Program Manager

Cubic Transportation Systems; Concord (CA); On-site; USD 127,000 - 167,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off & holidays

Job summary

Cubic Transportation Systems is seeking a Services Program Manager to lead programs delivering contractual, financial, customer, and operational outcomes. The role emphasizes farming within the existing account, managing a cross-functional and offshore team to meet schedule, cost, and quality requirements.

The role requires 5+ years in complex, customer-facing programs, strong program finance skills, and the ability to navigate a heavily matrixed environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in software engineering, systems engineering, computer science, or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 5 years leading complex customer-facing programs, operations, engineering, contracts, or related environments.
• Working knowledge of program financials: budgets, forecasts, invoicing, cost/schedule performance.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional and offshore teams in a matrixed organization.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous situations, move quickly, and stay solution-focused.
• Must be based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Responsibilities

• Lead program execution to meet schedule, cost, quality, and contractual commitments.
• Own day-to-day program management for one or more systems in O&M.
• Coordinate cross-functional and offshore teams and contractors.
• Surface opportunities to expand scope within existing accounts and drive change orders.
• Manage program finances, budgets, and cost-to-complete.
• Lead change documentation, claims, and recovery actions with leadership and legal.

Skills

Program management

Stakeholder management

Budgeting

Risk management

Lead cross-functional teams

Education

Bachelor's degree in software engineering or related field

Tools

DOORS

JIRA

ServiceNOW

P6

Job description

Business Unit: Cubic Transportation Systems

Company Details: The Services Program Manager leads assigned programs to deliver contractual, financial, customer, operational, and technical outcomes on time, within budget, and to required quality standards. The role is responsible for program financial performance, stakeholder engagement, risk and issue management, and customer satisfaction, with strong emphasis on identifying and converting additional scope (“farming”) within the existing account, a primary measure of success in this role. The Services Program Manager works under limited supervision and direction, regularly exercising discretionary and substantial decision-making authority in a heavily matrixed organization, coordinating cross-functional and offshore teams with the expectation to move quickly, stay organized and remain effective under ambiguity. The role may also provide leadership and management of a service delivery team and is responsible for the performance and outputs of that team. Must be based in, or able to regularly work from, the San Francisco Bay Area.

Job Details

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities: Accountable for leading program execution to meet agreed schedule, cost, quality, and contractual commitments, including avoiding liquidated damages where applicable. Establish program goals, scope, milestones, deliverables, resource plans, risk mitigation strategies, and issue-resolution actions; monitor performance and drive corrective actions to ensure compliant and successful delivery. Own day-to-day program management for one or more systems under Operations & Maintenance (O&M), establishing goals, milestones, resource plans, and risk mitigation strategies, and driving corrective actions to ensure service levels, schedule, cost, and quality commitments are met throughout the sustainment lifecycle. Ensure assigned programs are executed in compliance with contract requirements, Cubic policies, procedures, and department instructions. Direct and coordinate cross-functional and offshore project teams, subcontractors, and partners with no direct reporting authority, using influence, clear priorities, and strong follow-through to keep delivery on track in a fast-paced, heavily matrixed organization. Serve as the primary customer-facing point of contact, building trusted relationships that support account retention, drive customer satisfaction, and surface opportunities to expand the scope of work. Proactively identify, shape, and pursue additional business within the existing account (“farming”), partnering with sales and account leadership to convert customer needs into new change orders or scope expansions; track and report growth pipeline and bookings as a key measure of success. Plan and manage resources to ensure program activities are appropriately staffed, fully aligned to schedule needs, completed on time, within budget, and consistent with customer expectations. Maintain program financial health by tracking budgets, invoicing, cost-to-complete, and cost/schedule performance for all work, and elevate variance early. Lead the full change order lifecycle — scoping, rough-order-of-magnitude and detailed estimates, proposal development, negotiation, execution, and closeout — in coordination with engineering, finance, and contracts. Demonstrate command of contract terms and conditions; identify potential entitlements, deviations, or recoverable impacts; and lead change documentation, claims, equitable adjustments, and recovery actions in coordination with leadership, contracts, and legal counsel. Review program and service performance metrics and trends to identify risks, opportunities, and process or system improvements, and drive actions that improve program outcomes. Manage requirements, risks, issues, schedule, communication, documentation, validation, verification, delivery, and close-out for integrated hardware and software programs, ensuring alignment to contract requirements, CDRLs, verification methods, and acceptance criteria. Comply with company values, policies, procedures, code of conduct, quality, security, safety, environmental, and HR requirements. Perform other duties assigned by the manager, as reasonably required.

Minimum Job Requirements

Essential Bachelor’s degree in software engineering, systems engineering, computer science, or a related technical/engineering discipline, or equivalent relevant experience. Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience leading complex customer-facing programs, operations, engineering, contracts, systems integration, or related program environments. Working knowledge of program financials, including budgets, forecasts, invoicing/billing, and cost/schedule performance. Proven ability to lead and coordinate cross-functional and offshore teams, operating effectively and delivering results in a heavily matrixed organization. Solid grounding in PM fundamentals, including schedule, risk/issue, requirements, and communications management, with the organizational discipline to manage multiple concurrent change orders and priorities. Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguous situations, move quickly, and remain composed and solution-focused under pressure. Must be based in, or able to regularly work from, the San Francisco Bay Area. Desirable/Preferred Experience with requirements management tools, such as DOORS or similar systems. Experience with program management tools, such as JIRA, ServiceNOW, P6 or similar systems. Understanding of ISO 9001. ITIL certification. Project, program, or management certification or equivalent knowledge. Experience farming/growing existing accounts or working in a customer success / technical account management capacity.

Key Competencies & Additional Requirements

Self-motivated, accountable, extremely organized, and able to manage multiple complex priorities with limited direction. Strong business acumen with the ability to balance customer requirements, contractual obligations, schedule performance, cost performance, and operational priorities. Solid financial acumen, with the ability to track budgets, costs, and the financial impact of change orders alongside customer requirements and operational priorities. Effective relationship-builder and communicator, skilled at identifying and growing additional business within an existing account, with strong negotiation, judgment, and follow-through. Adaptable and diplomatic, able to lead through influence across offshore and cross-functional teams with no direct reporting authority, and to operate effectively under ambiguity. Must be willing and able to travel domestically and internationally as needed to meet customer requirements.

Cubic Pay Range

Cubic Pay Range: $127,000.00 - $167,000.00 + benefits. The Cubic pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

Worker Type

Worker Type: Employee

Company Culture and Equal Opportunity

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate based on any protected characteristic under applicable law. Cubic creates and delivers technology solutions in transportation that make people’s lives easier by simplifying their daily journeys, and defense capabilities that help promote mission success and safety for those who serve their nation. Led by our talented teams around the world, Cubic is committed to solving global challenges through innovation and service to our customers and partners. We have a top-tier portfolio of businesses, including Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) and Cubic Defense (CD). Cubic is dedicated to providing a comprehensive employee benefits program. All regular, full-time and part-time employees (working an average of 20 hours per week) are eligible for benefits that are effective on the first day of employment. Cubic offers medical, dental and vision insurance, company-paid disability (company continues full pay and benefits for up to six weeks), life insurance options, critical illness and accident coverages, Flexible Spending Accounts, a pre-paid legal plan, travel accident insurance, an award-winning well-being program which includes an employer-funded lifestyle spending account, up to six weeks of paid parental leave, and a 401k Retirement Plan with a company match. Employees can also take advantage of backup childcare, pet care, pet insurance, virtual tutoring, and a tuition reimbursement program. Many locations follow a 9/80 work schedule with time-off policies to help encourage employees to take time for rest and relaxation. Full-time salaried employees are eligible to participate in Cubic’s flexible time-off arrangement. Part-time and hourly employees accrue paid time-off (PTO)/Sick leave at a rate of 5.23 hours bi-weekly. Lastly, Cubic provides its employees 11 paid holidays throughout the calendar year. With a presence in over 60 countries and more than 5,000 employees worldwide, Cubic is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action-Employer. We are committed to ensuring a workplace free of discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, disability, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, military or veteran status, and any other basis protected by applicable law. For more information on Equal Employment please visit: http://www.cubic.com/Careers/Applicant-Help To learn more, visit Cubic.com. Follow us on LinkedIn!