(Senior) Program Manager

orcristtechnologies; Berlin; Remote; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work

30 days vacation

Home-office budget

Performance bonuses

Welcome goodie bag

Team gatherings

Career development

Job summary

Orcrist is seeking a (Senior) Program Manager to lead government and defense programs from opportunity to delivery. You will translate customer needs into concrete project concepts and prototypes, coordinating with Government Development, Business Development, product, and operations.

You will manage scope, timeline, budget, and risks, build trusted relationships with public-sector customers and procurement bodies, and ensure compliance with contractual obligations.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of relevant professional experience in program management, project management, or solution delivery.
• Proven track record of converting leads or customer needs into funded projects and delivering complex, cross-functional programs.
• Experience in defense, security, government, or regulated public-sector environments.

Responsibilities

• Translate customer needs into concrete project concepts and prototypes with Government Development, Business Development, and Product.
• Lead delivery across defense, security, and public-sector environments with operations teams.
• Structure prototypes, MVPs, and pilots with clear test scenarios and milestones.
• Take end-to-end responsibility for program delivery post-award: scope, timeline, budget, tech implementation, dependencies, risks.
• Establish governance, reporting, and relationships with procurement bodies and external partners.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional delivery

Business development

Pilot projects

Entrepreneurial mindset

German & English

Job description

Orcrist is building a next generation data intelligence platform using cutting-edge technologies. We're handling petabyte-scale data with sub-second queries. Our product is a Kubernetes‑based platform delivered as B2B SaaS or as a self‑hosted on‑prem solution, including air‑gapped deployments. We enable customers across defense, law enforcement, and enterprise to turn mission-critical data into actionable intelligence.

Role

We're looking for a (Senior) Program Manager to join our Business/Government Development team. In this role, you'll own the entire path from a prioritized opportunity to a successfully delivered and scalable customer program. You will translate customer needs into concrete project concepts and prototypes, leading delivery across defense, security, and public-sector environments while bridging the gap between capture, product, and operational users.

What you'll do

• Convert prioritized leads and customer needs into concrete, funded project opportunities together with Government Development, Business Development, and Product.
• Work directly with public-sector customers and operational users to understand complex operational problems, user needs, and procurement logic.
• Structure and coordinate prototypes, demonstrators, minimum viable products (MVPs), and pilot projects with clear test scenarios and decision milestones.
• Take end-to-end responsibility for program delivery post-award, managing scope, timeline, budget, technical implementation, dependencies, and risks.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with users, decision-makers, procurement bodies, and external technology or consortium partners.
• Document customer feedback and operational insights systematically, translating them into product decisions and reusable platform capabilities.
• Establish binding governance, reporting, and decision-making structures to ensure contractual obligations and customer expectations are consistently met.

About you

• 6+ years of relevant professional experience in program management, project management, innovation management, solution delivery, or technical business development.
• Proven track record of converting early leads or customer needs into funded projects and delivering complex, cross-functional customer programs.
• Demonstrable experience in defense, security, government, or comparably regulated public-sector environments.
• Experience structuring pilot projects or prototypes with technical teams and operational users, especially where requirements are not fully defined upfront.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with strong ownership, structured execution, and the ability to connect strategic objectives with operational delivery.
• Business fluent German and English (C1+).
• Willingness to travel regularly (approx. 30–40% within Germany and Europe).
• Work authorization in Germany and willingness to undergo a security clearance.

What We Offer

• Remote-first, Germany-wide: Work from wherever you do your best work, with regular team gatherings in Berlin and other off-site locations.
• Flexibility by default: Flexible working hours help you make work fit your life.
• Your setup, your way: Get a personal home-office equipment budget to create a workspace that works for you.
• 30 days of vacation: Take the time you need to recharge and come back with fresh energy.
• Keep growing: We invest in your personal and professional development.
• Get rewarded for impact: Performance bonuses are tied to agreed objectives and key results.
• A warm welcome: Every new team member gets a welcome goodie bag.
• Good people, good times: From summer and Christmas parties to regular team gatherings, we make time to celebrate together.
• A mission that matters: Work on challenges with tangible impact on public safety and national security.