Defense Programs Lead: Hypersonics & Missile Systems

Actalent; Mukilteo (WA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Health Savings Account (HSA)

401(k) with immediate vesting

Profit sharing

Life and AD&D insurance

Short- and long-term disability

Employee Assistance Program

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Actalent seeks a Program Manager Defense Systems to oversee a portfolio of defense programs, including hypersonics and missile defense. You will guide programs from planning through qualification, production, and delivery, interfacing with customers and stakeholders.

The role emphasizes program execution, schedule and financial performance, and operational coordination in a dynamic aerospace environment. Onsite work in Washington state supports NASA, defense, and national security initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, business, program management, or related field.
• At least 5 years of experience supporting or managing aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or similarly complex technical programs.
• Demonstrated ability to manage program budgets and drive financial performance.
• Proven ability to manage complex schedules and maintain on-time delivery.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams in aerospace manufacturing, defense industry, or production environments.
• Strong program management skills, including cost management, schedule management, program planning, and resource planning.
• Experience with operations coordination, manufacturing support, and production planning in a technical environment.
• Stakeholder management and program leadership experience across internal and external partners.
• Ability to interface with customers in a professional and confident manner.
• Experience with contract management and working on government or defense-related programs.
• Proficiency with Excel and project management tools for scheduling, tracking, and reporting.
• Strong communication, presentation, and customer management skills.
• Demonstrated leadership capabilities, including leading cross-functional teams and influencing outcomes without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Lead assigned defense programs through planning, development, qualification, production, delivery, and contract completion.
• Own overall program performance against cost, schedule, technical, quality, contractual, and customer objectives.
• Develop and maintain integrated program plans, including schedules, budgets, milestones, resource requirements, and performance metrics.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, contracts, finance, and test organizations.
• Serve as the primary program interface for customers, prime contractors, government stakeholders, suppliers, and internal leadership.
• Identify technical, programmatic, supply chain, cost, and schedule risks and drive mitigation and recovery plans to maintain program commitments.
• Lead recurring program reviews and clearly communicate financial performance, risks, decisions, dependencies, and corrective actions.
• Support design reviews, test-readiness reviews, qualification activities, production-readiness reviews, and customer acceptance events.
• Manage contractual deliverables, statements of work, program changes, customer requests, and scope changes throughout the program lifecycle.
• Support proposals, cost and schedule estimates, contract negotiations, follow-on opportunities, and broader program growth activities.
• Focus daily work on program execution, customer interface, schedule management, financial performance, and operational coordination.
• Lead program teams as the organizational owner for execution while leveraging engineering resources for technical decision-making.
• Manage program budgets and schedules and ensure professional, consistent communication with customers and stakeholders.
• Provide clear program reporting, including status updates, metrics, and presentations for internal and external audiences.

Skills

Program management

Budget management

Schedule management

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Customer interface

Contract management

Government/defense programs

Excel

Project management tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field

Master's degree (MBA or related)

PMP certification

Tools

MS Excel

ERP systems

PLM systems

Job description

Actalent seeks a Program Manager Defense Systems to oversee a portfolio of defense programs, including hypersonics and missile defense. You will guide programs from planning through qualification, production, and delivery, interfacing with customers and stakeholders.

The role emphasizes program execution, schedule and financial performance, and operational coordination in a dynamic aerospace environment. Onsite work in Washington state supports NASA, defense, and national security initiatives.