Technical Lead & Deputy PM — Remote Defense Program

Orbis; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Orbis is seeking an experienced Deputy Program Manager - Technical Lead to own the solution architecture and lead Field Deployable Engineer Teams on a complex, international defense program. This senior role requires hands-on leadership and the ability to work with both technical staff and senior client stakeholders.

This position is remote with international travel required, including rotational deployment to the Middle East.

Qualifications

• 10-15 years building production software, with hands-on development.
• 5+ years leading and growing technical teams, including engineers you did not personally hire.
• Proven track record leading distributed teams of 15+ across multiple time zones (8+ hours differential).
• Accountable for the technical solution on milestone-based or outcomes-based contracts.
• Strong architectural fluency across cloud-native systems, APIs, identity, and data integration patterns.
• Ability to read, write, and review code in at least one modern language.
• Fluency with AI-assisted productivity tooling as part of daily engineering practice.
• Demonstrated experience working with international and foreign partners, particularly in the Middle East.

Responsibilities

• Own the program's technical solution and drive architecture across data exchange, integration, identity, and deployment layers.
• Directly manage OPD's Field Deployable Engineer Teams, staffing, rotation schedules, technical standards, and performance.
• Oversee delivery activities, including execution of deliverables across integration teams, sprint cadence, and alignment with client requirements.
• Review code, challenge design choices, and stay hands-on to unblock the team.
• Partner with the DPM and User Engagement Lead to align the technical solution and transition timeline with end-unit adoption and CULMEX requirements.
• Participate in client engagements and translate engineering detail for non-technical decision-makers.
• Ensure ITAR compliance and host nation protocols, in coordination with the Program Manager.
• Growth-oriented tasks: identify program expansion opportunities and contribute to proposals.
• Monitor market trends and share insights to inform investment decisions and risk mitigation.
• Mentor and grow team members; drive career development within contract growth.

Skills

Technical leadership

Field team management

Program execution

Engineering quality

DPM partnership

Client engagement

Compliance awareness

Cloud-native architectures

APIs and identity

Code literacy

AI-assisted tooling

International collaboration

Tools

Kubernetes

Cloudflare

Azure AD / Entra ID

Claude

Copilot

Job description

Orbis is seeking an experienced Deputy Program Manager - Technical Lead to own the solution architecture and lead Field Deployable Engineer Teams on a complex, international defense program. This senior role requires hands-on leadership and the ability to work with both technical staff and senior client stakeholders.

This position is remote with international travel required, including rotational deployment to the Middle East.