Program Manager

Compass Systems, Inc; Lexington Park (MD); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with match

Medical, Vision, Rx, Dental

Paid Time off

Professional Development

Wellness Programs

Flexible Work Arrangements

Disability, life insurance and more

Job summary

Compass Systems, Inc. in Lexington Park, MD seeks a Program Manager to oversee multiple government-contract projects from requirements through execution and closeout.

You will interface with government sponsors, leadership, and teams to ensure cost, schedule, quality, and contract performance. Responsibilities include developing baselines, budgets, and staffing plans; coordinating field activities, reviews, and briefings; and guiding subcontractors while maintaining compliance with FAR and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance, Accounting, Operations Management, or related field preferred; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Experience supporting SOCOM is a plus but not required.
• Experience managing complex projects or programs in federal government contracting, defense, aviation, test operations, or similar.
• Knowledge of federal contracting practices and FAR; familiarity with cost-type, T&M, FPLO, IDIQ, and basic ordering agreements.
• Experience with program budgets, forecasting, funding tracking, and management reporting.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple projects, sites, teams, and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate multiple concurrent projects and tasking efforts; translate requirements into actionable plans and schedules.
• Develop and maintain baselines, milestones, work breakdowns, resource plans, and trackers.
• Coordinate field activities, tests, training, and other customer-directed requirements.
• Monitor cost, schedule, scope, quality, and contractual performance; identify risks and mitigations.
• Lead program reviews and customer coordination meetings; prepare status reports and briefings.
• Manage day-to-day execution of federal contracts; coordinate with contracts, accounting, and government reps.
• Develop and monitor budgets, burn rates, funding balances, and estimates at completion.
• Coordinate funding requests, ROE, and contract modifications; prepare supporting docs.
• Identify funding or period-of-performance gaps and recommend corrective actions.
• Oversee subcontractor and supplier coordination; manage quotations, invoicing, and performance issues.
• Coordinate material and equipment acquisition and logistics with relevant teams.
• Supervise employees across locations; set priorities and coach development.
• Review timesheets, leave, travel requests, and performance evaluations.
• Forecast staffing needs; coordinate recruiting and onboarding processes.
• Support safety, compliance, and equipment availability for field activities.
• Maintain relationships with sponsors, managers, subcontractors, and internal departments.
• Assist business development, capture, proposal preparation, and pricing inputs.
• Prepare program records, risk registers, and transition/closeout docs.

Skills

Program management

Budgeting

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

MS Project

Contract management

Job description

Description

Job Summary

The Program Manager provides comprehensive leadership and oversight of multiple government-contract projects and operational efforts, from requirements development and proposal support through execution, delivery, and closeout. This position is accountable for program performance, financial planning and execution, resource allocation, contract compliance, risk management, and the supervision of assigned personnel. The Program Manager serves as a primary interface among government customers, company leadership, technical and operational teams, contracting and finance personnel, subcontractors, and vendors to meet mission requirements while maintaining cost, schedule, quality, and contractual performance.

Job Functions

• Lead and coordinate multiple concurrent projects and tasking efforts; translate customer requirements and statements of work into actionable plans, schedules, deliverables, staffing requirements, and execution priorities.
• Develop and maintain project baselines, milestone schedules, work breakdowns, resource plans, action-item trackers, and other program management tools; identify dependencies and adjust plans as mission needs evolve.
• Coordinate operational and technical teams to plan, resource, and execute field activities, flight and test events, demonstrations, training, and other customer‑directed requirements.
• Monitor performance against cost, schedule, scope, quality, and contractual requirements; identify risks, implement mitigations, resolve issues, and elevate decisions requiring management or customer approval.
• Lead recurring program reviews and customer coordination meetings; prepare status reports, executive summaries, schedules, briefings, and documented action items.
• Manage day‑to‑day execution of federal contracts, task or delivery orders, and associated statements of work in coordination with contracts, accounting, and government representatives.
• Develop and monitor budgets, spend plans, labor forecasts, burn rates, funding balances, estimates at completion, and projected shortfalls; track obligations and expenditures against authorized funding.
• Coordinate funding requirements, requests for proposals, rough‑order‑of‑magnitude estimates, contract modifications, purchase requests, and supporting documentation for new or continuing efforts.
• Identify potential funding or period‑of‑performance gaps and recommend corrective actions to maintain operational continuity and compliance with contractual limitations.
• Oversee subcontractor and supplier coordination, including scope alignment, quotations, procurement schedules, deliverables, invoicing concerns, and performance issues, in partnership with authorized contracting and purchasing personnel.
• Coordinate material and equipment acquisition, accountability, delivery, transfer, and acceptance documentation with logistics and property management personnel, as applicable.
• Supervise assigned employees across multiple locations or programs; establish priorities, communicate expectations, evaluate performance, and provide coaching and professional development.
• Review and approve timesheets, leave requests, travel requests, performance evaluations, and personnel documentation consistent with delegated authority and company policies.
• Forecast staffing needs; coordinate recruiting, onboarding, qualifications, training, travel, and workforce assignments to support customer requirements and operational readiness.
• Coordinate with technical and operations leadership to support safety, qualifications, procedural compliance, equipment availability, and effective execution of field activities.
• Maintain productive working relationships with government sponsors, technical managers, subcontractors, vendors, and internal departments; ensure issues are communicated and resolved promptly.
• Support business development, capture, proposal preparation, pricing inputs, and identification of follow‑on requirements and new work opportunities.
• Prepare and maintain program records, lessons learned, risk registers, standard operating processes, and transition or closeout documentation.
• Coordinate with leadership on process improvements, workload balancing, performance metrics, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Perform other related duties within the scope of the position as assigned.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance, Accounting, Operations Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Experience supporting Special Operations Command (SOCOM) a plus but not required.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects or programs, preferably within federal government contracting, defense, aviation, test operations, or another technical operational environment.
• Knowledge of federal contracting practices and applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements; familiarity with contract structures such as cost-type, time-and-materials, firm‑fixed‑price, IDIQ, and basic ordering agreements.
• Experience with program budgets, financial forecasting, funding tracking, resource planning, subcontractor coordination, and preparation of customer or management reporting.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple projects, sites, teams, and deadlines with a high degree of accuracy and independent judgment.
• Strong written and verbal communication, analytical thinking, stakeholder management, negotiation, problem‑solving, and leadership skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and project tracking or scheduling tools; advanced Excel skills preferred.
• Ability to obtain and maintain the security clearance required for assigned contracts; Secret clearance specified for this position.

Physical Requirements

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee routinely is required to learn and apply new information and/or skills.
• Must be able to interpret data, information, and documents.
• Occasional Travel may be required.
• Occasionally will need to lift/and or move up to 10lbs.
• This is largely a sedentary role; This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Benefits

Compass Systems, Inc. is a profitable, growing company offering excellent salaries and benefits. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and demonstrate our commitment to our employees by offering a competitive and valuable rewards program including:

• 401(k) and 401k Matching
• Medical, Vision, Rx, Dental coverage
• Paid Time off
• Professional Development
• Wellness Programs
• Flexible Work Arrangements
• Short and Long-term disability, life insurance and recruitment incentives.

Compass Systems Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and veteran status. Use of any external recruitment or job placement agency is based upon its compliance with our commitment to equal opportunity