Senior Acquisition Program Manager

Socket.dev; Oklahoma; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev seeks a Senior Acquisition Program Manager to support an Air Force Life Cycle Management Center customer at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. The role drives program planning, execution, and oversight across the lifecycle, coordinating with government personnel, contractors, and IPTs.

The successful candidate leads planning and staffing of acquisition actions, manages stakeholders, and develops decision-quality documentation for milestones. Travel up to 20%; U.S. citizenship is required.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting DoW acquisition programs, including contracting and program management across the lifecycle.
• Experience developing and staffing acquisition and contracting documentation (CDRLs, SOOs, SOWs) for R&D.
• Experience supporting milestone planning and staffing statutory/regulatory documentation.
• Experience managing or assessing program execution with focus on cost, schedule, and performance.
• Experience leading or operating within Integrated Product Teams across multiple disciplines.
• Strong knowledge of Federal acquisition processes and regulations.
• Strong communication skills for briefings, reports, and decision support for senior leaders.
• Ability to work independently in a dynamic environment and coordinate with Gov and contractor teams.
• Experience with classified or special access programs.
• Knowledge of Air Force LCMC frameworks, directives, and policies.
• U.S. citizenship required due to contract requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior program management and acquisition support for Government development and execution efforts.
• Lead or support planning, coordination, and execution of acquisition activities across the program lifecycle.
• Coordinate with program managers, engineers, contracting, finance, logistics, testing, and other teams for integrated execution.
• Maintain situational awareness and plan for major program events, reviews, and decision points.
• Develop and staff acquisition documentation required by statute, regulation, and policy for milestones and decisions.
• Develop, review, and coordinate acquisition strategies, milestone docs, briefing materials, and related artifacts.
• Support contract award and modification activities, including pre-award docs and source selection support.
• Review contractor deliverables and cost/schedule/performance reports; provide assessments and recommendations.
• Monitor contractor performance and impacts on cost, schedule, and performance.
• Lead and facilitate IPT activities to synchronize cross-functional efforts and decisions.
• Develop program roadmaps for capabilities, technologies, and product lines.
• Develop integration and transition plans to support execution and transitions.
• Support milestone planning, tracking, scheduling, staff coordination, and documentation for senior leaders.
• Identify risks/issues and develop mitigation strategies; communicate impacts and recommendations.
• Prepare clear written and oral communications for senior Air Force and industry stakeholders.
• Establish trusted relationships with government customers, contractors, and stakeholders.

Skills

Acquisition program management

IPT leadership

Communication skills

Independent work

Classified programs experience

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor's degree + 18 years of experience

Master's degree + 10 years of experience

Project management certifications (DAU/PMP/Agile) desired

Job description

The Senior Acquisition Program Manager will support an Air Force Life Cycle Management Center customer at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. The customer Program Office is responsible for planning, developing, and acquiring cost-effective, long-term critical U.S. Air Force capabilities within an Integrated Product Team (IPT) structure. The selected candidate will serve as a senior acquisition professional supporting program planning, execution, and oversight across the acquisition lifecycle. The candidate will work side by side with Government personnel and support contractors in the Program Office and will regularly interface with major defense contractors supporting critical defense capabilities. This position requires a highly experienced program manager with strong defense acquisition expertise, the ability to lead and coordinate across functional teams, and the communication skills to support decisions at senior levels. Most work will be performed in the customer workspace. Travel up to 20% may be required.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior program management and acquisition support for Government development and execution efforts.
• Lead or support planning, coordination, and execution of acquisition activities across the program lifecycle.
• Work closely with program managers, engineers, contracting, financial management, logistics, test, and other functional teams to ensure integrated program execution.
• Maintain situational awareness of day-to-day program issues and proactively plan for major program events, reviews, and decision points.
• Support development, coordination, and staffing of acquisition documentation required by statute, regulation, and policy in support of program milestones and decision events.
• Develop, review, and coordinate acquisition strategies, acquisition planning documents, milestone documentation, briefing materials, decision packages, and related program artifacts.
• Support contract award and contract modification activities, including pre-award documentation, source selection support, and post-award execution support.
• Review contractor deliverables, integrated master schedules, technical status reports, and cost performance reports, and provide assessments and recommendations to the Government team.
• Monitor and assess contractor performance, including prime and subcontractor execution, and identify impacts to program cost, schedule, and performance.
• Lead and facilitate IPT activities to synchronize cross-functional stakeholder efforts, resolve issues, and support timely decision-making.
• Develop and communicate program roadmaps for capabilities, technologies, and product lines.
• Develop integration and transition plans, procedures, and resource coordination necessary to support program execution and transition activities.
• Support milestone planning, tracking, scheduling, staff coordination, and preparation of decision-quality documentation for senior leaders.
• Identify program risks, issues, and opportunities; develop mitigation strategies; and communicate impacts and recommendations to leadership.
• Prepare and present clear, accurate, and concise written and oral communications for senior Department of the Air Force, Department of War, and industry stakeholders.
• Establish and maintain trusted working relationships with Government customers, contractors, and other stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Experience supporting Department of War acquisition programs, including contracting and program management activities across the acquisition lifecycle.
• Experience developing and staffing acquisition and contracting documentation, such as Justification and Approval/Authority documents, acquisition strategy documentation, Contract Data Requirements Lists (CDRLs), Statements of Objectives (SOOs), and Statements of Work (SOWs), particularly for research and development efforts.
• Experience supporting milestone planning and the development, coordination, and staffing of statutory and regulatory documentation through completion.
• Experience managing or assessing program execution with emphasis on cost, schedule, and performance.
• Experience leading or operating within Integrated Product Teams and coordinating across multiple functional disciplines.
• Strong knowledge of Federal acquisition processes and applicable acquisition and contracting regulations.
• Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, including the ability to prepare briefings, reports, and decision support materials for senior Government and military leaders.
• Ability to work independently in a dynamic environment, define problems, develop courses of action, and coordinate effectively across Government and contractor teams.
• Experience working on classified and/or special access programs.
• Knowledge of Air Force Life Cycle Management Center frameworks, directives, and policies.
• U.S. citizenship required due to contract requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a Senior Defense Acquisition Program Manager supporting complex weapon system or enterprise-level acquisition efforts.
• Experience with Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) or similarly complex, highly visible defense acquisition efforts.
• Experience developing and staffing documentation in support of acquisition milestones, program decision points, and senior-level reviews.
• Experience briefing senior Department of the Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and other Department of War stakeholders.
• Current knowledge of defense acquisition guidance, policy, and best practices.
• Program management certification such as DAU, PMP, Agile, or equivalent.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Project Management; Engineering, or other military studies related filed plus 18 years of relevant experienceo OR
• Master’s degree; Business, Project Management; Engineering, or other military studies related field plus 10 years of relevant experience
• Project management certifications (e.g., DAU, PMP, Agile, or similar) Desired.

Clearance Requirements

• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI and SAP eligibility.

Please Note

• This position requires U.S. citizenship due to contract requirements.
• Travel up to 20% may be required.

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