Senior Product Manager

RTI is seeking a Sr. Product Manager to drive the future of real-time software in the Aerospace Defense (A D) industry. RTI Connext software powers over 500 defense programs across land, sea, air, and space. We are looking for a product manager who possesses insights into emerging trends, particularly UAS, Autonomy, Maritime, and related mission systems.

In this role, you’ll drive product strategy for how Connext serves A D customers. You’ll translate mission requirements into clear product needs, shape the roadmap with R D, and ensure RTI’s platform solves real problems for defense programs.

This role is a fit for someone who enjoys defining what to build and why , grounding product decisions in customer needs, mission outcomes, and market realities.

✨ What You’ll Do / Responsibilities:

Own the A D product direction

Build a deep view of UAS, autonomy, maritime, C-UAS, and JADC2/MOSA requirements and how they shape needs for distributed systems, security, real-time data, and interoperability.

Translate customer/mission requirements into clear product requirements, use cases, and roadmap proposals.

Represent the voice of the defense customer

Conduct product discovery: pain points, operational workflows, constraints, integration patterns.

Validate roadmap direction with key customers and convert insights into actionable product decisions.

Shape RTI’s platform for A D use cases

Identify capability gaps and growth opportunities across key defense applications.

Work with other Product and Engineering stakeholders to prioritize capabilities required for A D adoption i.e. security, interoperability, platform support, performance, tooling, and integration needs.

Collaborate with Sales and BD to optimize pricing, licensing, and the overall product strategy to ensure streamlined adoption within target accounts.

Partner cross-functionally for successful adoption

Partner with Sales, BD, and Marketing to translate technical capabilities into compelling value propositions and differentiators.

Develop product positioning that help Sales and BD teams win new business in the top DoD priorities.

Contribute to strategic go-to-market plans for key programs and partners. This includes strategic resource allocation decisions, including analyzing the ROI of existing programs/consortia (e.g., FACE) and ensuring resources are redirected to high-growth areas like Autonomy and C-UAS.

Contribute to sales materials (battlecards, demo scripts, decks) and help train field teams on messaging and differentiation.

Market competitive insight

Build and maintain deep insight into the competitive landscape, customer missions, and government modernization trends.

Use this insight to drive RTI’s long-term A D product strategy.

🎯 What We’re Looking For / Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field (or equivalent military/industry experience).

Strong understanding of UAS and/or Maritime systems, including autonomy, edge computing, mission control, and data distribution.

Ability to connect technical features (e.g., data-centric middleware, security, interoperability) to mission outcomes and business value.

Ability to collaborate across Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing and Professional Services to align on strategy and execution.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills - clear, concise, and strategic.

Travel about 25% to customer sites and corporate/market events.

US Citizenship required*

*Due to applicable laws, government regulations and contract specifications, we are required to fill this position only with an individual who qualifies as a "U.S. Citizen."

Don’t meet every single requirement? At RTI, we are dedicated to building a fair and inclusive workplace so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t perfectly align with all qualifications in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway! You may be just the right candidate for this or another one of our open roles. Learn more about our commitment to our workforce, here !

💎 Nice To Have / Preferred Skills:

Experience in a product role within Aerospace Defense domains, including Product Manager, Product Owner, Platform/Product Architect, or Platform/Product Engineer.

Experience supporting DoD, OEMs, or Tier-1 primes in A D programs. US Military Veteran status (or Reserve status) is a plus.

Understanding of DoD acquisition processes, funding mechanisms (e.g. OTAs), and strategic initiatives.

Familiarity with DDS, real-time systems, or distributed communication software.

Hands-on experience developing or marketing autonomy, UxV, or C2 software.

Exposure to international defense markets or export-controlled environments.

Proven success driving go-to-market or growth experiments (pilots, demos, product-led outreach).

Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance may be required.

🌟 What We Offer You:

Flexible Work: Hybrid office schedule (2 days a week …