Senior Product Manager – Space

Description

Summary: Seeking a Senior Product Manager to own and drive the strategy, roadmap, and growth of Karvel, an on-board software platform for space missions, working at the intersection of technical engineering and mission operators. Highlights: 1. Lead product strategy and roadmap for space mission software 2. Engage with satellite engineering teams and operational users 3. Opportunity to build and lead a product team **THE ROLE** **Ready to help build the software that gets missions off the ground?** We are looking for a Senior Product Manager to own and drive the strategy, roadmap, and growth of Karvel, our on\-board software platform for space missions. This is a dual\-focus role: you will evolve the product for the satellite teams already using it, while identifying and capturing new market opportunities across in\-orbit operations, constellations, space exploration, and human flight. You will work at the intersection of a deep technical engineering team and the agencies and mission operators who depend on this software in high\-stakes, time\-critical situations, where reliability is non\-negotiable. As Karvel scales and evolves, you may be expected to build and lead a larger product team, shaping the product function within the business unit from the ground up. Want to learn more about Karvel? Visit karvel.space (https://karvel.space/). **This position is open across our offices in Portugal, Germany, the US, and the UK.** **WHAT YOU'LL DO** **Product Strategy \& Roadmap** * Define and own the product vision, strategy, and roadmap aligned with business objectives and end\-user needs. * Translate space industry standards and operational realities into clearly\-defined product requirements to be developed, tested, and maintained. **Discovery \& User Research** * Establish continuous discovery practices with satellite engineering teams and operational users, combining qualitative research and product analytics to uncover latent needs and pain points. * Benchmark against competitive and adjacent solutions across the flight software and space systems landscape. **Delivery \& Execution** * Partner closely with engineering leads to shape solutions, write clear specifications, prioritize the backlog and drive agile delivery ceremonies, ensuring teams have the context they need to make autonomous, high\-quality decisions. * Define and track product metrics (adoption, integration and qualification time, mission reliability outcomes, customer satisfaction). **Growth \& Go\-to\-Market** * Collaborate with sales, pre\-sales, and business development to support bids, proposals, and technical demonstrations, while identifying expansion opportunities * Represent the product at industry events, conferences, and working groups to build visibility and credibility in the space community. **Team Building \& Leadership** * Recruit, mentor, and lead a team of functional analysts and product owners. * Establish product management best practices, frameworks, and tooling. * Foster a culture of evidence\-based decision\-making, user empathy, and outcome orientation. **WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR** **Must\-Have** * Strong knowledge of the space industry, including its technical, regulatory, and operational landscape. * Proven experience in product management, ideally including time in a senior or lead PM role on complex B2B/B2G software platforms. * Proven track record of owning a product end\-to\-end: from vision and strategy through delivery and measurable business outcomes. * Experience with technically complex, data\-intensive products (real\-time systems, geospatial platforms, sensor fusion, C2/C4I, or similar). * Strong ability to engage with and influence senior stakeholders, including government and public\-sector clients. * Demonstrated experience working with cross\-functional teams (engineering, sales) in agile environments. * Fluent English (written and spoken). Portuguese is a strong advantage. **Nice\-to\-Have** * Experience with GIS/mapping platforms, AIS data, or command\-and\-control software. * Background in growing a product team or establishing a product function within an engineering\-led organization. * Familiarity with government/space procurement cycles and long sales processes. * Experience with safety\-critical software development standards (CMMI, DO\-178C, or similar). **HOW YOU CAN INSPIRE** * You adapt fast and turn sharp, critical thinking into good decisions for the project * You are genuinely curious and challenge what needs to change and make bold calls * You see AI as the biggest shift of this generation and you want to be part of shaping it * When there is no map, you start drawing one rather than waiting for someone else to **WHAT WE OFFER** We invest in the people who make it all possible. Here's what that looks like in practice. * Private health insurance * Employee Assistance Programme (mental health, legal, financial support) * Home office support * Extra holidays: 2 additional days after year one, more as time goes on * Extra parental leave: 2 additional months fully paid * Gradual return\-to\-work support: We'll help you ease back from long breaks * Sabbatical programme for long\-term employees * Training, mentorship, and growth opportunities: we'll invest in where you want to go next **ABOUT CRITICAL SOFTWARE** Every day we work on missions across industries as diverse as aerospace, space, defence, transport, telecoms, government, energy, finance, and healthcare. Building better and safer isn't a slogan. It's how we show up in the world. Critical Software is a proud Benefit Corporation: a for\-profit business legally committed to positive impact on society, workers, the community, and the environment — in addition to profit. We are an equal opportunity workplace. If you need any adjustment in your recruitment process to show us what you can do, please let us know. *By applying to a position at Critical Software, you are deemed to have accepted our* *Privacy Policy* (https://www.criticalsoftware.com/en/legal)*.*