Principal Program Manager

STR; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

STR seeks a Principal Program Manager in the Intelligence Division for our Arlington, VA office. You will lead cross‑functional teams to deliver operationally valuable solutions on advanced national security programs.

The role requires deep customer understanding, product context, and market awareness, driving strategic business outcomes. You will oversee technical programs, coordinate with investigators and subcontractors, and ensure milestones, cost, and risk are managed to deliver on

Qualifications

• Active Top Secret security clearance, U.S. citizenship required.
• 12+ years experience managing technical programs.
• Experience in the Intelligence Community (IC) or supporting IC objectives.
• Experience leading technical teams on advanced R&D programs.
• Strong ability to communicate to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Manage program technical, financial, and schedule performance.
• Coordinate with principal investigator, technical staff, subcontractors, and support personnel to identify and address risks and issues.
• Review metrics and milestones to manage program performance (schedule, cost, logistics).
• Gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from multiple sources to understand status and trends.
• Interact with external program customers and internal leadership.
• Manage scientists, engineers, and technicians across broad areas of expertise.
• Achieve cost, schedule, and customer objectives on advanced technology programs.
• Work in a fast-paced environment to enable successful contract execution.
• Build strong customer relationships and establish open lines of communication.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Effective communication

Security clearance

Education

BS degree

Job description

STR is hiring aPrincipal Program Manager (PM) in the Intelligence Division who is passionate about working on the hardest national security problems. This position is located in our Arlington, VA office.

About the Team:

STR’s Intelligence Division researches, develops, and deploys advanced analytics and machine learning-based solutions to solve challenging problems in support of national security and the intelligence community. Our team consists of passionate and motivated individuals with advanced degrees in engineering, computer science, mathematics, and data science, who are seeking opportunities to use their technical knowledge and creativity to tackle some of the hardest problems that our customers face. Our projects span multiple different data modalities and incorporate advanced algorithms, deep learning, and statistical techniques to uncover patterns in social media, structured and unstructured text, time series, geospatial, and imagery data, and must operate under challenging constraints not typically found in the commercial world. The tools and technologies we develop have real world impact and are used by analysts to extract and enrich intelligence information around the globe.

The Role:

We are looking for a leader who is passionate about collaborating with high-performance teams to solve unique national security challenges with novel technologies. A Principal Program Manager is accountable for the ultimate success of the product and is responsible for ensuring that what is developed and delivered to customers is operationally valuable. In this role, a Program Manager will be expected to demonstrate: 1) expertise on the customer’s challenges, desires, workflows, and acquisition processes, 2) expertise on the product and the leveraged technologies, 3) understanding of STR’s business and the role the product plays, and 4) deep knowledge of the market and industry, including trends, customer expectations and competition. The Program Management role requires creativity and strong intellectual curiosity in applying new technologies to solve customer problems. Because the technologies we bring to market often represent the state of the art and may involve process changes, additional key skills for the Program Manager include persistence and strong communication to drive cross‑functional collaboration. Finally, as the Program Manager is a key role within the Intelligence Division, they will play an important part in a variety of additional functions including business strategy, business development, and growing the team.

What you will do:

• Managing program technical, financial, and schedule performance
• Working with the principal investigator, technical staff, subcontractors, and support personnel to identify and address risks and issues
• Managing program performance through review of metrics and program execution milestones (including scheduling, cost, and logistics)
• Gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing data from multiple sources, such as project reports, project staff, and customer feedback to understand and communicate status and to identify trends
• Interacting with external program customers and internal company leadership
• Managing scientists, engineers, and technicians across broad areas of expertise
• Achieving cost, schedule, and customer objectives on advanced technology programs
• Working in a fast‑paced environment to enable successful contract execution
• Building strong customer relationships and establish open lines of communication

Who you are:

• Active Top Secret (TS) security clearance, for which U.S. citizenship is needed by U.S. Government
• BS degree with minimum of 12+ years experience managing technical programs. Equivalent Experience will be considered.
• Experienced in project management within the Intelligence Community (IC), and/or experience directly supporting program objectives such as managing cost, schedule, and technical performance
• Experience leading technical teams on advanced R&D programs
• Motivated collaborator and effective communicator to both technical and non-technical audiences

Even Better:

• Ability to obtain Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) security clearance
• Experience writing technical proposals, or leading proposal efforts
• Experience spanning all project phases, from ideation to technology research and product development
• Working knowledge of the IC mission and acquisition processes
• Technical breadth and a demonstrated ability to simultaneously manage multiple, technically diverse programs and teamsEntrepreneurial spirit and eager to engage in technical marketing and business development

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $200,000 - $250,000

The salary range listed is based on external market data. Offers are based on factors, such as but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, training, key skills/critical skills, security clearances, and prevailing market and business conditions.

STR is a growing technology company with locations near Boston, MA, Arlington, VA, near Dayton, OH, Melbourne, FL, Carlsbad, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Denver, CO. We specialize in advanced research and development for defense, intelligence, and national security in: cyber; next generation sensors, radar, sonar, communications, and electronic warfare; and artificial intelligence algorithms and analytics to make sense of the complexity that is exploding around us.

STR is committed to creating a collaborative learning environment that supports deep technical understanding and recognizes the contributions and achievements of all team members. Our work is challenging, and we go home at night knowing that we pushed the envelope of technology and made the world safer.

STR is not just any company. Our people, culture, and attitude along with their unique set of skills, experiences, and perspectives put us on a trajectory to change the world. We can’t do it alone, though - we need fellow trailblazers. If you are one, join our team and help to keep our society safe! Visit us at www.str.us for more info.

STR is an equal opportunity employer. We are fully dedicated to hiring the most qualified candidate regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any portion of the employment process, email us at [e-mail] and provide your contact info.

Pursuant to applicable federal law and regulations, positions at STR require employees to obtain national security clearances and satisfy the requirements for compliance with export control and other applicable laws.