Strategic Senior Program Manager - Aerospace & Defense

Nevada Heat Treating; Harbor Pines (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

3 Weeks Paid Time Off

10 Holidays

401K Employer Match

Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Education Reimbursement

Referral Program

Job summary

Vitesse Systems, LLC is seeking a Senior Program Manager in Harbor City, California to lead complex programs from proposal through delivery. You will advocate for the customer, coordinate across Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Finance, Contracts, and Quality, and manage EVMS-based performance.

The role requires a PMP certification, 8+ years in program management, and experience handling government contracts in aerospace or defense.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Program Management, or a related field.
• Minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible project or program management experience.
• Active Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
• Demonstrated experience managing and delivering government programs, preferably in aerospace, defense, national security, or related industries.
• Experience managing government contracts, contractual deliverables, funding requirements, compliance obligations, and government customer relationships.
• Proven experience developing and maintaining Integrated Master Schedules, including critical path analysis, baseline management, and schedule recovery.
• Pr ov en experience leading formal risk reviews, maintaining risk registers, implementing mitigation plans, and tracking measurable risk burn-down.

Responsibilities

• Lead programs throughout the lifecycle, from proposal development and initiation through execution, delivery, and closeout.
• Establish program objectives, baselines, resources, milestones, and performance expectations.
• Coordinate Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Finance, Contracts, Procurement, and Quality to achieve cost, schedule, scope, and technical objectives.
• Identify performance issues, implement corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain Integrated Master Schedules, including baselines, dependencies, critical paths, milestones, and resource loading.
• Monitor schedule performance, identify variances, assess impacts, and develop recovery plans.
• Coordinate schedule integration across functional teams and manage approved baseline changes.
• Develop and monitor program budgets, funding profiles, expenditures, cost forecasts, and profitability.
• Apply Earned Value Management System (EVMS) principles to evaluate program health using metrics such as CPI, SPI, EAC, and ETC.
• Analyze cost and schedule variances, identify root causes, forecast outcomes, and implement corrective actions.
• Apply cost accounting concepts, including direct and indirect costs, labor and material expenses, overhead, cost allocation, and financial reporting.
• Prepare and deliver accurate, actionable program performance reports and EVMS-based briefings to senior leadership and customers.
• Lead government program delivery in accordance with contractual requirements, approved baselines, funding constraints, deliverables, and applicable regulations.
• Maintain effective relationships with government customers, program offices, contracting officers, prime contractors, and internal stakeholders.
• Manage contract milestones, scope changes, funding impacts, compliance requirements, and customer commitments.
• Communicate program status and resolve issues affecting contractual performance and delivery.
• Lead formal program risk reviews and maintain risk registers documenting probability, impact, ownership, mitigation actions, and closure criteria.
• Develop and track mitigation plans, assign accountability, and monitor risk burn-down metrics to measure risk reduction and mitigation effectiveness.
• Assess emerging and residual risks across cost, schedule, technical performance, manufacturing, operations, and supply chain.
• Integrate risk management with the IMS, EVMS, budget forecasts, and program change control.
• Escalate significant risks and present mitigation strategies, risk trends, and recovery recommendations to senior leadership and customers.
• Serve as a primary customer advocate and maintain strong relationships through proactive communication and timely issue resolution.
• Lead program reviews, customer meetings, and executive briefings covering cost, schedule, technical performance, financial forecasts, risks, and corrective actions.
• Translate complex program data into clear recommendations that support decisions, resource allocation, and successful execution.
• Drive cross-functional accountability for milestones, deliverables, risk mitigation, and program commitments.

Skills

PMP certification

Team leadership

EVMS analysis

Cross-functional coordination

Microsoft Project

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Project

EVMS tooling

Job description

Vitesse Systems, LLC is seeking a Senior Program Manager in Harbor City, California to lead complex programs from proposal through delivery. You will advocate for the customer, coordinate across Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Finance, Contracts, and Quality, and manage EVMS-based performance.

The role requires a PMP certification, 8+ years in program management, and experience handling government contracts in aerospace or defense.