Mission-Critical Aerospace Program Lead

SES Space & Defense; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Comprehensive benefits

401(k) retirement plan

Job summary

SES Space & Defense seeks an experienced program leader to manage multi-year government aerospace and high-technology programs. You will coordinate customer requirements, contracts, cost, schedule, technical performance, risk, and subcontractors to ensure program success.

Strong leadership and clear communication with government customers and internal teams is essential. You will work in a matrixed environment, partnering with Chief Engineers and technical organizations while preserving

Qualifications

• 8+ years of program or project management experience, with at least 6+ years managing defense, satellite, or high-technology programs.
• Experience leading integrated teams and multiple subcontractors within a highly matrixed environment.
• Strong program financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, revenue and cost management, margin performance, EAC, variance analysis, cash flow, and contract financials.
• Strong understanding of program management principles, methodologies, and tools, including Agile, Waterfall, and/or SAFe.
• Strong communication, stakeholder engagement, and leadership skills.
• Demonstrated experience with conflict resolution, cross-functional collaboration, and risk and opportunity management.
• Demonstrated experience with change management frameworks and organizational development principles.
• Proficiency with MS Office tools, Visio, and project management software/tools such as MS Project.
• U.S. citizenship required, with the ability to obtain a Top Secret security clearance with SCI eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Lead several concurrent mission critical programs with accountability for performance, execution, and customer outcomes.
• Own full program execution across scope, schedule, cost, financial performance, technical performance, service quality, risk, and customer commitments.
• Lead integrated, cross functional program teams spanning engineering, operations, supply chain, contracts, finance, product development, and other functional organizations.
• Direct program execution across the full lifecycle, from contract award and program initiation through development, integration, deployment/launch, commissioning, and transition to operations
• Oversee the development, maintenance, and control of key program baselines, including Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), Integrated Master Schedules (IMS), program management plans, and technical baselines.
• Drive program financial performance through disciplined management of budgets, forecasts, EAC/ETC, revenue, cash flow, margins, and financial recovery plans.
• Serve as customer/senior stakeholder interface, leading reviews, managing expectations, negotiating changes, resolving escalations, and communicating risks and performance.
• Provide leadership with clear visibility into program health, financial and schedule performance, risks, issues, customer commitments, corrective actions, and emerging priorities.
• Manage major subcontractors and partners, overseeing SOWs, milestones, performance, compliance, and risk mitigation.
• Ensure compliance with contractual requirements, government regulations, export controls, and quality standards.
• Provide clarity on program objectives, ensure roles and responsibilities are well understood, and address conflicts in a timely manner with minimal direction from senior management.
• Establish and maintain a program risk and opportunity management framework.
• Proactively identify risks, develop mitigation strategies, and drive accountability for risk closure.
• Apply formal change management practices to ensure programs are appropriately baselined at kickoff, and subsequent changes are evaluated for justification and program impact and receive appropriate approvals.
• Contribute to the development of program management processes, tools, templates, and best practices.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives to enhance execution efficiency and predictability.

Skills

Program management

Defense programs

Cross-functional teams

Budgeting

Stakeholder communication

Risk management

Change management

MS Project

SAFe/Agile

MS Office / Visio

Tools

MS Project

MS Office

Visio

Job description

SES Space & Defense seeks an experienced program leader to manage multi-year government aerospace and high-technology programs. You will coordinate customer requirements, contracts, cost, schedule, technical performance, risk, and subcontractors to ensure program success.

Strong leadership and clear communication with government customers and internal teams is essential. You will work in a matrixed environment, partnering with Chief Engineers and technical organizations while preserving