Program Manager

University of Texas at Austin

14d•Onsite

About The Position

The Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Tools, Applications, and Processing (TAP) Lab Texas is a U.S. Space Force initiative hosted at the University of Texas at Austin, funded by a $9.27 million grant from the Texas Space Commission. The lab's mission is to accelerate the delivery of space battle management software to operational units by transforming academic and commercial research into mission-ready capabilities through a structured accelerator program. It focuses on pioneering next-generation defenses for the nation's critical space architecture, integrating AI, astrodynamics, cyber-informed engineering (CIE), and decision intelligence, with the GaiaVerse GaiaGraph platform serving as the core of its decision intelligence architecture. TAP Lab Texas operates in close coordination with U.S. Space Force System Delta 85, Task Force-Futures, SSIO, AFRL, and other mission partners. The Program Manager (PM) is the day-to-day operations officer of the SDA TAP Lab Texas, working closely with and under the technical direction of Prof. Moriba Jah, the Principal Investigator and Director of TAP Lab Texas. The PM acts as the central point of contact for cohorts, USSF mission partners, university administration, and external stakeholders, translating the PI’s strategic and technical vision into executable operational plans. The PM is responsible for cost, schedule, and performance delivery across all grant-funded activities and is the primary contact for cohort teams during their prototyping, integration, and validation processes. This role requires a disciplined project-management professional who can work seamlessly with a technically demanding PI, execute technical direction with minimal supervision, and represent the lab's mission credibly to both DoD leadership and academic innovators. Familiarity with federally funded research administration, a collaborative and proactive approach, and flexibility for travel are essential.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, systems engineering, business administration, public administration, or a closely related field.
Minimum five (5) years of experience in program/project management, research administration, or a related role within a federally sponsored research or DoD program environment.
Demonstrated experience managing cost, schedule, and performance for multi-year, multi-stakeholder programs (>$1M annual budget).
Familiarity with federal grant regulations (2 CFR Part 200) and sponsored project administration processes.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear briefings and reports for both technical and executive audiences.
Proficiency in project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, Jira, or equivalent) and standard office productivity software.
U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance.
Willingness and ability to travel domestically as required (estimated 15–25% travel).
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or PMP / PMI-ACP certification.
Prior experience working with or within the U.S. Space Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, DoD innovation hubs (AFWERX, SpaceWERX, DIU), or a university-affiliated defense research center.
Familiarity with Space Domain Awareness, astrodynamics, cybersecurity, or AI/ML applications in defense contexts.
Experience with technology accelerator or cohort-based R&D programs.
Active DoD security clearance (Secret or higher).
Experience with sub-award management, teaming agreements, and SBIR/STTR program administration.

Responsibilities

Serve as the resident operations officer for TAP Lab Texas, maintaining daily situational awareness of all active cohort activities, resources, and timelines.
Sit with cohort teams during sprint cycles to facilitate the integration of their tools, applications, and datasets into the SDA TAP Lab Texas infrastructure and data environment.
Coordinate access to lab computational resources, secure data feeds, and GaiaGraph integration pipelines on behalf of cohort teams.
Manage onboarding and off-boarding of cohort participants, including data-sharing agreements, lab access, and orientation to USSF mission context.
Serve as the primary operational interface between cohort teams and TAP Lab technical leads, ensuring that technical direction from the PI/Director is clearly communicated, understood, and executed by cohort participants.
Own the integrated master schedule (IMS) for all TAP Lab Texas activities, tracking milestones across cohort cycles, infrastructure buildout, and reporting obligations.
Monitor grant expenditures against the approved budget, coordinate with UT Austin Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) on financial reporting, and proactively flag variances and risks to the PI/Director to enable timely course correction.
Prepare and deliver periodic programmatic and financial status reports to the Texas Space Commission, USSF mission partners, and UT Austin leadership.
Maintain risk registers and mitigation plans; proactively escalate issues that threaten cost, schedule, or performance baselines.
Ensure deliverables comply with TSC grant terms, UT Austin sponsored project policies, and applicable federal regulations (2 CFR Part 200, DoD flow-down clauses).
Serve as the primary liaison to U.S. Space Force System Delta 85 and the SDA TAP Lab national program office located in Colorado Springs, CO (sdataplab.org).
Coordinate with the SDA TAP Lab Maui node on shared cohort resources, joint activities, and cross-site programmatic alignment.
Represent TAP Lab Texas at USSF headquarters meetings, program reviews, and coordination sessions as directed by the PI/Director.
Cultivate and maintain productive relationships with DoD program officers, AFRL, AFWERX/SpaceWERX, DIU, and other innovation ecosystem partners.
Interface with UT Austin's Office of Sponsored Projects, Office of Research, and legal/contracts offices on sub-award, teaming, and compliance matters.
Track the technology readiness levels (TRLs) and transition status of cohort solutions, maintaining an up-to-date capability mapping aligned to USSF mission threads.
Support the PI and GaiaVerse GaiaGraph team in benchmarking cohort performance and identifying gaps relative to operational priorities.
Contribute to after-action reports, cohort outcome summaries, and transition packages submitted to TSC and USSF mission partners.
Support preparation of presentations, white papers, and briefings for DoD audiences under the direction of the PI/Director and in coordination with JDIG staff.
Travel as mission requirements demand to: U.S. Space Force Headquarters, Colorado Springs, CO — program reviews, partner coordination, and SDA TAP Lab national program office meetings.
Travel to SDA TAP Lab Maui node — cross-site coordination and joint cohort activities.
Travel to other locations as required for conferences, technology demonstrations, or stakeholder engagement.