Senior Program Manager

York Spaces Systems•Greenwood Village, CO

10d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Program Manager leads execution for one or more space missions or constellations, scaling beyond a single program to ensure consistent outcomes across multiple efforts. The Sr PM maintains FFP discipline, manages customer relationships and expectations, and directs cross‑program resources as needed—without implying portfolio‑director responsibilities. This role requires deep scar tissue from delivering complex systems, mastery of lifecycle events, and strong judgment in difficult tradeoffs. You will mentor our Program Managers, build scalable processes, and embody our mission to deliver breakthrough space capabilities faster and more efficiently than anyone else.

Requirements

Clear experience in leading the customer expectations on FFP (Firm Fixed Price) contracts with the USG.
Proactively managing contract updates for additional scope requests and maintain program milestone payments.
Protect the program from unnecessary scope growth by actively leveraging your in depth knowledge of all the contractual documents.
Define customer expectations through clear, proactive communication and evidence‑based options when issues arise.
Proactively communicate effectively and efficiently with York executives on all facets of the program to resolve issues quickly and maintain the program health: financial/programmatic/technical.
Strategically communicate clearly with customer counterpart’s leadership on the issue resolution.
Lead strategic conversations for all key program suppliers and small company executive leadership for beneficial solutions.
Strong experience in understanding security governance and documentation for execution on a program.
Clearly demonstrates the ability to provide guidance and processes for managing access and handling data transfers.
Ability to proactively identify security concerns in non-York facilities for testing and integration.
Ability to work with the security team to protect the program and company from security violations.
Lead full lifecycle execution for a large constellation, managing scope, schedule, budget, risks, and deliverables across the full life cycle.
Own the FFP baseline: track performance to plan, manage changes for added scope/revenue, and leverage contract documents in difficult customer conversations.
Experience driving closure on programs with significant NRE.
Drive agile, data‑driven program rhythms (dashboards, metrics) to maintain program health and de‑risk execution early.
Coordinate integrated teams (engineering, production, supply chain, finance, operations) and influence progress without relying on a large support org.
Experience in high-autonomy, high-complexity environments.
Driven to ensure the ball won’t drop – experience in working outside your swim lane or standard work background.
Ability to find innovative and low cost solutions to internal issues as they arise across the life of the program.
Mentor PMs/DPMs on event readiness (SRR, PDR, CDR, PSR, O&S), NRE execution, and TRL maturation.
Guide risk management for multiple efforts; lead resets/redesigns and accelerate recovery using data‑driven decisions.
Direct cross‑program resourcing when needed; align teams on priorities and resolve conflicts constructively.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, technical discipline, or related field.
10+ years leading complex aerospace/defense programs with multi‑vehicle or multi‑program scope.
Prior clearance experience; TS/SCI eligibility required.
Ability to work full‑time onsite in Greenwood Village, CO.

Nice To Haves

Experience in high-autonomy, high-complexity environments (aircraft/aerospace manufacturing, oil & gas operations, high-reliability industrial systems).
Master’s degree in engineering or management.
Experience in high-growth startup environments.

Responsibilities

Lead execution for one or more space missions or constellations, scaling beyond a single program to ensure consistent outcomes across multiple efforts.
Maintain FFP discipline, manage customer relationships and expectations, and direct cross‑program resources as needed.
Mentor Program Managers, build scalable processes, and embody the mission to deliver breakthrough space capabilities faster and more efficiently.
Lead the customer expectations on FFP (Firm Fixed Price) contracts with the USG.
Proactively manage contract updates for additional scope requests and maintain program milestone payments.
Protect the program from unnecessary scope growth by actively leveraging in-depth knowledge of all contractual documents.
Define customer expectations through clear, proactive communication and evidence‑based options when issues arise.
Proactively communicate effectively and efficiently with York executives on all facets of the program to resolve issues quickly and maintain program health: financial/programmatic/technical.
Strategically communicate clearly with customer counterpart’s leadership on issue resolution.
Lead strategic conversations for all key program suppliers and small company executive leadership for beneficial solutions.
Provide guidance and processes for managing access and handling data transfers.
Proactively identify security concerns in non-York facilities for testing and integration.
Work with the security team to protect the program and company from security violations.
Lead full lifecycle execution for a large constellation, managing scope, schedule, budget, risks, and deliverables across the full life cycle.
Own the FFP baseline: track performance to plan, manage changes for added scope/revenue, and leverage contract documents in difficult customer conversations.
Experience driving closure on programs with significant NRE.
Drive agile, data‑driven program rhythms (dashboards, metrics) to maintain program health and de‑risk execution early.
Coordinate integrated teams (engineering, production, supply chain, finance, operations) and influence progress without relying on a large support org.
Ensure the ball won’t drop – experience in working outside your swim lane or standard work background.
Find innovative and low cost solutions to internal issues as they arise across the life of the program.
Mentor PMs/DPMs on event readiness (SRR, PDR, CDR, PSR, O&S), NRE execution, and TRL maturation.
Guide risk management for multiple efforts; lead resets/redesigns and accelerate recovery using data‑driven decisions.
Direct cross‑program resourcing when needed; align teams on priorities and resolve conflicts constructively.