Deputy Program Manager – Defense Systems & AFRL Projects

Firestorm; City of Rome (NY); On-site; USD 117,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision plans

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

Unlimited PTO

Parental Leave

FSA/HSA

Job summary

Firestorm Labs is seeking a Deputy Program Manager to lead execution of a multi-year AFRL STRATFI effort, spanning aircraft production, operator training, payload integration, and field exercise support. You will own IMS, CDRL calendars, and risk tracking, while coordinating with engineering and manufacturing teams to keep milestones on schedule.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, 2+ years of government contract experience, and readiness to travel up to 25% for

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience considered in lieu of degree.
• 2+ years of program, project, or operations management experience, including at least 2 years supporting U.S. Government contracts as a prime or subcontractor.
• Demonstrated ownership of schedule, deliverables, and cost tracking on a federal contract, not solely a support or coordinator role.
• Working knowledge of the federal contracting environment: FAR/DFARS fundamentals, CLIN and PWS structure, CDRL and DID requirements, and government reporting expectations.
• Proficiency with scheduling and tracking tools (Microsoft Project, JIRA, Smartsheet, or equivalent) and advanced Excel.
• Clear, concise written communication able to produce a status report or technical deliverable that goes to the customer without heavy rework.
• U.S. Person as defined under ITAR (22 CFR 120.62); must be eligible to obtain and maintain a DoD SECRET security clearance.
• Willing to travel up to 25% to test ranges, customer sites, and field exercises, including occasional austere or outdoor environments.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) across the full period of performance.
• Translate PWS tasks into executable work packages with named owners and criteria.
• Coordinate weekly execution stand‑ups, monthly program reviews, and milestone gate reviews, including agendas and action item closure.
• Track earned value or progress measures and drive recovery plans with engineering and production leads.
• Own the CDRL matrix end to end: delivery calendar, author assignments, internal reviews, and timely deliverables.
• Verify that every deliverable conforms to DID, distribution statement, and marking requirements.
• Maintain contract file modifications and traceability between PWS tasks, CLINs, and delivered artifacts.
• Support contract actions with Contracts and Finance: modifications, option exercises, funding actions, and EQAs.
• Monitor program financials against baseline, support accrual and ETC updates.
• Track funding status and burn rate; flag exhaustion with lead time.
• Assist in preparing basis of estimate and pricing inputs for follow-on scope and proposals.
• Prepare program status reporting monthly and for quarterly reviews.
• Interface with engineering, manufacturing, and flight operations to align builds and deliveries.
• Coordinate operator and maintainer training scheduling and materials.
• Support payload integration and test campaigns planning, resourcing, range/airspace coordination, and post-test reporting.
• Maintain the risk and opportunity register; drive mitigation plans and elevate threats.
• Manage subcontractor and vendor performance against SOWs, delivery dates, and quality requirements.
• Support configuration management, quality, cybersecurity, and export-control processes.

Skills

Program management

Scheduling

Cost tracking

Federal contracting experience

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business or engineering

Tools

Microsoft Project

JIRA

Smartsheet

Excel

Job description

Firestorm Labs is seeking a Deputy Program Manager to lead execution of a multi-year AFRL STRATFI effort, spanning aircraft production, operator training, payload integration, and field exercise support. You will own IMS, CDRL calendars, and risk tracking, while coordinating with engineering and manufacturing teams to keep milestones on schedule.

The role requires a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, 2+ years of government contract experience, and readiness to travel up to 25% for