Head of Program Management

Ralliant

$178K — $331K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Significant experience in defense or government contracting environments.
  • Background in prime or sub-prime defense organizations preferred.
  • Proven leadership in program management or PMO functions.
  • Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority.
  • Experience in building or enhancing organizational capability.
  • Track record of improving execution in evolving environments.
  • Technical credibility from experience in engineering, manufacturing, or quality.

Responsibilities

  • Lead execution of sustaining programs from contract award through delivery.
  • Operate with accountability for program performance and execution tradeoffs.
  • Translate contract requirements into actionable program plans and schedules.
  • Lead and develop a distributed team of program managers across multiple sites.
  • Assess and strengthen an existing PMO framework for improved execution discipline.
  • Build organizational capability through talent assessment and training initiatives.
  • Drive alignment across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, and finance.
  • Introduce performance metrics and reporting for program visibility.

Benefits

  • Bonus and equity opportunities included in the compensation package.
Full Job Description
Role Overview

PacSci EMC is seeking a Head of Program Management to lead the Program Management Office (PMO) responsible for sustaining programs within a complex, highly engineered defense environment. This role is accountable for ensuring strong, consistent execution across cost, schedule, quality, and customer commitments, while serving as a key connector across engineering, operations, quality, and supply chain.

This is a leadership role with broad ownership, operating with a business mindset across program execution and organizational capability. You will lead a distributed team of program managers while strengthening an established PMO framework, elevating execution rigor, and driving alignment across a highly matrixed environment where success depends on both direct leadership and influence.

Responsibilities
  • Lead end-to-end execution of sustaining programs from contract award through delivery, ensuring performance across cost, schedule, quality, and customer commitments
  • Operate with a business ownership mindset, taking accountability for program performance, customer outcomes, and execution tradeoffs
  • Translate contract requirements into executable program plans, schedules, and delivery frameworks
  • Lead, develop, and elevate a team of ~14 program managers across multiple sites, setting clear expectations and raising the bar on performance
  • Assess and strengthen an existing PMO framework to improve scalability, consistency, and execution discipline
  • Build organizational capability through talent assessment, coaching, onboarding, training, and continuous improvement
  • Drive cross-functional alignment across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, and finance, ensuring coordinated execution
  • Influence without authority in a matrixed environment, establishing accountability and clarity across teams that do not directly report to you
  • Introduce and scale performance metrics, dashboards, and reporting to improve visibility into program health, risks, and outcomes
  • Ensure execution aligns with contractual and regulatory requirements, supporting disciplined and predictable delivery


Qualifications
  • Significant experience in defense or government contracting environments, with strong understanding of contract execution and customer expectations
  • Background in prime or sub-prime defense organizations strongly preferred
  • Proven leadership of program management or PMO functions, including direct team leadership
  • Demonstrated experience leading teams while influencing cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority
  • Track record of building or elevating organizational capability (teams, processes, systems, training)
  • Experience improving or scaling execution in growing or evolving environments, with measurable impact
  • Demonstrated business ownership mindset, including managing performance, tradeoffs, and outcomes tied to programs
  • Technical credibility through experience in engineering, manufacturing, quality, or similarly complex environments
  • Experience with program controls (e.g., EVM, IMS, or similar frameworks) in defense or highly regulated environments
  • Thrives in fast-paced, high-accountability environments with competing priorities and ambiguity

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About PacSci EMC

Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company (PacSci EMC), a Ralliant Corporation (NYSE: RAL) operating company, makes critical missions possible. From concept to demonstration to delivery, we provide leading-edge energetic materials, devices and subsystems for use in military and commercial applications. With engineering and manufacturing capability in Arizona and California, our associates work together to solve the toughest technical challenges with a dedication to Safety First, Quality Every TimeTM. We enable success for innumerable missions on a daily basis, impacting the lives of military personnel, law enforcement officers, commercial airline pilots, astronauts, and oil field operators. For nearly a century, PacSci EMC's experience and expertise has been relied upon in the times When Milliseconds MatterTM. For more information, go to www.psemc.com.

Bonus or Equity
This position is also eligible for bonus and equity as part of the total compensation package.

Pay Range
The salary range for this position (in local currency) is 178400.00-331200.00

Is this role subject to ITAR?
The essential duties of this position require adherence to U.S. Government export control regulations. Accordingly, candidates must either be U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, or protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) or be prepared to collaborate with the company in securing the necessary U.S. government export authorizations. While the company encourages all interested applicants to apply, please be aware that ongoing employment is dependent upon obtaining the appropriate government export authorizations.

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