Senior Program Manager

By Light HQ•Port Orange, FL

About The Position

The Senior Program Manager oversees the cost, schedule, and technical compliance of By Light’s portfolio of active customer-funded programs and internal research and development (IR&D) initiatives. The role involves hands-on management of customer relationships and day-to-day communications across multiple concurrent programs and projects in a fast-paced product-development and defense-contractor environment. The position also supports strategic internal investments aligned with future business opportunities and capture objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Project Management, Engineering, Business Management, or a related field; Engineering is preferred.
10 or more years of proven program management success.
Experience constructing complex, multidisciplinary technology programs and managing key performance risks.
Experience as a capture manager or systems engineer on one or more programs.
Fluency with Microsoft Project and Excel.
Ability to obtain a Secret Clearance.
Willingness to travel up to 50%.
Ability to sit for extended periods of time.

Nice To Haves

Ten or more years of experience managing multimillion-dollar projects or programs.
VR/AR, simulation, or similar technology experience.
Exposure to and experience with JIRA.

Responsibilities

Participate in proposal development and contract negotiations.
Develop pricing and work-breakdown strategies during the close-in capture process.
Set up and activate project sites in accordance with By Light PM ISO Procedures.
Develop project schedules covering costs, deliverables, risks, issues, and resource allocation across concurrent programs and IR&D efforts.
Establish budgets and cost controls, including management of cost structure, pool rates, and estimates to complete.
Collaborate with functional managers to define and allocate resources in a finite-capacity environment across contracted programs and IR&D projects.
Participate in iteration planning meetings to help ensure project milestones are met.
Identify and manage issues and risks to support successful, timely delivery across the program portfolio.
Conduct requirements and design reviews to ensure products meet customer needs and corporate objectives.
Work with stakeholders to ensure features comply with technical specifications.
Provide project gap analysis and offer options, solutions, and corrective actions to maintain project success.
Manage customer expectations and seek favorable decisions and outcomes from customer partners.
Develop revenue growth opportunities.
Manage and prioritize customer-funded programs and internal IR&D projects in alignment with corporate strategy, technical roadmaps, and future capture objectives.
Oversee IR&D project scope, cost tracking, schedule adherence, and technical maturity to support emerging capabilities and future business opportunities.
Collaborate with internal stakeholders to manage and prioritize the project portfolio, deliver programmatic earnings, and exceed customer expectations.
Perform additional duties as assigned.