahead Plans (WLPs), Short Term Plans (STPs), and visiting vehicle operations.
• Manage concurrent Increment Lead and Visiting Vehicle planning assignments supporting SpaceX Dragon, Northrop Grumman Cygnus, and Commercial Crew missions.
• Analyze organizational processes to streamline planning operations and optimize resources under shifting budget constraints and operational demands.

Customer & Stakeholder Interface

• Represent NASA payload planning in agency and international partner (IP) control boards, providing operational assessments and mission briefings.
• Serve as the primary PPM interface to the NASA customer management, delivering technical summaries, weekly status reports, and key operational metrics.
• Participate in management forums to guide long-range planning strategy and report high-level operational status to executive leadership.

Education & Experience

Experience: Minimum of 3+ years of direct experience supporting Payload Operations Integration (POI) is required.

Certification

An active Flight Controller or Mission Support certification is required.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related technical discipline is strongly preferred . Required Knowledge & Skills Deep technical understanding of Payload Operations Integration (POI) internal discipline interfaces, Payload Developers (PDs), and International Partners (IPs). Demonstrated leadership ability to manage, mentor, and align a multidisciplinary team. Strong interpersonal communication, presentation, and conflict-resolution skills.

Assertive decision-making with a forward-thinking, strategic mindset. Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and a proven ability to assign and meet critical deadlines under dynamic operational constraints. Teledyne and all of our employees are committed to conducting business with the highest ethical standards.

We require all employees to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, rules and regulatory orders. Our reputation for honesty, integrity and high ethics is as important to us as our reputation for making innovative sensing solutions. Teledyne is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age, or any other characteristic or non-merit based factor made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. ​