Program Manager

UFA Inc • Germantown, MD

5d • $120,000 - $160,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Program Manager is the senior frontline management position responsible for leading a team of Deputy Program Managers, Product Support Specialists and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for a multi-year program delivering training simulators to a national footprint of US Government facilities. This role focuses on the overall program health and performance ensuring the firm-fixed price program is delivered on time, within budget, and to customer satisfaction. This program carries significant contract value, hardware and software procurement, configuration-managed baselines, and milestone deadlines with direct schedule, financial, and liquidated-damages accountability.

While the Program Manager role primary focus is to lead a strategically important program, there is also emphasis on team leadership, portfolio oversight, resource allocation, and alignment with organizational objectives. The Program Manager serves as a key link between program execution and executive leadership, and as a senior point of contact for prime contractors, Government stakeholders, and end customers on a high-consequence program.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Aviation, Business, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in program or project management, including large-scale, multi-site technical systems.
• 5+ years of experience in a management or team leadership capacity, leading project managers or technical leads.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Demonstrated experience delivering firm-fixed-price programs of significant value (multi-million dollar) with multi-year periods of performance and option years.
• Experience as a subcontractor program manager interfacing with a prime contractor and a Government end customer, including managing flow-down requirements and deliverables.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering, test and evaluation, and configuration management / controlled baselines (CCB) processes.
• Experience with cost and schedule control, including integrated master scheduling.
• Experience managing milestone-driven contracts, including risk and issue management under schedule, financial, and liquidated-damages accountability.
• Experience with project management and work management tools (e.g., MS Project, JIRA), and proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio).
• Strong leadership, coaching, interpersonal, and written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Position of Public Trust Clearance.
• Must be able to comply with U.S. trade and export-control requirements (ITAR, EAR, OFAC, FTR).
• Must be a U.S. citizen.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or Master’s degree in engineering, management, or a related field.
• Program Management Professional (PgMP) certification.
• Agile or Scrum certification (CSM, PSM, SAFe).
• Direct experience on U.S. Government programs, including FAA or National Airspace System (NAS) programs.
• Working knowledge of ATC concepts, airfield/tower operations, and simulation/training environments.
• Aviation certifications or background (e.g., FAA Control Tower Operator, Pilot License, or equivalent controller/aviation experience).
• Experience managing hardware/software procurement and supply-chain logistics on large-value programs.
• Active or recently held Public Trust or higher clearance.

Responsibilities

• Directly manage strategically important program with national multi-site rollouts under firm-fixed-price terms.
• Provide hands-on program leadership during critical phases, installations, test events, or resource constraints.
• Own scope, schedule, cost, and quality on assigned programs and manage milestone deadlines where slips carry contractual, financial, and liquidated-damages exposure.
• Serves as the senior customer-facing point of contact; running program reviews, IPRs, and customer briefings
• Manage customer expectations and satisfaction through installation and site activation.
• Handle change requests, exceptions, and scope conversations with the prime and the Government.
• Build long-term customer relationships that position follow-on work and option-year exercise.
• Align project/program priorities with organizational strategy and objectives.
• Communicate program status, risks, and strategic issues to executive leadership.
• Serve as an escalation point for critical customer issues and program decisions.
• Interface with prime contractors and Government stakeholders, managing flow-down obligations, submittals, approvals, and deliverable commitments.
• Monitor the health, status, and performance within the program, including multi-site national deployments and long-duration programs with option years.
• Review project schedules, budgets, and risk profiles to identify issues requiring intervention.
• Ensure consistent application of project management, systems engineering, test and evaluation, and configuration management (CCB-governed baseline) methodologies and standards.
• Oversee cost and schedule baselines, applying earned value and other performance measures to keep firm-fixed-price program within budget.
• Guide management of Other Direct Costs, including procurement, vendor coordination, and supply-chain risk.
• Ensure integrated master schedule is maintained and that critical-path risks to installation, testing, and site activation are identified and mitigated early.
• Oversee contract deliverables required for the prime contractor to meet its obligations to the customer.
• Allocate project management resources based on project priorities to identify capacity constraints.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams (development, systems engineering, test and evaluation, installation, and operations and maintenance) to ensure adequate staffing and support for project delivery.
• Directly manage and supervise Deputy Program Managers, Product Support Specialists and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
• Conduct regular one-on-ones, performance reviews, and career development discussions with direct reports.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and guidance on project management best practices.
• Identify training needs and support professional development of team members.
• Foster a collaborative team environment and promote knowledge sharing across the organization.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, and resource planning.

Benefits

• Domestic and international travel may be required, including travel to customer and installation sites across a national footprint to support deployments, test events, site activations, and program reviews.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior