Product Operations Project Manager: ATO & Certifications

Two-Six-Technologies; Herndon (VA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Two Six Technologies seeks a Project Manager for Product Operations to own the end-to-end Authority to Operate (ATO) and certification processes, including NIAP, CSfC, and FIPS 140-3 validations for our DoD/IC product lines. This hybrid role is based in Arlington or Herndon, VA with 10–20% travel to support validated programs.

The role collaborates with product, engineering, and procurement teams to ensure continuous compliance and smooth handoffs from R&D to manufacturing, while maintaining

Qualifications

• 7+ years of project or program management experience within a defense contracting or high-assurance hardware/software environment.
• Experience certifying software and hardware systems on both DoW and IC networks.
• Experience certifying commercial technologies in addition to government-owned technologies.
• Experience with hardware certifications and cybersecurity validation, such as FIPS 140-3, for high-assurance product lines.
• Interest in supporting US government national security missions across the intelligence and defense communities.

Responsibilities

• ATO Ownership (End-to-End): Own the end-to-end process for getting authorized for deployment on DoD and IC systems, then manage continuous and ongoing certification, accreditation, risk assessment, and security requirements.
• NIAP / Common Criteria, CSfC & FIPS 140-3: Serve as the go-to expert on the certification and continuous authorization process across NIAP Common Criteria, CSfC, and FIPS 140-3 validation, ensuring compliance with government requirements and policies.
• Cross-Functional Requirements & Reciprocity: Work with stakeholders inside and outside the company, including tech leads, product managers, and existing IC/DoW customers, to define a clear list of requirements and actions needed to achieve ATO certification and pursue reciprocal ATOs with existing customers.
• DevSecOps & Secure SDLC: Steward a DevSecOps approach with product and engineering teams so security is designed in from the start, and create the artifacts needed to support a secure software development lifecycle.
• Continuous Compliance: Support the ongoing system improvements needed to maintain certification and accreditation status as they evolve, including additional hardware and cybersecurity certification processes (e.g., FIPS 140-3 validation) from a project management perspective.
• Process & Standards Development: Partner with the Product Operations Lead to build R&D-to-manufacturing processes and standards that do not currently exist, including hand-off procedures, work instructions, and stage-gate criteria for transitioning a product from engineering into production.
• BOM Management (Arena): Support accurate Bills of Materials in Arena for TST hardware product lines, mechanical (HLA) and electrical (PCB/PCBA) to help ensure each BOM reflects the current engineering configuration before release to Manufacturing.
• Vendor Data Accuracy (Ariba): Help maintain accurate, up-to-date vendor records in Ariba, including pricing, lead times, part numbers, and sourcing details, so the Manufacturing team has the reliable information it needs to plan and execute efficiently.
• Status Reporting: Provide the Product Operations Lead and Product Leadership team with regular, consolidated status on ATO and certification milestones and, secondarily, on Product Operations initiatives supporting the hardware team.
• Documentation & Audit Readiness: Maintain certification and process documentation so both the compliance and Product Operations functions are repeatable and audit-ready, reducing reliance on institutional knowledge held by any one person.

Skills

ATO management

DoD/IC network experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Vendor data accuracy

Tools

Arena

Ariba

BOM management

Job description

Two Six Technologies seeks a Project Manager for Product Operations to own the end-to-end Authority to Operate (ATO) and certification processes, including NIAP, CSfC, and FIPS 140-3 validations for our DoD/IC product lines. This hybrid role is based in Arlington or Herndon, VA with 10–20% travel to support validated programs.

The role collaborates with product, engineering, and procurement teams to ensure continuous compliance and smooth handoffs from R&D to manufacturing, while maintaining