(15h Left) Product Owner – Hardware Solutions

Work with cutting edge technology, making the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) offers an opportunity to solve some of the world’s most challenging technical problems in Electronic Warfare, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, RF sensing, Sensor Fusion and distributed systems. Working with high profile customers across militaries, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure, law enforcement and many others.

With one of the largest listed defence company market capitalisations in Australia and having raised approximately $250m in 2024 alone, DroneShield is undergoing hypergrowth stage, fuelled by rapidly increasing use of drones for nefarious applications, from battlefield, to terrorism, to contraband delivery and commercial espionage.

This role is in the DroneShield Sydney headquarters in Sydney HQ. There are approximately 350 staff based in the 4,000sqm facility today, scheduled to grow to approximately 400 staff by end of 2025. Overseas on the ground presence includes USA, Denmark, Mexico, and UAE, as well as distributors in over 70 countries globally.

About the role

We are seeking a highly capable Product Owner for 3rd Party Hardware Solutions to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering advanced hardware-enabled layered solutions. This role demands both strong product ownership experience and a solid foundation in systems development and integration, enabling you to bridge technical engineering with product strategy.

You will guide products through their full lifecycle—from conception and design to launch and sustainment—while collaborating closely with Product Managers, engineering teams, and executive leadership. Ideal candidates will bring experience from defence or startup environments, where adaptability, rigor, and execution speed are essential.

This individual will serve as the key interface between product strategy, engineering, and external technology partners, ensuring seamless integration of sensors, effectors, and subsystems into our CUaS architecture. The ideal candidate combines strong systems engineering expertise, strategic product ownership skills, and a proven ability to manage cross‑functional teams and external stakeholders to deliver high‑impact CUaS capabilities.

Reporting directly to the VP of Products, this position offers an outstanding opportunity for a results‑driven individual to thrive in a rewarding, fast‑growing, and mission‑driven market.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations

- Support the development of the vision, roadmap, and backlog for 3rd party sensor and effector integration products.

- Support translation of market needs, customer requirements, and CUaS system goals into actionable product features and development plans.

- Prioritize and manage trade‑offs between performance, cost, schedule, regulatory considerations and risk.

- Apply systems engineering principles and best practices to ensure robust integration of sensors, effectors, and supporting subsystems.

- Collaborate with engineering teams to define interface standards, integration requirements, and verification strategies.

- Oversee technical assessments, system performance evaluations, and interoperability testing.

- Cross‑Functional Leadership

- Lead agile development teams in executing the integration roadmap, balancing tactical execution with strategic alignment.

- Partner with engineering, operations, and quality teams to deliver integrated capabilities on time and within budget.

- Facilitate communication between internal stakeholders and external suppliers to ensure technical and business alignment.

- External Relationships & Business Development

- Develop and maintain strong relationships with 3rd party sensor and effector suppliers, ensuring alignment on technology roadmaps and joint development opportunities with an eye on continued collaboration and alignment of supplier and internal DroneShield roadmaps

- Work closely with the sales team to capture customer needs and product offerings that leverage integration capabilities.

- Support demonstrations, customer engagements, and industry events to showcase product capabilities.

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

- Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.

- Minimum 5+ years of experience in systems engineering with exposure to sensor, effector, or defence‑related integration programs.

- 2+ years of experience as a Product Owner or Product Manager in a complex hardware/software systems environment.

- Proven experience leading cross‑functional teams and managing multi‑stakeholder product development cycles.

- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strategic relationships with sales, engineering, and supplier partners.

- Strong analytical and communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts into clear product strategies.

- Preferred:

- Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, Engineering Management, or a related technical field.

- Experience in CUaS, C2 systems, or defence technology domains.

- Familiarity with agile product development and tools such as Jira, Confluence, or similar.

- Experience with sensor fusion, effectors, or autonomy systems.

- Knowledge of regulatory and compliance frameworks relevant to defence and aerospace integration.

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.

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