Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Program Management, or related field.
Minimum of eight years of project or program management experience.
Active Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Experience managing government programs in aerospace, defense, or national security.
Proven ability to develop and maintain Integrated Master Schedules.
Practical experience with Earned Value Management System (EVMS) principles.
Strong customer management and executive communication skills.
Responsibilities
Lead programs from proposal development to execution and closeout.
Establish program objectives, resources, and performance expectations.
Coordinate across multiple departments to meet project goals.
Identify performance issues and implement corrective actions.
Develop and maintain Integrated Master Schedules and monitor performance.
Manage program budgets and apply EVMS principles for health evaluation.
Lead government program delivery in compliance with contractual requirements.
Benefits
Collaborative work environment focused on innovation.
Opportunities for professional development and certification.
Engagement with cutting-edge technology in antenna solutions.
Strong emphasis on customer advocacy and relationship building.
Full Job Description
Vitesse Systems is looking for a Sr. Program Manager to join the team in Harbor City, California! As Program Manager, you will be responsible for inspiring and uniting a team to innovate and deliver extraordinary antenna solutions, all within the customer's parameters.
The Role
The primary responsibility of the Program Manager is to spend your days advocating for the customer, while facilitating collaboration and course-correction internally. The primary responsibility of the Program Manager is to spend your days driving programs by simultaneously managing all stakeholders, maintaining progress and steering course-correction. You will be responsible for Program EVMS tracking, being accountable to managing program within prescribed variance targets.
Key Responsibilities
Program Planning and Execution
Lead programs throughout the lifecycle, from proposal development and initiation through execution, delivery, and closeout.
Establish program objectives, baselines, resources, milestones, and performance expectations.
Coordinate Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Finance, Contracts, Procurement, and Quality to achieve cost, schedule, scope, and technical objectives.
Identify performance issues, implement corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement.
Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) Management
Develop and maintain Integrated Master Schedules, including baselines, dependencies, critical paths, milestones, and resource loading.
Coordinate schedule integration across functional teams and manage approved baseline changes.
Budget, Financial Management, and EVMS
Develop and monitor program budgets, funding profiles, expenditures, cost forecasts, and profitability.
Apply Earned Value Management System (EVMS) principles to evaluate program health using metrics such as CPI, SPI, EAC, and ETC.
Analyze cost and schedule variances, identify root causes, forecast outcomes, and implement corrective actions.
Apply cost accounting concepts, including direct and indirect costs, labor and material expenses, overhead, cost allocation, and financial reporting.
Prepare and deliver accurate, actionable program performance reports and EVMS-based briefings to senior leadership and customers.
Government Program and Contract Management
Lead government program delivery in accordance with contractual requirements, approved baselines, funding constraints, deliverables, and applicable regulations.
Maintain effective relationships with government customers, program offices, contracting officers, prime contractors, and internal stakeholders.
Communicate program status and resolve issues affecting contractual performance and delivery.
Risk Management and Mitigation
Lead formal program risk reviews and maintain risk registers documenting probability, impact, ownership, mitigation actions, and closure criteria.
Develop and track mitigation plans, assign accountability, and monitor risk burn-down metrics to measure risk reduction and mitigation effectiveness.
Assess emerging and residual risks across cost, schedule, technical performance, manufacturing, operations, and supply chain.
Integrate risk management with the IMS, EVMS, budget forecasts, and program change control.
Escalate significant risks and present mitigation strategies, risk trends, and recovery recommendations to senior leadership and customers.
Customer Leadership and Executive Reporting
Serve as a primary customer advocate and maintain strong relationships through proactive communication and timely issue resolution.
Lead program reviews, customer meetings, and executive briefings covering cost, schedule, technical performance, financial forecasts, risks, and corrective actions.
Translate complex program data into clear recommendations that support decisions, resource allocation, and successful execution.
Drive cross-functional accountability for milestones, deliverables, risk mitigation, and program commitments.
Qualifications & Experience
Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Program Management, or a related field.
Minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible project or program management experience.
Active Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Demonstrated experience managing and delivering government programs, preferably in aerospace, defense, national security, or related industries.
Experience managing government contracts, contractual deliverables, funding requirements, compliance obligations, and government customer relationships.
Proven experience developing and maintaining Integrated Master Schedules, including critical path analysis, baseline management, and schedule recovery.
Practical experience using EVM/EVMS to analyze cost and schedule performance, forecast program outcomes, and brief senior leadership.
Demonstrated experience managing program budgets, expenditures, financial forecasts, cost controls, and profitability.
Working knowledge of cost accounting including direct and indirect costs, labor and material costs, overhead, and variance analysis.
Proven experience leading formal risk reviews, maintaining risk registers, implementing mitigation plans, and tracking measurable risk burn-down.
