Portfolio Manager

Penn State University; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Penn State University in Reston, VA seeks a senior-level Portfolio Manager to support a growing AIML portfolio within the ARL. You will partner closely with a technical lead to manage a large IDIQ contract, overseeing cost, schedule, and performance while coordinating with government sponsors and internal teams.

The role requires onsite presence in Reston with local travel to Chantilly. Join a team delivering frontier AIML research with real operational impact, mentoring staff and shaping

Qualifications

• Experience managing complex DoD or IC programs with cost, schedule, scope, and performance.
• Sponsor-facing liaison with strong stakeholder management skills.
• Budget oversight, spend plans, and financial reporting.
• Contributed to proposals or task orders.
• Ability to communicate business and programmatic aspects of AIML/data science portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Support the technical lead across the full lifecycle of a large IDIQ contract.
• Serve as senior program and portfolio management lead across all business and management functions.
• Act as onsite liaison to government sponsors and stakeholders.
• Manage program cost, schedule, scope, and performance.
• Oversee budgets, burn-rate tracking, and financial reporting.

Skills

DoD program mgmt

Stakeholder mgmt

Budgeting

Proposals

AIML portfolio

Communication skills

Job description

POSITION SPECIFICS

We are seeking a senior-level Portfolio Manager to support a rapidly growing data science and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AIML) portfolio in Reston, VA. This position will be in our Research Artifiical Intelligence Department of the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University. You will join a talented, motivated team of scientists and engineers who turn data into actionable intelligence. Our work spans computer vision, geospatial and positional data, signal data, and full-motion video. We apply frontier AIML models and large-scale data fusion to enrich data and solve hard mission problems. Our team delivers real capability that transitions to operational use on the cutting edge of AIML research and development.

ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

You Will:

• Support the technical lead and serve as the senior program and portfolio management partner across all business and management functions of a large Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract currently supporting a team of 30 or more engineers, with a strong and continuing growth trajectory
• Serve as the senior program and portfolio management lead across the full lifecycle of a large IDIQ contract, from strategic planning through execution, growth, and closeout, partnering closely with the technical lead who owns all technical aspects of the work
• Act as a primary onsite liaison to government sponsors and stakeholders, building and sustaining relationships that support current mission execution and future growth
• Manage program cost, schedule, scope, and performance, ensuring compliance with contractual, regulatory, and institutional requirements
• Oversee budgets, spend plans, burn-rate tracking, financial reporting, and expenditure analysis, and prepare financial analyses and reports for internal leadership and sponsors
• Coordinate with contracts, finance, and administrative teams on funding actions, subawards, and compliance matters
• Lead and support proposal and task order response development, including narratives, budgets, schedules, and compliance documentation
• Support staffing and hiring efforts and coordinate subcontractor and subaward activities to keep pace with portfolio growth
• Coordinate cross-functional activities across the task order, connecting related efforts to maximize impact within an Agile delivery environment (program increments, sprints, scrums, and standups)
• Prepare and present portfolio status, technical progress, financial performance, and strategic plans through briefings and reports to a variety of audiences, including senior sponsor and leadership stakeholders
• Assess risks and implement mitigation strategies, anticipate problems, and recommend solutions
• Develop portfolio vision, roadmaps, and expansion strategies in collaboration with the technical lead
• Establish, refine, and improve program and portfolio management processes and tools as the team scales
• Mentor staff and provide guidance on program management best practices

Required Skills and Experience:

• Demonstrated experience managing complex DoD or IC programs, including cost, schedule, scope, and performance
• Served as a sponsor-facing liaison with strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills
• Financial oversight experience, including budgeting, spend plans, and financial reporting
• Contributed to proposals or task order responses
• Ability to understand and communicate the business and programmatic aspects of a technical AIML and data science portfolio (deep technical execution is owned by the technical lead)
• Excellent written and verbal communication and briefing skills across a broad range of audiences
• Ability to work full onsite in Reston, VA, with frequent local travel to Chantilly, VA, and infrequent non-local travel

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Managed or supporting large IDIQ contracts and multiple task orders
• Agile delivery methodologies (program increments, sprints, scrums, standups)
• Business development and a track record of growing a program portfolio
• Operational context of data science and AIML programs supporting the DoD or IC, such as compu