Senior Program Manager - Remote Sensing

Umbra • Arlington, VA

4d • $185,000 - $210,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Umbra is seeking a Senior Program Manager to lead a portfolio of operational remote sensing programs supporting U.S. Department of War (DoW) and Intelligence Community (IC) customers. This role involves delivering mission-critical imagery, data products, and solutions, managing program cost, schedule, technical, and operational performance, and ensuring customer satisfaction throughout the program lifecycle. The Senior Program Manager will develop and maintain integrated program plans, schedules, budgets, forecasts, performance metrics, and risk management strategies, collaborating closely with various internal teams. A key aspect of this role is building deep customer and mission intimacy through frequent engagement with government customers and end-users to understand operational use, identify unmet needs, and gather feedback to inform program priorities and product development. Success requires strong leadership, technical and business judgment, and the ability to build trusted relationships. The position is based on-site in Arlington, VA.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or graduate degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, or a related STEM or business field.
• 5–8+ years of program management or comparable technical program leadership experience, including experience supporting U.S. Government aerospace, defense, intelligence, or national security space programs.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance with a read-in within the past two years.
• Proven ability to independently lead complex technical or operational programs and cross-functional teams through planning, execution, and customer delivery.
• Experience managing program financials, schedules, contractual requirements, risks and opportunities, technical or operational performance, and customer relationships.
• Experience working directly with U.S. Government customers and translating mission and contractual requirements into executable program priorities.
• Experience supporting U.S. Government captures, proposals, and business development efforts.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to establish trusted relationships across customers, senior leadership, technical teams, and partner organizations.

Nice To Haves

• 10+ years of program management or technical program leadership experience, including significant experience supporting DoW, Intelligence Community, or national security space programs.
• Experience with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and commercial Earth observation, including familiarity with satellite tasking, collection or mission operations, imagery products, processing and dissemination, and operational customer applications.
• Experience working with or supporting the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the broader GEOINT community, including direct engagement with intelligence analysts, mission operators, and other end users to understand operational workflows and translate mission needs into program priorities, product requirements, and new capabilities.
• Experience developing and growing U.S. Government programs through competitive captures, strategic proposals, follow-on opportunities, and expansion of existing customer relationships.
• Experience transitioning new technologies, sensing capabilities, or data products from development and demonstration into operational use or scalable commercial services.
• Familiarity with additional remote sensing and intelligence capabilities, including Passive RF/RF geolocation, EO/IR, multi-INT architectures, data fusion, imagery analytics, or derived intelligence products.
• Understanding of space and ground system architectures, systems engineering principles, and structured program or product development methodologies.
• Self-motivated, adaptable, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, ambiguous commercial environment with a high degree of ownership and initiative.
• Ability to travel domestically (CONUS) up to 25% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Lead a portfolio of U.S. national security remote sensing programs with responsibility for cost, schedule, technical and operational performance, contractual commitments, financial outcomes, and customer delivery.
• Develop and maintain program plans, schedules, budgets, forecasts, and risk and opportunity registers; lead recurring program reviews; and provide clear assessments of program health, risks, and outlook to customers and executive leadership.
• Serve as a primary interface for DoW and Intelligence Community customers and build trusted relationships across program offices, mission partners, and operational user communities.
• Engage frequently and directly with analysts, operators, and other end users to understand mission workflows, operational challenges, evolving requirements, and how Umbra's products are employed. Translate these insights into program improvements, product requirements, new capabilities, and growth opportunities.
• Partner with mission operations, engineering, product, and other cross-functional teams to ensure reliable execution of customer missions and delivery of imagery, data, and mission products.
• Establish and monitor program KPIs, service-level requirements, capacity, delivery performance, and other contractual measures; proactively identify risks and drive corrective actions.
• Apply and help mature scalable program management processes appropriate to a fast-paced commercial space environment.
• Serve as a bridge between customers and Umbra's product, engineering, mission operations, analytics, and technical organizations.
• Translate customer mission needs and operational feedback into product requirements, development priorities, CONOPS, and operational capabilities.
• Help advance new sensing modalities, multi-sensor solutions, analytics, and derived intelligence products from concept and demonstration into repeatable operational use.
• Develop growth strategies across assigned customers and programs and lead or support captures, proposals, and follow-on opportunities.
• Identify opportunities for contract expansion, new mission applications, and introduction of additional products and sensing capabilities.
• Serve as the voice of the customer across product and technical organizations, helping shape company roadmaps and investment priorities based on mission needs and market demand.
• Build effective relationships across engineering, product, mission operations, analytics, business development, contracts, finance, and other organizations.
• Establish clear priorities, align resources, facilitate decisions, and drive execution across teams without relying solely on direct organizational authority.

Benefits

• Flexible Time Off, Sick, Family & Medical Leave
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, LTD, STD (employer funded)
• Vol Life, Critical Illness, Accidental, Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance (employee funded)
• 401k with 3% non-elective company contribution
• Stock Options
• Free parking in office building or Transit is reimbursed
• Free lunch daily in office

What This Job Offers

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