Role Summary

We are a mission-driven, detail-oriented Senior Program Associate to support high-priority initiatives for a defense sector client.

This role is ideal for professionals with 2-3 years of experience who can independently own defined workstreams, produce high-quality, decision-ready deliverables, and coordinate effectively across complex government, military, civilian, and industry stakeholder environments.

Operations specialty: You will serve as an operational anchor, synchronizing efforts among Army innovation organizations while maintaining situational awareness, coordinating key events and TDYs, updating site information, and producing decision-ready SITREPs. You will translate broad objectives and assigned tasks into executable actions, establish repeatable process flows, and proactively resolve operational bottlenecks.

Duty Station: Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA

Salary range: $79,000 to $98,000 plus bi-annual bonuses

Top Secret clearance is strongly preferred. Eligibility for clearance is required.

Key Responsibilities

Program Delivery & Client Support

• Execute defined workstreams with appropriate guidance, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery of outputs.
• Develop clear, structured deliverables - including briefings, analyses, frameworks, reports, and program artifacts - that support client decision-making and program progress.
• Support day-to-day client interactions through meeting preparation, note-taking, action tracking, stakeholder follow-up, and synthesis of inputs.
• Build a strong understanding of client mission priorities and connect day-to-day activities to broader organizational goals.
• Contribute to agile, sprint-based execution cycles while managing multiple tasks, changing priorities, and dependencies.
• Anticipate potential issues, recommend practical solutions or process improvements, capture lessons learned, and help refine tools, frameworks, and methodologies.

Operations Coordination & Synchronization

• Coordinate day-to-day operations and synchronize efforts among Army innovation organizations.
• Plan, schedule, and synchronize key events, workshops, operational touchpoints, and stakeholder engagements.
• Coordinate TDYs, travel logistics, site movement, and event requirements for team members and visiting personnel.
• Maintain and update site information, operational trackers, calendars, action logs, and situational-awareness tools.
• Draft and submit regular SITREPs that provide leadership with clear visibility into activities, progress, decisions, risks, and support requirements.
• Facilitate clear, high-level communication among military units, civilian leads, government stakeholders, and external innovation partners.
• Interpret broad objectives from assigned tasks and translate them into executable actions, owners, timelines, milestones, and follow-through.
• Establish and refine operational process flows to eliminate bottlenecks, improve cross-functional synchronization, and optimize program delivery.

Skills and Experience

Required Skills and Experience

• 2-3 years of relevant professional experience in consulting, government, defense, operations, finance, program delivery, or a related field.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to structure ambiguous problems and develop practical next steps.
• Experience producing high-quality, client-ready deliverables using PowerPoint, Excel, and written reports.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the judgment to tailor information for working teams and senior leaders.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks, priorities, stakeholders, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Familiarity with or interest in government acquisition, innovation, technology integration, and mission delivery.
• Comfort working in agile, iterative delivery environments with evolving requirements.
• Demonstrated ownership, attention to detail, follow-through, and a proactive approach to identifying and resolving issues.

Operations Specialty Qualifications

• Experience coordinating operations, events, schedules, travel, workstreams, or staff actions in a high-tempo environment.
• Experience in an Army S3 office, DoW operational staff, or comparable operations-coordination role is a strong differentiator.
• Ability to maintain situational awareness, update site and program information, manage trackers, and synthesize operational data into clear SITREPs and briefings.
• Demonstrated ability to establish new process flows, optimize existing processes, and turn ambiguity into repeatable, efficient workflows.
• Strong cross-functional communication and synchronization skills across military, civilian, government, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to extrapolate objectives from assigned tasks, establish priorities and next actions, and follow operational issues through closure.

You'll Excel in This Role If You:

• Take ownership of your workstreams and consistently deliver high-quality outputs.
• Are proactive in identifying problems, coordination gaps, resource issues, and thoughtful solutions.
• Can connect day-to-day tasks, financial decisions, and operational actions to broader mission and organizational priorities.
• Thrive in structured but fast-moving environments with evolving requirements and multiple stakeholders.
• Communicate clearly, maintain attention to detail, and create reliable follow-through without waiting for continuous direction.
• Are curious, adaptable, resilient, and eager to learn in a mission-driven setting.

Additional Information

We look for resilient hustlers:

Our CEO busted her face on the balance beam in college and got back up... our CRO has knocked on a thousand doors, was rejected 999 times, and kept on knocking... What is your story?