Technical Program Manager (TPM)

Agile Defense•Washington, DC

17h•$150,000 - $200,000•Onsite

About The Position

Agile Defense is hiring a Technical Program Manager III for the Target Effect Pairing (TEP) capability supporting USPACOM Joint Fires. Built on the Maven Smart System for the Department of War’s Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), TEP provides commanders with AI recommendations that must be explainable, auditable, and useful to senior decision makers. Each increment must demonstrate those qualities before the program advances to its next milestone. The Technical Program Manager is accountable for delivery and owns the product backlog. The role translates mission requirements into a roadmap and executable development plan, sets priorities with input from the Product Manager and Fires subject-matter experts responsible for operational correctness, leads the team’s agile practice, and manages engagement with Joint Staff and USPACOM stakeholders. In this small team, the position combines product management, program management, and Scrum Master responsibilities. The team is split between Honolulu and the National Capital Region, and requirements, interfaces, and government decision timelines may change as the program develops. Success includes establishing a mutually agreed roadmap and delivery plan within the first 90 days; tying increments to milestones with acceptance criteria agreed in advance; tracking government decision dependencies with owners and planned dates; and maintaining one backlog and delivery cadence across locations. The role is expected to deliver complete, on-schedule contract deliverables that pass acceptance reviews without rework, demonstrate operator-facing changes in working software, communicate milestone risks and options early, and clearly frame decisions for government stakeholders. It also maintains a transparent, explainable backlog and builds a delivery practice the team can sustain, with effective refinement, planning, reviews, retrospectives, and blocker resolution across both locations. The position is based in the National Capital Region, requires travel 50% of the time, and all work takes place in secure facilities. The work environment includes professional offices, government sites, and technical development environments, with regular on-site collaboration and possible travel for operational stakeholders and mission activities. Secure facilities may restrict personal electronic devices and remote connectivity. Physical demands are sedentary to light, including regular computer and office-equipment use, extended meetings and technical working sessions, and occasional transport of standard work materials.

Requirements

Proven ability to drive progress and create clarity in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.
Ability to maintain required TS/SCI access.
The role requires experience spanning product management, program management, and Scrum Master work, as described in the position summary.
Ability to work in secure facilities and meet the physical and travel requirements described in the posting.

Nice To Haves

Experience taking a software product for a government customer through milestone or acceptance reviews, including the ability to discuss a review that went badly and what was changed afterward.
Experience as a product manager owning a backlog built from by a delivery team.
Experience serving as a Scrum Master or running an agile practice using Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or a similar approach adapted to the team.
Experience managing contract deliverables and government acceptance on a Department of War program.
Experience working directly with Joint Staff, combatant command, or CDAO stakeholders.
Experience leading a team split across locations or time zones.
Knowledge of Joint Fires, command and control, or AI-enabled decision support.
Experience using Jira, Confluence, or comparable delivery tools.

Responsibilities

Own the product backlog and translate mission requirements into a roadmap and executable development plan.
Set priorities using input from the Product Manager and Fires subject-matter experts, technical dependencies, risk, and team capacity; document the reasoning behind priority decisions.
Lead the team’s agile practice, including refinement, planning, reviews, and retrospectives across both locations.
Manage program delivery and government engagement with Joint Staff and USPACOM stakeholders.
Establish milestone-based increments with government-agreed acceptance criteria before work begins.
Make government decision dependencies visible, including an owner and planned date for each dependency.
Coordinate a unified backlog and delivery cadence for the Honolulu and National Capital Region locations.
Manage contract deliverables and government acceptance reviews to support complete, on-schedule delivery and first-pass acceptance.
Demonstrate operator-facing changes using working software and communicate milestone risks, options, and required stakeholder decisions early and clearly.
Ensure engineers understand the definition of done for sprint work and that stakeholders understand the status and rationale for requested work.
Raise and clear blockers within the sprint in which they arise and maintain forecasts reliable enough for government planning.
Travel as required; the position is stated to involve travel 50% of the time.