Program Manager

Bluestaq US External•Colorado Springs, CO

6h•Onsite

About The Position

At Bluestaq, we build secure data platforms that matter for space missions, national defense, healthcare systems, and commercial innovation. Founded in 2018, we've become a leader in enterprise software and secure data management by staying focused on modern architecture, operational excellence, and mission impact. We are engineers, problem-solvers, and builders who automate the repeatable, question the status quo, and design systems that are as reliable as they are scalable, using cloud-native solutions, security by design, and relentless simplicity. The name 'Bluestaq' signifies mission-aligned technologists building platforms that protect valuable data. We have earned national recognition as one of Inc. Magazine's Fastest-Growing Private Companies and consistently rank among Colorado's Best Workplaces. The Program Manager owns how the program delivers to the customer, being accountable for the schedule, risk posture, financials, and customer relationship. This role serves as the connective tissue between contractual promises and delivered outcomes, ensuring the program stays on track and proactively addressing any deviations. This is an ownership role, not merely a coordination role, requiring strategic engagement both upstream in commitment setting and downstream in delivery verification.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience managing DoD programs end-to-end — from kickoff through closeout.
Fluency with government contract types (FFP, T&M, CPFF), CDRLs, CPARs, and program reporting requirements.
Technical fluency — comfortable in engineering discussions, able to learn new technical concepts quickly and apply them in program decisions.
Judgment and composure in high-pressure, ambiguous situations; builds structure where none exists.
Meticulous attention to detail; holds a high quality bar and doesn't lower it under schedule pressure.
Track record of managing program financials with precision: burn rate, budget variance, milestone-based forecasting.
Ability to hold ground with customers and internal leadership alike — clear, confident, and credible.
Operates as a genuine peer to Engineering, Product, and BD — brings perspective, not just status updates.
Prior experience doing this job somewhere, under real pressure, and done it well.
Ability to obtain a TS/SCI Clearance (U.S. citizenship required, and an employee must agree to participate in a background screen and credit check).

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact for program status, escalations, and decisions for government POCs, the Growth Team, internal leadership, and delivery teams.
Build and sustain trusted customer relationships where confidence in Bluestaq grows over time.
Prepare and lead Quarterly Program Reviews, Program Management Reviews, and customer/executive briefings.
Champion customer needs internally; bring the end user's operational requirements into product and engineering conversations.
Route signals from customer-facing settings (TEMs, sprint reviews, demos) back to the people who need them.
Establish a clear delegation protocol: when you're out, your team knows who has authority for time-sensitive decisions.
Operate as a credible peer to Engineering, Product, and BD/Sales, acting as a partner they pull in early.
Bring customer and contract intelligence into product decisions; surface what customers need before it becomes a requirement.
Partner with BD and the Growth Team on capture efforts, leveraging knowledge of the customer, contract landscape, and Bluestaq's realistic delivery capabilities.
Engage Engineering with enough technical fluency to have honest conversations about feasibility, tradeoffs, and commitment risk.
Represent the program externally in ways that build Bluestaq's credibility — in reviews, at industry forums, and in every customer interaction.
Ensure internal teams have the context they need — customer constraints, commitment changes, performance gaps — before they discover it during execution.
Manage the end-to-end program lifecycle: planning, delivery, compliance, sustainment, and closeout.
Coordinate cross-functionally across engineering, product, and operations to ensure contract fidelity and mission success.
Manage cross-functional dependencies, internal handoffs, and subcontractor coordination.
Champion AI adoption across the program team — identify where AI tools sharpen reporting, surface risk faster, and reduce manual overhead; model the behavior yourself.
Track burn rate, manage CLIN-level budget, and forecast variance against contract.
Maintain and drive integrated master schedules — flag slip before it compounds.
Track technical performance against contract requirements; own the gap between what was specified and what is being delivered.
Ensure alignment of program execution with DoD standards and reporting requirements (CDRLs, CPARs).
Proactively flag cost, schedule, or performance risk — before it becomes a problem, not after.
Engage in technical discussion as a credible participant — not a translator. Understand the system well enough to ask the right questions and recognize when answers don't add up.
Drive technical outcomes through meticulous understanding of system performance; partner with Engineering leads on risk and opportunity identification, not just status reporting.
Use performance metrics to identify where investment creates measurable improvement — and quantify the results.
Maintain a clear, current understanding of system state that can be communicated with precision to the subsidiary and end customer.