R&D Project Manager

About Kelluu

We are turning the real world into a digital one, with accuracy down to the smallest detail. Imagine a near future where everything you see can be explored through data delivered by Kelluu, and where AI works continuously across that data to find what you need to know. Every building in every city, every tree in every forest, every power line in every electrical grid. Everything turned into answers.

We're a Finnish Series A deep-tech company, headquartered in Joensuu with offices in Helsinki and Tampere — and now in Canada at Area X.O in Ottawa. The team is growing fast, the goals are ambitious, and we're hiring people who want to build something that matters.

Our technology is flight-proven and operational. We're a NATO DIANA Phase 2 alumni with several thousand hours of autonomous BVLOS flight experience, active programmes across multiple NATO nations, and a rapidly growing international team. We operate in both defence and commercial markets: the same technology that supports security also monitors critical infrastructure and the environment.

Why this role exists

Canada is a strategic market for us. Our autonomous airship technology has clear applications across Canadian defence, commercial and dual-use programs, and we've set up shop at Area X.O to be in the middle of it.

We need someone in Ottawa who can run development programs end-to-end: managing customer relationships, translating requirements into engineering work, coordinating with our teams in Finland, and keeping multi-workstream projects on time, on budget, and on spec. Alongside that, you'll be our boots on the ground while we set the Canadian operation up: getting the office at Area X.O running, finding local subcontractors, and scouting locations for ground bases and eventually manufacturing. That side of the work is planned and led from Finland. You're the person who makes it happen locally.

You'll be one of the first faces of Kelluu in Canada, and how you set things up will shape how we operate here for years.

What you'll own

Your main job is the customer interface: being the local link between our Canadian customers and our R&D, software, and flight operations teams in Finland. Alongside that, you're our boots on the ground as we establish our Canadian operations.

The impact you'll have:

• Coordinate multi-workstream development work. Our programmes span hardware, software, systems engineering, and flight operations. You'll keep the moving parts aligned locally and stay on top of schedules, budgets, and the reporting rigour that government and defence contracts demand.

• Be the customer interface. You build trust, manage expectations, and make sure they always know where things stand — together with our sales/commercial team.

• Translate customer requirements into engineering action. You'll turn what customers need into clear, actionable tasks the engineering teams can execute on.

• Bridge Canada and Finland. You'll coordinate between local Canadian work and our engineering teams in Finland, making sure the two sides operate as one.

• Get the Canadian operation off the ground. Setting up the office at Area X.O is one of your first tasks. From there: finding and screening local subcontractors and suppliers, helping identify locations for ground bases and eventually a factory, handling local practicalities and site visits, and making the most of the Area X.O ecosystem.

You won't be doing the setup work on your own. It's planned and led from Finland. You're the person who makes it happen locally.

Your team

You'll work in close collaboration with our Engineering, production and SW teams in Finland, our Operations team, and the commercial team working Canadian accounts. You'll report to Head of Engineering and Production. Day-to-day, you'll work directly with our Canadian customers and act as the primary connective tissue between them and our development teams.

As Kelluu's Canadian presence grows, so does your scope: more operations and missions, more customers, and in time a local team.

What success looks like

By 3 months, you will have:

• Fully onboarded and got up to speed on our technology, our processes, and customers

• Built relationships with the customer, the Area X.O ecosystem, and the Finnish engineering teams

• A reporting cadence running in both directions

By 6 months:

• The customer sees you as a reliable, proactive partner

• Canada–Finland coordination feels seamless rather than something people have to work around

• First rounds of subcontractor and location legwork delivered against briefs from Finland

• Programme milestones delivered, with schedules, budgets, and reporting under control

• Ground base secured

By 12 months:

• A clear picture of what the Canadian operation needs next, including the next hires

• You're recognised inside Kelluu as the person who ships and gets things done

What we're looking for

A formal project management background is welcome, but it is not a requirement. If you have built up broad hands-on engineering experience and grown into coordinating projects, customers, and suppliers along the way, that can be exactly what this role needs. We care more about what you have actually run than about the title it had.

You'll thrive here if you have:

• Experience running technical projects in engineering or R&D environments — as a project manager, or as an engineer who has carried that responsibility

• Excellent stakeholder management. You're comfortable being the primary point of contact and you do it independently and well

• The ability to translate customer requirements into actionable engineering tasks and coordinate execution across teams

• A technical background to credibly understand aerospace, UAV, or similar complex systems

• Experience in budgeting, scheduling, and reporting

• A hands-on, practical attitude. Part of this job is unglamorous groundwork — viewing sites, chasing suppliers, sorting out an office. You're happy to do it.

• Strong communication skills across international teams, including the seven-hour time difference with Finland

• Comfort with modern office and AI tools. We're building an AI-enabled organisation and we expect you to be up to date with how to work smarter

• Willingness to travel for site visits across Canada, to customer sites, and to Finland — plus a valid driver's lisence

• Fluency in English.

Even better if you also bring:

• Experience with airborne systems, defence projects, or dual-use technologies

• Familiarity with the Canadian defence ecosystem and procurement (DND, PSPC, IDEaS, NRC IRAP DI Assist, etc.)

• A local network in the Canadian aerospace or defence supplier base

• Experience as an early hire at a new site or in a new market

• Experience working in high-growth or startup environments

• Working French

What you get

The opportunity:

• Be the first Kelluu employee in Canada. Our Head of Engineering and Production will ramp things up with you, and you'll take it from there

• Work with impressive technology. Autonomous, hydrogen-powered airships operating in some of the most challenging environments on earth

• Real ownership from day one. What you build directly shapes how Kelluu delivers for Canadian customers and how we grow here

• Scope that grows with the business. As we scale in Canada, so does this role

The practicalities:

• Location: Ottawa, based at Area X.O. This is a local hire — you are already eligible to work in Canada

• Salary range: CA$110,000–135,000 base, depending on experience

• Setup: The tools you need to do your best work, plus a hybrid setup with travel to customer and candidate sites

• Onboarding: Expect an extended stay at our HQ in Finland early on to get to know the teams and the technology, and regular trips after that

Due to the nature of our business in the defence and dual-use sectors, the selected candidate must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and eligible to obtain the relevant Canadian government security clearance. An existing clearance is an asset.

The kind of place this is

Kelluu is a dual-use deep-tech company at the intersection of autonomy, AI, and aerial intelligence. We build technology that serves both national security and society, and we take that responsibility seriously.

We're scaling fast, which means you'll have real influence on how things are built. The flipside: things move quickly, priorities shift, and everyone wears a few hats. If you want a finished playbook and a clear lane, this probably isn't the right fit. If you want to write the playbook yourself, it might be exactly right.

We use AI tools extensively, not as a gimmick, but because it lets a growing team move faster than anyone expects. We expect everyone to be curious about how to work smarter.

Interested?

Apply by 30.9.2026. Include your CV and application.

We’re less interested in a list of past job titles and more interested in your impact.

When applying, tell us:

• Your 'Why': What internally drives you to do your best work?

• Your 'Wins': Tell us about a specific achievement you’re proud of. Think outcomes.

What to expect:

1. Initial call with our Talent team

2. Interview with our Head of Engineering and Production + Talent team

3. Interview with our CEO

4. Reference check and offer

Questions? Reach out to Iida Mustonen, Head of People (iida.mustonen@kelluu.com).

This is a real, open role — an existing vacancy we are actively hiring for, not a talent pool or pipeline posting.

We use AI extensively in our day-to-day work, but not to screen or select applicants. Your application is read by people.