Program Manager

Karman Space and Defense

$110K — $130K *
Aerospace & Defense
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Program Management, or related field, or equivalent experience.
  • 5+ years in aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or similar complex technical program management.
  • Current DoD Secret security clearance or ability to obtain it.
  • Master's degree or MBA preferred.
  • Experience managing U.S. government or allied defense programs preferred.
  • Knowledge of government contracting preferred.

Responsibilities

  • Lead programs from contract completion to delivery, managing cost, schedule, and quality.
  • Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, budgets, and performance metrics.
  • Coordinate cross-functional teams across engineering, operations, and supply chain.
  • Manage deliverables and contractual scope, including customer requests.
  • Identify risks and implement mitigation plans.
  • Act as primary contact for stakeholders including customers and company leadership.
  • Communicate program performance, risks, and corrective actions in reviews.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Paid time off
  • Health Savings Account with company contribution
  • Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
  • Short- and long-term disability coverage
  • Tuition reimbursement
Full Job Description
This role is part of our Hypersonics and Strategic Missile Defense business, which designs, develops, and delivers highly dependable missile systems for hypersonic and strategic missile defense missions. We provide integrated, mission-ready hardware that brings together multiple technologies into unified systems engineered to perform in demanding operational environments. Our tip-to-tail capabilities include payload protection and deployment systems, propulsion systems, aerodynamic interstage systems, separation systems, missile subsystems, shroud systems, launch systems, and payload integration solutions.

As Program Manager, you will lead assigned defense programs from planning and development through qualification, production, and delivery. Reporting to the Integrated Product Lead, you will coordinate cross-functional teams, manage program performance, and guide technical and business decisions to deliver missile, propulsion, launch, payload, and defense-system hardware that meets customer and mission requirements.

Responsibilities
  • Leads assigned programs through contract completion, owning performance against cost, schedule, technical, quality, contractual, and customer objectives.
  • Develops and maintains integrated program plans, schedules, budgets, milestones, resource requirements, and performance metrics.
  • Coordinates execution across engineering, operations, quality, supply chain, contracts, finance, and test.
  • Manages contractual deliverables, statements of work, customer requests, and program scope changes.
  • Identifies technical, programmatic, supply-chain, cost, and schedule risks and drives mitigation and recovery plans.
  • Serves as a primary program contact for customers, prime contractors, government stakeholders, suppliers, and company leadership.
  • Leads program reviews and communicates financial performance, risks, decisions, dependencies, and corrective actions.
  • Supports design and test-readiness reviews, qualification activities, production-readiness reviews, and customer acceptance events.
  • Supports proposals, estimates, contract negotiations, follow-on opportunities, and program growth.

Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering, Business Program Management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience.
  • At least 5 years of experience supporting or managing aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or similarly complex technical programs.
  • A current U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Master of Science degree or Master of Business Administration degree.
  • Experience managing DoD, U.S. government, allied-defense, or prime-contractor programs.
  • Experience with missile systems, propulsion, launch systems, payload integration, separation systems, energetic devices, or related flight hardware.
  • Experience managing programs from development through qualification and production.
  • Knowledge of government contracting and fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, or incentive-based contract structures.
  • Experience with Earned Value Management, cost-account management, or similar financial-performance methods.
  • Experience supporting proposals, estimates, negotiations, contract modifications, or follow-on program capture.
  • Project Management Professional certification or equivalent formal program-management training.
  • Experience with program scheduling, enterprise resource planning, or product-lifecycle management systems.
  • Experience leading engineering teams to develop mechanical and pyrotechnic components and systems that exceed customer expectations.

Benefits
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401(k) with company match
  • Paid time off
  • Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contribution
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
  • Company-paid life and AD&D insurance
  • Short- and long-term disability coverage
  • Tuition reimbursement

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