Technical Program Integration Lead

Telesat is looking for a Technical Program Integration Lead to anchor a major program segment within its Ottawa operations. This full-time, onsite role sits at the crossroads of engineering, product, software, hardware, operations, and supplier teams, turning complex workstreams into a single, actionable plan. If you enjoy translating technical depth into execution clarity and influencing a broad set of stakeholders, you could be a great fit.

The position functions as a bridge between technical execution and program management, ensuring that scope, dependencies, risks, readiness criteria, and delivery commitments are accurately represented in the Integrated Master Schedule and the wider program framework. It’s about delivering a credible, integrated plan and guiding leadership decisions with clear assessments of readiness and execution health.

People who thrive here are comfortable operating in nuanced, evolving environments, have strong systems thinking, and can align diverse teams toward a common execution strategy without relying on formal authority.

How you’ll turn plans into action day to day

In this role you’ll own the creation, integration, and upkeep of execution plans for assigned program segments or technical domains, translating broad technical scope into manageable milestones, ownership, dependencies, and success criteria. You’ll knit together activities across engineering, software, hardware, systems, operations, integration, verification, and supplier work to keep everything moving in concert, while ensuring work is decomposed into measurable packages that map to program objectives.

You’ll also maintain the linkage between technical maturity, execution plans, and program commitments, and you’ll manage the development and upkeep of the Work Breakdown Structure and its alignment with the Integrated Master Schedule. You’ll look for gaps, invalid logic, and broken dependencies, driving improvements in planning rigor, transparency, and schedule integrity as the program evolves.

Cross-functional collaboration is at the heart of the job. You’ll coordinate with engineering, systems engineering, product management, operations, supply chain, integration teams, vendors, and program leadership to align plans, validate dependencies, and run planning sessions, integration reviews, and milestone readiness activities. You’ll serve as the main integration conduit among technical teams, Program Management, Program Controls, and Systems Engineering, ensuring everyone is rowing in the same direction.

What you’ll need to bring to the role

You’ll be expected to meet a set of essential requirements and, ideally, bring additional capabilities that help you stand out. Here’s how the base expectations break down, followed by a few preferred qualifications that may give you an edge.

• At least a decade of experience in roles focused on technical program management, systems engineering, or related disciplines within a complex technology setting
• Proven track record leading integrated planning and execution across multiple technical and business functions
• Hands-on experience building and sustaining Work Breakdown Structures, Integrated Master Schedules, and integrated execution plans
• Demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional dependencies, technical risks, and milestone readiness assessments
• Background supporting complex programs with many stakeholders, suppliers, and cross-team coordination
• A bachelor’s degree in engineering, systems engineering, computer science, telecommunications, business, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• History of translating intricate technical work into executable plans with clear ownership, sequencing, and dependency mapping
• Ability to coordinate activities across multiple technical disciplines and organizational boundaries
• Strong systems-thinking skills for understanding interfaces, dependencies, and integration challenges
• Experience identifying and managing technical and execution risks, with a bias toward practical mitigations
• Solid analytical, organizational, communication, and stakeholder-management capabilities
• Skill at influencing without formal authority across matrixed teams
• Comfort operating in complex and evolving environments while imposing structure and clarity on execution

• Experience in satellite communications, aerospace, defense, telecommunications, networking, software platforms, or other advanced technology settings
• Familiarity with Integrated Master Schedules, milestone-based execution frameworks, and program governance processes
• Experience with WBS development, integrated planning methodologies, and schedule management tools
• Exposure to system integration, verification and validation, operational readiness, and deployment activities
• Understanding of systems engineering practices, including requirements management, configuration management, and baseline control
• Experience supporting technical reviews, readiness assessments, and major program milestones
• Knowledge of program controls, forecasting, risk management, dependency tracking, and performance measurement
• An advanced degree in engineering, systems engineering, program management, or a related field

The practical details you should know

The role sits in a downtown Ottawa office environment and requires the candidate to be eligible to work in Canada and obtain Reliability Status. The job emphasizes security and compliance, including the ability to handle controlled, sensitive, and export-regulated technical data in line with Canadian and international regulations. The position also notes that it has direct reports and involves collaboration with multi-disciplinary teams across the organization.

Tips to help you shine in this application

Lead with your integrated planning experience. On your resume, open with examples where you built or led a plan that combined engineering, software, operations, and supply chain elements into a single schedule with clear milestones and ownership.

Show how you prove you can translate complex technical work into executable plans. Include specific projects where you defined milestones, ownership, dependencies, and success criteria, and describe how you tracked progress and adapted when risks or changes arose.

Prepare to discuss governance and readiness. Be ready to talk about how you determine readiness for major reviews or delivery milestones, how you present an integrated execution assessment, and how you helped leadership understand schedule confidence and dependency status.

Consider a thoughtful question to close. You might ask how the team currently manages cross-functional dependencies across engineering, product management, and operations, or how they measure maturity of the integrated master schedule and what improvements they’re pursuing next.