Program Manager, National Security Space

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

5h•Hybrid

About The Position

Do you have a passion for space and a drive to make an impact in national defense? Are you an experienced Program or Project Manager excited about space systems, cutting-edge technologies, and mission-driven innovation? Are you ready to work with senior government sponsors and across the breadth of the Laboratory to bring together the best and brightest minds into a high-performing team that helps to achieve mission success on rapid development timelines? If so, we’d love for you to join our team at APL. We’re seeking a proven Program Manager (PM) to engage sponsors and drive mission success across the expanding space portfolio for the Space Readiness, Operations, and Intelligence Program Area of the National Security Space Mission Area (NSSMA). This role will require communication and coordination across all of the program areas within the NSSMA. The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise in space operations, operational test and training, threat understanding and anticipation, and space warfighting command and control, enabling APL to provide trusted technical leadership and operational excellence to our government partners. They will have held technical and programmatic leadership positions within or in close collaboration with organizations such as the Space Systems Integration Office (SSIO), Advanced Kill Chains, Space-Cyber initiatives, Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranches, Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), DARPA, STARCOM, or comparable defense and intelligence agencies—bringing a holistic understanding of the mission, stakeholders, and technologies shaping the future of space operations. Note: this position will require the incumbent to occasionally work out of Chantilly, VA.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
5+ years of team leadership
Experience in technical program development
Demonstrated success in sponsor engagement and project management
The ability to occasionally travel to and work in Chantilly, VA
An active Top Secret clearance and the ability to obtain TS/SCI level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

A Master’s degree or Ph.D. in a related field
5+ years of team leadership experience in national security space programs (e.g., SDA, NRO, USSPACECOM, USSTARCOM)
PM experience within intelligence community, DoD acquisition, or rapid prototyping environments
A track record of leading cross-cutting initiatives aligned with NSS strategic priorities
A reputation for driving innovation and providing strategic thought leadership in national security space

Responsibilities

Lead Program Execution: Manage and grow a high-performing team that works effectively with sponsors to address their critical challenges.
Develop a vision and strategy that promotes sponsor relationships and collaboration with industry and analytical partners.
Lead sponsor reviews and provide execution oversight across technical performance, cost, schedule, risk, and security.
Drive Thought Leadership: Leverage APL’s core strengths in systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and prototyping.
Anticipate future mission needs and define APL’s role in enabling space warfighting and mission assurance.
Champion Independent Research and Development (IRaD) projects relevant for space test, training and operations.
Strengthen the APL role as a trusted agent for sponsor supporting space
Foster Team Leadership and Development: Collaborate across the APL enterprise, working with Branch and Group Supervisors to assign project leadership.
Mentor project managers and technical leads to ensure successful, on-time, and on-budget delivery of program outcomes.
Promote Technical Innovation: Engage with Program Area leadership to identify additional space readiness, operations, and intelligence in the development towards enabling space superiority
Identify and pursue cross-cutting innovations based on insight from sponsors and related efforts.
Contribute to internal research and development (IRAD) and align priorities with mission area strategy to advance national space capabilities.
Advance the NSS Mission Area’s impact across its five strategic vectors: Decision Superiority, Multi-Domain Kill Webs, Combat-Ready Space Capabilities, Threat Understanding & Anticipation, Space Warfighting Brain Trust.