Senior Program Manager-OSW

Dcode

$116K — $152K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7 years of relevant professional experience in government-facing programs or workstreams.
  • Experience with deployable communication capabilities, technology modernization, and program management.
  • Proven track record of leading projects in complex, ambiguous environments with measurable outcomes.
  • Strong stakeholder advisory skills with ability to influence decisions at various organizational levels.
  • Solid understanding of program management and agile methodologies.
  • Excellent communication skills for executive-level briefings and decision materials.
  • Strong analytical and structured problem-solving capabilities.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as a trusted advisor to senior government stakeholders, offering data-driven recommendations.
  • Identify capability gaps and translate mission needs into actionable solutions.
  • Lead workshops and strategic engagements to address operational challenges.
  • Facilitate collaboration among diverse stakeholders to align mission objectives.
  • Develop governance structures and frameworks to enhance decision-making.
  • Incorporate client feedback to improve service delivery and mission outcomes.
  • Establish performance frameworks and continuously assess program effectiveness.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive onboarding and mentoring programs for professional development.
  • Encouragement of a culture focused on collaboration, accountability, and innovation.
  • Access to networks within innovation ecosystems, including startups and emerging tech.
  • Opportunity for continuous improvement and best practice standardization across projects.
  • Work in fast-paced, mission-driven environments that prioritize impactful outcomes.
Full Job Description
Role Summary

In this role, you'll work closely with government clients to identify needs, scout technologies, integrate solutions, and scale what works. This means building structure, workflows, and processes that overcome legacy constraints to ensure speed, precision, and measurable impact. You will be responsible for leading daily client engagements and navigating complex stakeholder relationships for major workstreams and projects that deliver measurable mission outcomes in support of transformation and modernization for a global communication architecture.. Success in this role means navigating ambiguity, moving with urgency, and producing results that have a tangible mission impact.

This position manages day-to-day execution of all command, control and communications modernization activities for a defense sector executive client while leading Dcode's embedded Rapid Acquisition Integration Cell (RAIC™).

The Senior Program Manager ensures rapid execution, cross-functional integration, sprint planning, stakeholder coordination, and delivery of all contractual products.

Success in this role requires the ability to navigate ambiguity, lead teams, influence senior stakeholders, and translate complex challenges into structured, repeatable solutions that scale.

Salary range: $116,000-$152,000 plus bi-annual bonuses

Current TS-SCI with polygraph is strongly preferred. Eligibility for SAP/SCI clearance is required.

Key Responsibilities
Client Advisory & Mission Success
  • Serve as a trusted advisor and partner to senior , , DoW and other government agency stakeholders, providing clear, data-driven recommendations that advance mission outcomes.
  • Support operational units at the highest levels of government service in identifying command, control, and communication (C3) capability gaps and translating mission needs into actionable, rapidly deployable solutions.
  • Lead workshops, assessments, and strategic engagements that convert complex operational and technical challenges into practical recommendations.
  • Facilitate collaboration and alignment across leadership, program offices, operational commands, and cross-functional stakeholders to synchronize priorities, timelines, and objectives.
  • Support the development of governance structures, operating models, decision frameworks, and operating charters that improve execution and decision-making.
  • Continuously gather client feedback and incorporate lessons learned to improve delivery, user experience, and mission outcomes.
Program Leadership & Delivery
  • Lead programs, projects, or major workstreams delivering measurable mission outcomes in high-tempo environments.
  • Translate strategic objectives into actionable plans, operating models, workflows, repeatable processes, and performance metrics.
  • Apply Agile and Scrum methodologies to execute work through iterative, sprint-based delivery models that provide measurable progress and continuous adaptation.
  • Ensure teams remain focused on mission outcomes, operational impact, speed, and ROI rather than outputs alone.
  • Coordinate closely with Dcode leadership, field experts, and technical contributors, to align priorities, requirements, timelines, and dependencies.
  • Provide creative approaches across policy, acquisition, finance, organizational design, culture, and processes to improve government agility and innovation.
  • Maintain awareness of emerging technologies, software development practices, and innovation trends to inform client strategies.
Performance, Measurement & Continuous Improvement
  • Establish mission-relevant performance measurement frameworks, including leading indicators, ROI metrics, cycle time, throughput, decision velocity, and operational impact.
  • Develop measurement and tracking mechanisms that evaluate progress, effectiveness, and organizational value.
  • Continuously improve delivery by capturing lessons learned, refining processes, and standardizing best practices.
  • Monitor risks, anticipate challenges, and adapt execution based on changing mission requirements and operational realities.
  • Implement scalable solutions that improve delivery efficiency, organizational resilience, and long-term performance.
Contract & Operational Management
  • Manage contract execution to ensure compliance with contractual requirements while meeting delivery, quality, profitability, and performance objectives.
  • Monitor delivery health, identify risks early, and proactively implement mitigation strategies.
  • Manage project resources and team utilization to optimize delivery effectiveness and financial performance.
  • Support efforts to remove policy, acquisition, and operational barriers that slow innovation and mission execution.
  • Ensure operational processes are efficient, repeatable, and scalable across engagements.
People Leadership & Team Development
  • Onboard, mentor, coach, and develop team members while accelerating time to productivity.
  • Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, continuous learning, and client service excellence.
Skills and Experience

Required Skills and Experience
  • 7 years of relevant professional experience, including leadership of government-facing programs or workstreams.
  • Experience supporting DoW or federal clients in areas such as deployable communication capabilities, technology modernization, organizational transformation, operational deployment, or program management.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead projects and deliver measurable outcomes in complex, ambiguous environments.
  • Experience advising stakeholders and influencing decisions at multiple levels of an organization.
  • Strong understanding of program management principles, with exposure to agile methodologies.
  • Excellent communication skills, including the ability to develop executive-level briefings and decision-ready materials.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on structured thinking and execution.

Preferred Qualifications
  • Familiarity with DoW acquisition pathways (e.g., OTAs, CSOs, IDIQs).
  • Experience working with innovation ecosystems, including startups or emerging technology vendors.
  • Enterprise modernization experience.
  • Active TS Clearance with SAP/SCI eligibility.
You'll Excel in This Role If You:
  • Thrive in fast-paced, mission-driven environments with evolving priorities.
  • Balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
  • Proactively identify problems and drive solutions without waiting for direction.
  • Can translate complex challenges into clear, structured approaches.
  • Are comfortable leading teams while also delivering independently.
  • Focus on outcomes and impact rather than activity alone.
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?

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