Senior Project Manager – Defense Programs

Jobtailor; Sandy (UT); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking a seasoned Program Manager to lead U.S. defense and government programs from award through final acceptance. You will translate contractual requirements into executable plans, establish baselines, and drive milestone reviews with cross-functional teams in a highly regulated environment.

You will manage scope, cost, schedule, and risk, ensuring compliance with FAR/DFARS, CUI handling, and export controls while maintaining strong customer interfaces and program governance.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience leading complex DoD/government programs.
• Strong knowledge of FAR/DFARS contracting and compliance.
• Skilled in translating requirements into executable program plans.
• Proven ability to manage baselines, milestones, and reviews (PDR/CDR/FAT/SAT).

Responsibilities

• Lead execution of U.S. defense and government programs from contract award through final acceptance.
• Translate requirements into actionable program plans and baselines.
• Manage scope, schedule, cost, deliverables, dependencies, and acceptance criteria.
• Define milestones and reviews (PDR, CDR, FAT, SAT, customer acceptance).
• Track progress against baselines; manage risk, change control, and documentation.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams and stakeholders across Engineering, Product, Curriculum, Software, Hardware, Operations, Supply Chain, IT/Security.

Skills

Program Management

U.S. Government Contracting

FAR/DFARS Compliance

Risk Management

PMP Certification

Job description

• Lead execution of U.S. defense and government programs from contract award through final acceptance
• Translate contractual requirements, Statements of Work, specifications, CDRLs, and customer commitments into executable program plans
• Establish and manage program baselines covering scope, schedule, cost, deliverables, dependencies, and acceptance criteria
• Define and manage key program milestones and reviews, including PDR, CDR, FAT, SAT, and customer acceptance
• Track contractual deliverables, documentation, approvals, customer dependencies, scope, schedule, cost, deliverables, and risk against approved baselines
• Maintain configuration and change-control discipline throughout the program lifecycle
• Ensure execution considers FAR/DFARS, CUI, NIST 800-171, CMMC, ITAR, EAR, TAA, and other applicable government, security, export-control, sourcing, and contractual requirements
• Coordinate cybersecurity, compliance, export-control, supply-chain, security questionnaire, audit, and program-specific security activities
• Own end-to-end program governance, reporting cadence, decision forums, escalation mechanisms, forecasts, and program-margin visibility
• Coordinate Engineering, Product, Curriculum, Software, Hardware, Operations, Supply Chain, IT/Security, Commercial teams, suppliers, subcontractors, and partners
• Drive resolution of cross-functional dependencies and execution blockers
• Serve as the primary customer interface for government customers, prime contractors, OEMs, and program stakeholders
• Lead program reviews concerning schedule, deliverables, scope clarification, acceptance, and execution risks
• Manage customer expectations, protect program margin, identify out-of-scope requests, and support change orders or contract modifications
• Establish risk, issue, action, and decision registers; quantify impacts, drive mitigations, escape material risks, and capture lessons learned
• Support the CPO with execution data, dashboards, risk visibility, and analytics for portfolio-level decisions

Requirements

• 8+ years of project/program management experience, including responsibility for complex technical or engineering programs
• Demonstrated experience delivering programs for the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. federal government, defense prime contractors, or major defense suppliers
• Working knowledge of U.S. government contracting and compliance requirements, including FAR and DFARS
• Familiarity with CUI handling, NIST SP 800-171, CMMC, and defense cybersecurity requirements
• Familiarity with U.S. export controls such as ITAR and EAR
• Experience working with government supply-chain and sourcing requirements; familiarity with TAA and related country-of-origin restrictions is strongly preferred
• Experience managing formal customer reviews and acceptance milestones such as PDR, CDR, FAT, and SAT
• Strong understanding of scope management, change control, risk management, cost management, and program forecasting
• Strong executive and customer communication skills
• Ability to interpret complex contractual and technical requirements and translate them into actionable execution plans
• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program-management certification is preferred
• Experience with military training systems, modeling and simulation, vehicle simulation, synthetic training environments, or related defense technologies is preferred
• Experience working with U.S. defense prime contractors and/or directly with DoD program offices is preferred
• Experience with government contracting vehicles, contract modifications, CDRLs, DIDs, and formal government acceptance processes is preferred
• Experience managing hardware/software integrated systems is preferred
• Experience with international defense programs and export-controlled technical information is preferred
• Previous involvement in CMMC or NIST 800-171 compliance initiatives is preferred
• Experience establishing program-management processes for an organization expanding into the U.S. defense market is preferred

Core Competencies

Demonstrates extensive experience in managing U.S. defense and government programs, ensuring compliance with FAR, DFARS, and cybersecurity requirements while effectively communicating with stakeholders and managing program execution. Proficient in risk management, scope management, and program forecasting to drive successful project outcomes.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Program Management
• U.S. Government Contracting
• FAR/DFARS Compliance
• Risk Management
• PMP Certification

Hard Skills

• Program Execution
• Scope Management
• Change Control
• Cost Management
• Contractual Requirements Translation
• Cybersecurity Compliance
• Customer Acceptance Milestones
• Risk Mitigation
• Program Forecasting
• Technical Requirements Interpretation

Soft Skills

• Executive Communication
• Customer Management
• Cross-Functional Coordination
• Problem Solving
• Stakeholder Engagement

Certifications & Qualifications

• PMP
• PgMP

Industry Keywords

• U.S. Department of Defense
• CUI Handling
• NIST 800-171
• CMMC
• ITAR
• EAR
• Defense Prime Contractors
• Government Supply Chain
• Military Training Systems
• Export-Controlled Information