Program Manager

University of Dayton; Dayton (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) seeks a skilled Program Manager or Senior Program Manager to oversee DoD/USAF and industry-funded R&D initiatives within the Materials Sector. This full-time role emphasizes execution, stakeholder coordination, and successful project outcomes.

The selected candidate will manage cost, schedule, scope, risk, and contractual deliverables while collaborating with customers, PIs, and business operations to drive results in a fast-paced research

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 3+ years of program or project management experience.
• Experience planning, executing, monitoring, and coordinating programs.
• Ability to manage cost, schedule, scope, risk, and deliverables across projects.

Responsibilities

• Manage programmatic execution of assigned DoD/USAF and industry-sponsored R&D programs.
• Coordinate with PIs, technical leads, financial analysts, and contracts staff to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery.
• Develop schedules, budgets, risks, and performance metrics; communicate status to stakeholders.

Skills

Program management

DoD/USAF experience

Stakeholder coordination

MS Office

MS Project

PM certification

US citizenship

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PM certification (PMP)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Project

Job description

Job No: 503914
Work Type: Staff Full Time (1500 hours or greater)
Location: Dayton, OH
Category: Research Institute Staff
Department: Materials PM/Admin Office - 250501
Pay Grade: P2/P3 - Exempt
Advertised: September 30, 2026
Applications close: October 13, 2026

Position Summary:

Where Program Leadership Meets Cutting-Edge R&D. UDRI is a national leader in scientific and engineering research, serving government, industry and nonprofit customers. This is a full-time benefit eligible position.

The University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Program Manager or Senior Program Manager to support Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Air Force (USAF), and industry-sponsored research and development (R&D) programs within the Materials Sector.

This position will manage the programmatic execution of assigned projects and programs supporting the development and transition of advanced materials, processes, technologies, and capabilities. The Program Manager will work closely with customers, principal investigators (PIs), technical leads, financial analysts, business operations staff, subcontractors, Contracts and Grants personnel, and sector leadership to ensure successful project execution.

The selected candidate will manage assigned projects throughout the project lifecycle. Responsibilities include management of cost, schedule, scope, performance, risk, change, quality, resources, forecasts, contractual deliverables, and stakeholder communication.

The successful candidate will be an execution-focused professional who demonstrates initiative, ownership, sound judgment, attention to detail, and strong follow-through. The individual must be able to identify execution issues, coordinate across multiple stakeholders, develop practical solutions, and drive actions to completion in a fast-paced research and development environment.

This position may be filled at the Program Manager (P2) or Senior Program Manager (P3) level based on the selected candidate's education, directly related experience, demonstrated program management proficiency, and ability to independently manage complex projects and programs.

Minimum Qualifications:

PROGRAM MANAGER (P2)

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of three years of directly related program or project management experience.
• Experience supporting the planning, execution, monitoring, and coordination of projects or programs.
• Experience monitoring project cost, schedule, scope, performance, risk, and deliverables.
• Experience developing or maintaining, or contributing to project schedules, budgets, forecasts, resource plans, risk registers, or other project management documentation.
• Experience coordinating activities across multiple functional areas or stakeholder groups.
• Ability to identify issues, organize competing priorities, follow actions through completion, and elevate issues when appropriate.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate project information to internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project.
• Formal project management educations, training, or certification
• Due to the requirements of U.S. Government contracts, candidates for this position must be U.S. citizens and must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

PROGRAM MANAGER (P2)

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of three years of directly related program or project management experience.
• Experience supporting the planning, execution, monitoring, and coordination of projects or programs.
• Experience monitoring project cost, schedule, scope, performance, risk, and deliverables.
• Experience developing or maintaining, or contributing to project schedules, budgets, forecasts, resource plans, risk registers, or other project management documentation.
• Experience coordinating activities across multiple functional areas or stakeholder groups.
• Ability to identify issues, organize competing priorities, follow actions through completion, and elevate issues when appropriate.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate project information to internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project.
• Formal project management educations, training, or certification
• Due to the requirements of U.S. Government contracts, candidates for this position must be U.S. citizens and must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER (P3)

• Candidates considered for the Senior Program Manager level must meet the Program Manager qualifications above and demonstrate the following additional qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of six years of directly related program or project management experience, or a Master's degree and a minimum of five years of directly related program or project management experience.
• Experience independently leading the planning, execution, monitoring, and closeout of complex projects or programs.
• Experience independently managing project cost, schedule, scope, performance, risk, change, quality, resources, and contractual deliverables.
• Experience developing and maintaining integrated project schedules, budgets or spend plans, forecasts, resource plans, risk management documentation, and other program management controls.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and coordinating technical, financial, contractual, and administrative stakeholders to achieve project objectives.
• Experience serving as a primary programmatic customer interface and communicating project status, risks, financial performance, milestones, and execution issues to customers and organizational leadership.
• Ability to independently identify complex execution problems, evaluate alternatives, exercise sound judgment, and drive corrective actions through completion.
• Experience developing and managing project financial forecasts, analyzing variances and trends, and coordinating corrective actions with project stakeholders.
• Current Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience managing DoD, U.S. Air Force, or other federal government research and development projects or programs.
• Current active SECRET or higher U.S. Government security clearance.
• Experience transitioning technical research and development efforts from proposal or award through project execution and closeout.
• Experience managing IDIQ contracts and task orders and/or Cost-Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF), Firm Fixed Price (FFP), and Time and Materials (T&M) contract types.
• Experience developing and maintaining Work Breakdown Structures, Integrated Master Plans, Integrated Master Schedules, spend plans, and detailed project forecasts.
• Experience managing government contract deliverables, including Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs), technical reports, milestones, and customer reporting requirements.
• Experience supporting subcontract management, proposal development, Program Management Reviews, customer briefings, and transition of newly awarded work into project execution.
• Working knowledge of U.S. Air Force policies and procedures and familiarity with ITAR, CUI, security classification requirements, and DoD records and file management requirements.
• Experience with Costpoint or similar enterprise resource planning or government contracting systems.
• Demonstrated experience identifying process or execution improvements and implementing practical solutions.

Closing Statement:

Informed by its Catholic and Marianist mission, the University is committed to the dignity of every human being. Informed by this commitment, we seek to increase diversity in all of its forms, achieve fair outcomes, and model inclusion across our campus community. The University is committed to policies of affirmative action designed to increase the employment opportunities of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans in compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1973.