Program Manager
Company: Defense-technology company (name shared under NDA)
Location: Remote (U.S.), with travel to various program and customer sites
Type: Full-time
Compensation: $130,000 to $165,000 annually (includes excellent benefits, profit sharing, and potential equity)
Clearance: Ability to obtain TS-SCI
Citizenship/Work Authorization: U.S. Person
Confidential Search · Defense Technology
Confidential search. The hiring company's identity is shared with candidates under NDA.
About the Client
A defense-technology company building mission-ready sensor and edge hardware for the toughest problems in defense and intelligence — where the gap between a system that works in a lab and one that works in the field is where programs live or die.
About the Role
As Program Manager, you'll own that gap for the company's most critical Army and Joint program office engagements: driving cost, schedule, and performance across contracts that directly support operational units, while also making sure individual product orders ship on time and on spec. You'll be the connective tissue between a team of 12-15 engineers and subcontractors and the government customers who depend on what they build. This isn't a coordination role - you're accountable for outcomes the customers actually count on.
Responsibilities
- Own cost, schedule, and performance (CSP) tracking across the highest-priority contracts, escalating risks before they become problems rather than reporting them after the fact
- Serve as primary point of contact for government program offices, running program reviews, status updates, and deliverable coordination
- Manage delivery of individual product orders end-to-end: from order intake through production coordination to on-time, on-spec shipment
- Coordinate a cross-functional team of 12-15 engineers and subcontractors, translating program requirements into actionable technical tasks and holding the team to delivery commitments
- Partner with the Director of Contracts on subcontractor performance and deliverables - technical coordination and quality, not contractual/invoicing ownership
- Support capture and proposal efforts as a past-performance and technical credibility resource
- Identify and resolve cross-program resource conflicts, working with internal leadership to prioritize when engineering or production capacity is constrained
- Maintain program documentation and internal leadership updates on portfolio health
Requirements
Must-Haves
- 5-8 years of program or project management experience, with direct experience managing DoD contracts (cost, schedule, and performance accountability, not just coordination)
- Operational/mission experience (prior military service, embedded operator experience, or direct exposure to how units use edge sensor/ISR equipment in the field)
- Demonstrated experience serving as primary customer POC to government program offices - running reviews, managing deliverables, handling escalations directly
- Active Top Secret clearance, or ability to obtain one
- Experience managing cross-functional technical teams (engineers, not just administrative staff) through delivery deadlines
- Strong working knowledge of cost/schedule tracking methodology
- Excellent written and verbal communication - this person represents the company directly to Joint and Interagency customers
Nice-to-Haves
- Program Management certification
- Experience supporting proposal or capture efforts as a past-performance/technical resource
- Familiarity with small-to-mid-size defense contractor environments (vs. large prime bureaucracy) - the pace and ambiguity are different
Compensation & Benefits
- Health coverage, fully covered - premiums paid 100% for you and your dependents
- 401(k) with company contribution - a 4% contribution on your behalf regardless of your own contribution level
- Unlimited PTO - average employee takes 3-4 weeks
- Annual profit sharing - when the company wins, you share in it directly
Process
- This is a confidential search. An NDA is required before the company's identity and full role details are shared. We screen for interest at a high level first, then read candidates in once an NDA is in place.
This position supports U.S. Government-related work. Applicants must be U.S. persons. The hiring company is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
