5G Tactical OTM Product Manager

Thales Defense & Security, Inc.•CLARKSBURG, MD

1d•$150,300 - $192,050•Hybrid

About The Position

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. is hiring a 5G Tactical Communications Product Manager for its Clarksburg, Maryland office. This newly created position is part of the business development organization and reports to the Director of Product Line Management- Tactical Communications. The role serves as a technical, customer-facing expert in 5G and tactical communications/radios, working with the global product engineering team to ensure capabilities meet customer specifications. The Product Manager defines private 5G Non-Public Network and on-the-move solutions for forward bases, mobile platforms, and man-wearable technologies. The role works directly with U.S. Department of Defense customers, helps adapt and integrate 5G and edge products for military requirements, and supports the design, deployment, and optimization of secure, resilient defense networks. It also contributes to technical documentation, government proposals, competitive analysis, pricing strategy, and recommendations for future product evolution.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required; selected applicants may undergo a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline.
At least 8 years of experience in telecom solutions architecture, with expertise in 5G RAN/Core and edge compute.
Significant hands-on experience designing and deploying tactical or on-the-move private 5G networks.
Good understanding of radio propagation in low and high 4G/5G bands, including RF-challenged environments.
Background adapting commercial or government telecom solutions for defense or mission-critical applications.
Strong understanding of 3GPP and ETSI standards, virtualization (NFV/SDN), and cloud technologies such as OpenStack and Kubernetes.
Excellent analytical, synthesis, and technical writing skills.
Strong interpersonal and leadership abilities, including the ability to work with technical teams and government customers.
Ability to travel up to 30%, mostly domestically with some international travel.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Experience working with U.S. Department of Defense or NATO frameworks.
Experience in cybersecurity, particularly securing telecom systems for defense use.
Knowledge of military communications standards, security requirements, and validation processes, such as DoDIN APL, DIACAP/RMF, and FIPS 140-2.
Knowledge of classified environments and ITAR/EAR compliance.
Experience with network modeling tools such as UML and SysML, and architecture frameworks such as DODAF.
French language skills.

Responsibilities

Define and develop private 5G Non-Public Networks and on-the-move solutions for forward bases, mobile platforms, and man-wearable technologies using portable, mesh-capable nodes.
Lead survivability designs, including dynamic spectrum management, interference mitigation, robust mobility and handover, RF propagation planning across low and high 4G/5G bands, and redundant backhaul with graceful degradation.
Communicate directly with U.S. Department of Defense customers through workshops, feedback and lessons-learned collection, and strategies for capturing customer requirements.
Guide adaptation and integration of Thales 5G and edge products to meet military standards, SWaP-C constraints, environmental and EMI/EMC requirements, and Zero Trust/security policies.
Participate in the design, deployment, and optimization of secure and resilient network solutions for defense applications.
Analyze Department of Defense requirements, conduct technical feasibility studies, and propose solutions aligned with mission-critical needs.
Ensure compliance with U.S. Federal and Defense cybersecurity and pre-certification frameworks, including FIPS, NIST, and Department of Defense STIGs.
Collaborate with R&D, systems engineering, security, program management, and external government and industrial partners.
Draft high-level and detailed technical documentation for internal stakeholders and Department of Defense representatives.
Support proposal preparation and responses to government RFPs, including presenting technical solutions to defense entities.
Support the Product Line Management Director and Capture Team with competitive analysis, identification of differentiators, and product-gap analysis.
Help develop Price to Win strategies for various markets.
Monitor advances in 5G, network virtualization, and military applications, and recommend future product evolutions.