5G Tactical OTM Product Manager

Thales Defense & Security, Inc.; Clarksburg (MD); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 192,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan

Medical insurance for self and family

Generous 401(k) with up to 7% company,

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday

Paid maternity, paternity, and paren­t

9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday

Hybrid Working Environment

Job summary

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. in Clarksburg, MD seeks a 5G Tactical OTM Product Manager to lead private 5G NPN/OTM initiatives, interfacing with DoD customers and the global product engineering team.

The role focuses on military-grade 5G capabilities, secure deployments, and regulatory compliance, reporting to the Director of Product Line Management- Tactical Communications. The ideal candidate has 8+ years in telecom architecture with 5G, deep understanding of 3GPP/ETSI standards, and

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship required; security investigation may be required.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related technical discipline; MS preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in telecom solutions architecture with 5G RAN/Core and edge compute.
• Good understanding of RF propagation in 4G/5G bands, and defense applications.
• Experience with DoD/NATO frameworks is highly valued.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% (mostly domestic).

Responsibilities

• Define and develop private 5G NPN and OTM solutions for forward bases, mobile platforms, and wearable tech.
• Lead survivability designs: spectrum management, interference mitigation, mobility, backhaul.
• Engage with US DoD customers through workshops and feedback to capture requirements.
• Guide adaptation of Thales 5G/edge products to military standards and security policies.
• Support design, deployment, and optimization of secure defense network solutions.
• Draft documentation for internal stakeholders and DoD representatives.
• Assist in proposals, RFP responses, and competitive analyses; contribute to Price to Win.
• Monitor 5G advancements for military applications and future evolutions.

Skills

Telecom solutions architecture

5G RAN/Core

Edge compute

3GPP/ETSI standards

NFV/SDN virtualization

OpenStack

Kubernetes

UML/SysML

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

MS preferred

Tools

OpenStack

Kubernetes

UML/SysML

DODAF

Job description

5G Tactical OTM Product Manager

CLARKSBURG, MD, US, 20871

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) Headquartered in Clarksburg, MD, is a U.S. company that has been serving domestic and international defense Air, Land and Sea domains for 60+ years. With over 1,000 employees, TDSI and its four subsidiaries (Advanced Acoustic Concepts, Digital Receiver Technology, Tampa Microwave, and Trusted Cyber Technologies), supports U.S. Joint Services, special operations forces and multi-national partners with a variety of communication, visualization, signal intelligence/electronic warfare, and sensor/sonar capabilities. TDSI's key technologies include tactical handheld radios, expeditionary satellite terminals, helmet-mounted displays, optics and target recognition capability, advanced radars, undersea sensing and missile systems. Lives depend on what we do!

Top Benefits (Subject to terms of applicable policies/plans)

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan
• Medical insurance for self and eligible family members
• Generous 401(k) program- up to 7% company contribution and 100% immediate vesting
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday leave
• Paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• 9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday off)
• Hybrid Working Environment

We are excited to announce that we have an opening in our Clarksburg, MD office for a 5G Tactical Communications Product Manager. This is a newly created position within our high-performing business development organization, and will report to the Director of Product Line Management- Tactical Communications in Clarksburg, MD. This position will be the technical, customer-facing expert within 5G and tactical communications/ radios and will work with the global product engineering team to ensure capabilities are developed to meet customer specifications.

Responsibilities

• Define and develop private 5G Non-Public Networks (NPN) and On-the-move (OTM) solutions for forward bases, mobile platforms, and man-wearable technologies- consisting of portable, mesh-capable nodes.
• Lead designs for survivability: dynamic spectrum management, interference mitigation, robust mobility/handover, RF propagation planning (low/high 4G/5G bands), and redundant backhaul (e.g., lineofsight, SATCOM, microwave) with graceful degradation.
• Direct communication with the US DOD customers, which can include customer workshops, solicitation of customer feedback/ lessons learned, leveraging various strategies to capture customer requirements.
• Guide the adaptation/integration of Thales 5G/edge products to meet military standards, SWaPC constraints, environmental and EMI/EMC requirements, and Zero Trust/security policies for tactical deployments.
• Participate in the design, deployment, and optimization of innovative, secure, and resilient network solutions for defense applications.
• Analyze DOD requirements, conduct technical feasibility studies, and propose robust solutions aligned with mission-critical needs.
• Ensure compliance with U.S. Federal and Defense cybersecurity/pre-certification frameworks (e.g., FIPS, NIST, DOD STIGs).
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, including R&D, systems engineering, security experts, program management, and external (government/industrial) partners.
• Draft high-level and detailed technical documentation for both internal stakeholders and DOD representatives.
• Support proposal preparation and responses to government RFPs, including presenting technical solutions to Defense entities.
• Support the Product Line Management Director and Capture Team to conduct competitive analysis, determine discriminators and product gaps.
• Help develop a Price to Win strategy for various markets.
• Monitor technological advancements in 5G, network virtualization, and their military applications, recommending future evolutions as required.

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• U.S. Citizenship required. - Applicants selected may be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or related technical discipline- MS preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in telecom solutions architecture, with proven expertise in 5G RAN/ Core and edge compute; including significant hands on experience designing and deploying tactical/ OTM private 5G networks.
• Good understanding of the Radio propagation in low and high 4G/5G Bands, including effects of RF challenged environments.
• Background in adapting commercial or government telecom solutions for Defense or mission-critical applications.
• Strong understanding of 3GPP, ETSI standards, as well as virtualization (NFV/SDN) and cloud technologies (OpenStack, Kubernetes, etc.).
• Experience working with U.S. DOD or NATO frameworks is highly valued.
• Excellent analytical, synthesis, and technical writing skills.
• Strong interpersonal and leadership abilities; capable of interfacing with both technical teams and government customers.
• Ability to travel up to 30% (mostly domestic with some international travel).

Additional Preferred Skills

• Experience in cybersecurity, particularly in securing telecom systems for defense use.
• Knowledge of military communications standards, security requirements, and validation processes (e.g., DoDIN APL, DIACAP/RMF, FIPS 140-2).
• Knowledge of classified environments and ITAR/EAR compliance.
• Experience with network modeling tools (UML, SysML) and architecture frameworks such as DODAF.
• French language skills appreciated but not required.

The annualized pay range for this role is $150,300-$192,050 USD along with a target incentive compensation plan (ICP) of 10%.

For specific questions about this job posting, candidates may contact talent acquisition at [e-mail].

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. is committed to non-discrimination as applicable under federal, state and local laws. We are an E-Verify Employer.

If you need an accommodation or assistance in order to apply for a position with Thales Defense & Security, Inc., please call Human Resources at 202-961-1016.

Nearest Major Market: Washington DC