got a recruiter screen scheduled for a program management role at Lockheed's space division. this is kind of a pivot for me, i've been in software PM but this is more traditional aerospace program management, so the framing is going to be a little different.
would really appreciate if anyone who's interviewed there recently (like last 6-12 months) could share: how many rounds, who's in the room for the panel, what behavioral themes came up, and how long the process took. i'm planning to use STAR heavily but i want to know what they're actually listening for.
also: any tips for the program management interview specifically vs. the engineering track?
4 replies
staff_steph
not PM at LM specifically but have a friend who went through their Space division PM loop last year. she said the panel was really heavy on earned value management and schedule risk questions. like actual EVMS knowledge, not just 'how do you track a project.' if that's not in your background you might want to do some reading on it.
pm_priya
For behavioral themes: they care a lot about stakeholder management across technical and non-technical audiences, and navigating government customer relationships specifically. If you have any story where the customer was a government agency or where you dealt with formal change control processes, lead with that. Aerospace PM is not the same sport as SaaS PM.
pivot_pat
this is exactly what i needed, thank you. i have a story about managing a DoD contract at a previous company (i was the PM on a federal SaaS product), so i'll make sure that's front and center.
ae_andre
worth knowing: the panel at LM often includes someone from contracts or finance in addition to the engineering/PM folks. they're not just evaluating whether you can run a schedule, they're checking if you understand the business model of a government contractor. it's a different thing.