Product Line Manager- Tactical Communications

Thales Defense & Security, Inc.; Clarksburg (MD); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan

Medical insurance for self and family

Generous 401(k) with up to 7% company

Tuition Reimbursement

Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday

Paid maternity/paternity/parentalleave

9/80 Work Schedule

Hybrid Working Environment

Job summary

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. in Clarksburg, MD seeks a Product Line Manager - Tactical Communications (PLM-TC) to own the product roadmap and drive strategic features across programs.

You will coordinate with Business Development to align customer needs with IR&D efforts and lead cost/schedule feasibility analyses with program teams. The role requires 5+ years of Gov contracting experience, strong budgeting and communication skills, and travel up to 30%.

Qualifications

• US Citizenship required with ability to obtain and maintain a US Secret Security Clearance.
• 5+ years of technical experience in Government contracting.
• Budget development and management experience.
• Experience with NSA Certified products or RMF a plus.
• Excellent organizational and written/oral communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and work with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and Project.

Responsibilities

• Maintain Product Roadmap and 3-year IR&D Budget Plan, updated annually for Senior Management.
• Coordinate with BD to capture customer requirements and identify capabilities for market expansion.
• Assess cost, schedule and feasibility of adding features; secure customer funding when possible.
• Ensure program decisions align with product strategy across a family of products shared hardware/software baselines; participate in design reviews.
• Support Business Capture activities including technical writing, cost development, and pricing in the product catalog.

Skills

US Citizenship

Security clearance

Contracting experience

Budget management

MS Excel/PowerPoint/Project

Communication

Travel up to 30%

Education

Bachelor's degree in technical area

Tools

MS Excel

PowerPoint

Microsoft Project

Job description

Req Id: 537

Location: CLARKSBURG, MD, US, 20871

Date: Oct 30, 2026

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) Headquartered in Clarksburg, MD, is a U.S. company that has been serving domestic and international defense Air, Land and Sea domains for 60+ years. With over 1,000 employees, TDSI and its four subsidiaries (Advanced Acoustic Concepts, Digital Receiver Technology, Tampa Microwave, and Trusted Cyber Technologies), supports U.S. Joint Services, special operations forces and multi-national partners with a variety of communication, visualization, signal intelligence/electronic warfare, and sensor/sonar capabilities. TDSI’s key technologies include tactical handheld radios, expeditionary satellite terminals, helmet-mounted displays, optics and target recognition capability, advanced radars, undersea sensing and missile systems. Lives depend on what we do!

Top Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Yearly Incentive Compensation Plan
• Medical insurance for self and eligible family members
• Generous 401(k) program- up to 7% company contribution and 100% immediate vesting
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Paid wellness, vacation, and holiday leave
• Paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• 9/80 Work Schedule (every other Friday off)
• Hybrid Working Environment

We currently have an opening in our Clarksburg, MD office for a Product Line Manager - Tactical Communications (PLM - TC). This position reports directly to the Product Line Director.

Responsibilties

• The PLM-TC shall maintain a Product Roadmap and IR&D Budget Plan that will be briefed and approved by Senior Management. These will be updated on a periodic basis throughout the year and shall cover a 3 year period of time.
• Coordinate with BD to solicit customer requirements to guide the Product Roadmap and ensure it meets desires of all key customers and Identifies capabilities for expansion into new markets. Work with Program Teams’ to determine solutions for these emerging needs and develop a plan to address these new features and capabilities through customer funding and IR&D.
• Work with the Program/Technical teams to determine the cost, schedule and feasibility of adding new features or products and work with the BD team to identify customer funding when possible. Alternatively, work with BD to define the overall market size and timing and prepare business cases and present to Sr. Management to determine if IR&D investment is warranted.
• The PLM-TC will engage with the Program/Technical teams to ensure individual program/project level decisions align with the product strategy for a family of products that share a common hardware/software baseline and ensure ancillaries are common across products when possible. To help accomplish this the PLM-TC will participate in all program design reviews to include: Bid Reviews, post award Kick-Off, SDR. PDR, CDR, TRR and PRR design reviews.
• The PLM-TC will support Business Capture activities in support of the Communications business line and supports proposal development. This include technical writing, cost development, capture strategy (win themes, discriminators, price to win). Maintain the tactical radio section of the TDSI Product Catalog to include radios, optional features and ancillaries. Maintain approved standard pricing for all items included in the product catalog.
• Supports primary PLM-TC lead on strategic partnerships in order to achieve growth inside and outside of organic communications products (ex. SIGINT/EW, Expeditionary Comms, CMOSS, 5G)
• Listens to and respects audience questions in order to understand needs; shares information appropriately.
• Coordinate with customer to provide necessary customer feedback.

Qualifications

• US Citizenship Required. - Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet requirements to obtain and maintain a US Secret Security Clearance.
• 5+ years of technical experience in Government contracting. Bachelors in technical area preferred.
• Experience developing and maintaining a budget preferred.
• Experience with NSA Certified products or products subject to Risk Management Framework (RMF) a plus.
• Excellent organizational skills and work ethic.
• Effective oral and written communication skills and the ability to manage multiple projects.
• Ability to effectively communicate and build relationships with external and internal customers.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint & Project or equivalents.
• Ability to work in a team environment and interact with employees in all departments and functions.
• Travel requirements up to 30%.
• Must be able to uphold and support the Thales Code of Ethics as well as maintain a high ethical standard of practice, including compliance with all company procedures.

The annualized pay range for this role is $144,533.70 - $184,681.95 USD along with a target incentive compensation plan (ICP) of 10%. The pay range provided is a good faith estimate representative of the experience level for the role described above. TDSI considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education/training, and key skills.

For specific questions about this job posting, candidates may contact talent acquisition at [e-mail].

Thales Defense & Security, Inc. is committed to non-discrimination as applicable under federal, state and local laws. We are an E-Verify Employer.

If you need an accommodation or assistance in order to apply for a position with Thales Defense & Security, Inc., please call Human Resources at 240-864-7000.

Nearest Major Market: Washington DC