Program Manager

i4DM•Millersville, MD

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Program Manager to lead a mission-critical program supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Telehealth, Scheduling, and Mobile Platform (TSMP) services. This high-visibility role serves as the primary interface with VA Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs), Contracting Officers (COs), and technical leadership, with full authority over program execution. This role is responsible for the end-to-end delivery, sustainment, and modernization of a secure, cloud-hosted platform supporting over 300 enterprise applications used by VA staff and millions of Veterans. The Program Manager will lead execution across program management, platform operations, DevSecOps, cybersecurity, and service delivery functions within a SAFe Agile environment, ensuring compliance with strict service-level agreements (SLAs), federal regulations, and VA governance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, Information Systems, or a related field.
10+ years of experience managing large-scale, complex IT programs, preferably supporting Federal Government contracts valued at $50M+.
Demonstrated experience leading mission-critical, 24x7 operations supporting enterprise platforms or healthcare application environments.
Proven experience managing Federal programs, preferably within VA OI&T, healthcare IT, or cloud-based platform environments.
Strong experience operating in SAFe Agile environments with full lifecycle program management responsibilities.
Experience managing enterprise cloud platforms (AWS preferred), containerized systems (e.g., Kubernetes/EKS), and DevSecOps ecosystems.
Deep understanding of risk management, SLA-driven operations, performance metrics, and operational reporting.
Strong expertise in cybersecurity compliance, RMF lifecycle management, and ATO processes.
Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting VAEC-MAP / TSMP or similar VA enterprise platform environments.
Experience leading cloud modernization platforms and healthcare application modernization initiatives.
PMP certification or equivalent program management certification.
SAFe certification (e.g., SAFe Program Consultant, SAFe Agilist).
Experience with DevSecOps, SRE, observability platforms, CI/CD pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
Familiarity with VA tools and governance processes, including Jira, ServiceNow, TRM, PAL, and PLM frameworks.
Experience with Spec-Driven Workflows, managing projects that utilize Spec-Driven Design or strict specification-first methodologies, where comprehensive technical specs serve as the primary driver for implementation.
Practical experience with AI Ecosystems, working alongside engineering teams utilizing modern AI development workflows, LLM integrations, or automated code-generation toolchains.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact to VA CORs, COs, and technical leadership with full authority over all technical, management, and administrative aspects of contract execution.
Provide leadership across onboarding, planning, execution, operations, reporting, and continuous improvement activities in alignment with VA Product Line Management (PLM) and governance processes.
Ensure all work is delivered in accordance with approved plans, schedules, performance standards, cybersecurity requirements, and VA policies (including TRM, PAL, and OI&T directives).
Manage staffing, resource allocation, subcontractor coordination, and personnel performance to meet contract requirements and maintain continuity of operations.
Oversee delivery of enterprise healthcare platform services, including AWS GovCloud-based infrastructure, containerized environments (EKS), and shared platform capabilities supporting mobile, web, and scheduling applications.
Lead program execution supporting 24x7 mission-critical platform operations with near-zero tolerance for service disruption.
Develop, maintain, and continuously update the Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP), including detailed schedules, milestones, risks, staffing plans, and resource forecasts.
Oversee delivery of all required program artifacts and reporting, including: Weekly Progress Reports (status, risks, planned work, deviations), 5-Year and 1-Year Forecasts (scope, schedule, assumptions), Program Increment (PI) milestones and Sprint Plans, Monthly Deliverables Reports, Monthly Cloud Cost Analytics and optimization recommendations, Executive dashboards, metrics, and ad hoc data reporting.
Monitor program performance against baselines, SLAs, and KPIs, proactively identifying and resolving risks, issues, and performance gaps.
Ensure all deliverables are accurate, timely, and compliant with VA reporting standards and Section 508 requirements where applicable.
Lead program execution within a SAFe Agile framework aligned to VA cadence, governance, and Product Line standards.
Ensure successful execution of Agile ceremonies and delivery activities, including: Backlog refinement and prioritization, Sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and Sprint reviews, Sprint demos and retrospectives, Program Increment (PI) planning and milestone tracking.
Maintain alignment across product teams, platform engineering, cybersecurity, and operations stakeholders to ensure synchronized delivery.
Drive modernization efforts leveraging DevSecOps pipelines, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), cloud-native architectures, and low-code/no-code platforms.
Own the Velocity Lifecycle - Lead the execution of a high-velocity project roadmap powered by Spec-Driven Design, ensuring that comprehensive technical specifications directly translate into rapid, high-quality AI-assisted deliverables.
Establish and manage requirements intake, service request workflows, and operational support processes using VA-approved tools (e.g., Jira, ServiceNow).
Ensure adherence to strict SLA requirements, including rapid response, triage, resolution, and reporting for Critical, High, Medium, and Low severity incidents.
Lead stakeholder engagement, communications, and training across VA product teams, mission partners, and healthcare application owners.
Provide regular briefings to VA leadership on operational status, risks, incident trends, modernization progress, and program performance.
Maintain strong coordination across cross-functional teams to support mission-critical healthcare delivery.
Oversee delivery across all TSMP functional areas, including: Platform Operations, Monitoring, and Observability; Architecture, Engineering, and Maintenance; Incident Management and Major Incident Response; DevSecOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE); Cybersecurity, RMF, and ATO support.
Ensure platform availability, reliability, and performance objectives (including near-continuous availability targets) are consistently met.
Drive improvements in scalability, automation, observability, system resilience, and operational efficiency.
Champion cloud cost optimization and resource efficiency across platform services.
Ensure full compliance with Federal regulations and VA-specific requirements, including: FAR, FISMA, and NIST frameworks; VA Directive 6500 and cybersecurity policies; HIPAA and healthcare data protection requirements; VA Technical Reference Model (TRM) and Zero Trust controls.
Oversee RMF lifecycle activities, including ATO management, continuous monitoring, security documentation, and audit readiness.
Manage POA&M tracking, vulnerability remediation, and coordination with VA security stakeholders.
Ensure adherence to VA governance processes, including Product Line Management (PLM) and VIP standards.
Track program performance metrics, SLA adherence, risk posture, and operational health indicators.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives across platform operations, DevSecOps pipelines, monitoring, and service delivery processes.
Promote adoption of modern engineering practices, including automation, observability, and reliability engineering.
Ensure teams maintain expert-level knowledge of TSMP systems, dependencies, and healthcare application environments.