Federal Program Manager: Mission-Critical Deployments

Nominal; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% medical/dental/vision coverage

Unlimited PTO and sick leave

Free lunch, snacks, and coffee

Professional Development Stipend

In-office hardware lab with a $250项目堆栈

Job summary

Nominal is seeking a Program Manager to lead and grow our Federal customer engagements, including DoD, DOE, NASA, and other agencies. You will serve as the program owner coordinating government offices, Nominal’s Federal BD, Mission Operations, Engineering, Product, Legal, and Finance to ensure successful execution and expanding footprint.

You will translate customer requirements into execution plans, guide deployments of Nominal’s platform, and ensure programs deliver measurable mission

Qualifications

• 5+ years in program management, technical delivery, or customer-facing roles in technology, defense, or government environments.
• Experience managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with customers while coordinating internal teams to deliver strong outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Own program success for strategic federal customers.
• Build strong relationships with government stakeholders.
• Coordinate cross-functional execution across internal teams.
• Drive program planning, milestones, and delivery.
• Communicate program progress and impact to customers and internal stakeholders.
• Identify opportunities for account growth with Federal BD.
• Support technical deployments and implementations.

Skills

Program management

Government / DoD experience

Cross-functional leadership

Customer relationship

Strong communication

Job description

Program Manager, Federal

New York, NY • Washington, D.C.

Federal

In office

Full-time

About Nominal

Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems—from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision.

We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn’t an option.

We’re backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.

🚀 About the role

We’re hiring a Program Manager to lead the execution and growth of Nominal’s most strategic Federal customer engagements, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA, and other critical agencies.

This role sits at the center of our federal accounts after contract award.

You will act as the programmatic hub across the Government customer, Nominal’s Federal Business Development team, Mission Operations, Engineering, Product, Legal, and Finance to ensure successful execution, strong customer relationships, and continued account expansion.

You’ll serve as the primary program owner responsible for ensuring customer success, coordinating delivery across internal teams, and helping Nominal grow its footprint with key government organizations.

This role combines technical program management, customer leadership, and operational coordination. You will work closely with engineering and mission operations teams to translate customer requirements into execution plans, guide deployments of Nominal’s platform, and ensure programs deliver measurable mission outcomes.

🖥️ What You'll Do

Own program success for strategic federal customers

• Serve as the central owner of program execution in key federal accounts. Ensure projects stay on track, internal teams are aligned, and customers experience clear and consistent value from Nominal’s platform.

Build strong relationships with government stakeholders

• Develop trusted working relationships with program offices and key stakeholders across government organizations. You’ll serve as a primary point of contact responsible for communicating progress, surfacing feedback, and maintaining alignment.

Coordinate cross-functional execution

• Work closely with Mission Operations, Product, Engineering, BD, Legal, and Finance to ensure programs run smoothly and customer needs are translated into clear execution plans.

Drive program planning and delivery

• Develop long-term execution plans, track milestones and deliverables, and ensure teams are aligned on timelines, priorities, and customer outcomes.

Communicate program success

• Proactively communicate program progress and impact to customers and internal stakeholders through updates, documentation, and reporting.

Identify opportunities for account growth

• Work closely with the Federal BD team to identify expansion opportunities, surface new use cases, and help position Nominal for follow-on work with existing customers.

Support technical deployments and implementations

• Partner with internal teams to translate mission requirements into clear deployment and execution plans, helping ensure successful adoption of Nominal’s platform.

🎯 We're Looking for Someone With

• 5+ years of experience in program management, technical delivery, or customer-facing roles in technology, defense, or government environments.
• Experience managing complex projects involving multiple stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with customers while coordinating internal teams to deliver strong outcomes.
• Strong organizational and program management skills, including planning, milestone tracking, and risk management.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate technical execution into clear updates for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Comfort operating in fast-moving environments where roles and processes are still evolving.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.
• Active TS/SCI clearance or the ability to obtain one is strongly preferred.

⚡ Skills that accelerate us

• Experience supporting government customers or mission-oriented organizations
• Background in defense technology, government technology, or national security environments
• Military service or prior experience supporting operational programs
• Experience managing technical deployments or product implementations
• Comfort operating at the intersection of technical teams, customers, and business leadership

✨ Benefits/Perks

• 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
• 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
• 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
• 🛠️ In-office hardware lab with a $250 project stipend
• ✈️ Annual company retreat

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Compensation

The base pay range for this role is $150,000 – $210,000 per year.

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This position requires access to information and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Your responses to the questions below will be used solely to determine your eligibility under U.S. law to receive information and materials subject to U.S. export controls. Are you any of the following “protected individual(s)” as defined in the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)? *

A person lawfully admitted for permanent residence of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder)

A person admitted as a refugee to the United States under 8 U.S.C. 1157

A person admitted as an asylee to the United States under 8 U.S.C. 1158

A United States citizen or national

None of the above

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Will you require sponsorship from Nominal for employment now or in the future? (e.g, OPT, H1B visa)? *

Yes

No

Clearance Eligibility - Do you presently hold an active U.S. security clearance, or are you eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance? *

Yes, I hold an active U.S. security clearance

Yes, I'm eligible for a U.S security clearance

No

If you have held a U.S. security clearance in the past, what clearance level have you held? *

Confidential

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Top Secret

N/A - have never held a U.S. security clearance

Do you have experience working with the U.S. Government as a customer or within government organizations? *

Yes, as a customer.

Yes, within a government organization

Yes, within both

No, I do not have this experience

Have you worked on programs involving software delivery or software product deployment? *

Yes

No

Have you personally been accountable for delivering outcomes to a customer? If so, how? *

This position is 5 days in office in either NYC or DC. Are you able to work 5 days in office? *

Yes

No

This position requires travel up to 50% of your time. Are you able to hit these requirements? *

Yes

No

Voluntary Self-Identification

To comply with government reporting requirements, we invite candidates to participate in the self-identification survey below. Your completion of this form is entirely optional, and your decision will neither influence the hiring process nor any subsequent stages. Any information you choose to share will be kept confidential and stored in a secure file. As outlined in our Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we uphold a commitment to non-discrimination based on any protected group status specified in applicable laws.

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Voluntary Self-Identification of Veteran Status

VEVRAA requires Government contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment protected veterans. To help us measure the effectiveness of our outreach and recruitment efforts of veterans, we are asking you to tell us if you are a veteran covered by VEVRAA. If you believe that you belong to any of the following categories of protected veterans, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.

Veteran status descriptions

Disabled veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military and is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to disability compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability

Recently separated veteran

A veteran separated during the three-year period beginning on the date of the veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S military, ground, naval, or air service

Active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran

A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense

Armed Forces service medal veteran

A veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (61 Fed. Reg. 1209).

Veteran status

Req ID: R45