Senior Program Manager

ATI builds and manages collaborations that conducts research and development of new technologies to solve our nation’s most pressing challenges. Our collaborations are custom-built teams of organizations from industry and academia that develop novel technologies for the federal government. Traditionally, these processes are complicated and burdensome.That’s where ATI comes in. We simplify and streamline processes to make it all work. When you work at ATI, you become a part of something larger than yourself. Our collective work – no matter what department or division you work in – ultimately enables the warfighter, saves lives, and diversifies the industrial base.At our core, ATI is a service organization. We are in service to others; it’s what we do, and it’s who we are.

Position Description

The Senior Program Manager supports ATI’s submarine and shipbuilding industrial base portfolio and related defense industrial base initiatives through senior program leadership or senior technical subject matter expertise. This position may be filled in one of two roles depending on program needs. In a program leadership role, the Senior Program Manager provides strategic, business, and operational leadership for a major program, portfolio, or mission-critical line of effort. In this role, the individual leads managers and cross-functional teams, engages senior Government and industry stakeholders, and drives execution, staffing, financial performance, contractual compliance, customer engagement, and portfolio outcomes at scale. In a senior technical SME role, the Senior Program Manager provides deep subject matter expertise across complex efforts that support ATI’s industrial base mission. In this role, the individual may contribute full time to technical strategy, implementation planning, technical evaluation, technology implementation, sponsor-facing technical advisory support, external engagement, and cross-project technical problem solving. Individuals in this role may or may not have direct project ownership.

We offer a hybrid schedule (in-office & remote/work from home), fully remote or an onsite schedule and flexible hours. Candidates will need to reside near Charleston, SC to ensure work site flexibility. Fully remote work may be considered for qualified candidates residing outside of Charleston, SC.

Essential Functions

• Supports ATI’s submarine and shipbuilding industrial base mission in a high-visibility, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Operates effectively in engagements involving Government sponsors, senior customer representatives, shipbuilders, academic institutions, industry stakeholders, performers, and ATI leadership, as required by assignment.
• Contributes to strategic planning, execution, issue resolution, communications, and stakeholder engagement across assigned efforts.
• Develops, reviews, executes, or technically assesses key program and project artifacts, deliverables, metrics, reports, and implementation activities, consistent with assigned responsibilities.
• Prepares and delivers briefings, recommendations, technical reports, strategic communications, and related materials for internal and external stakeholders.
• Drives sound judgment, operational discipline, and continuous improvement across assigned areas of responsibility.

Essential Functions for the Program Leadership Role

• Provides strategic leadership for a major program, portfolio, or mission-critical line of effort, including responsibility for execution performance, resource alignment, customer satisfaction, portfolio health, and operational effectiveness.
• Leads managers, project managers, technical staff, and cross-functional support personnel in the execution of complex portfolios and integrated lines of effort.
• Guides program strategy and execution across project development, investment planning, scope definition, project award, performance management, implementation activities, and portfolio reporting.
• Ensures disciplined execution of program and project contracts, agreements, deliverables, schedules, budgets, cost-share tracking where applicable, performance metrics, and reporting requirements.
• Leads executive-level assessments of portfolio status, financial performance, risks, staffing, operational constraints, and strategic opportunities, and provides senior recommendations regarding portfolio composition, resource allocation, and performance improvement.
• Establishes and maintains management controls, dashboards, reporting structures, operating rhythms, and escalation pathways needed to manage complex, high-visibility work.
• Directs and mentors program management staff, including support for hiring, staff development, and workload balancing across the program.

Essential Functions for the Senior Technical SME Role

• Provides senior technical leadership and subject matter expertise across complex government, industrial base, manufacturing, or research and development efforts.
• Supports technical strategy, implementation planning, technical evaluation, technology implementation, and stakeholder engagement across one or more complex initiatives.
• Contributes to sponsor-facing technical advisory work, technical interchanges, performer engagement, and technical assessment of approaches, risks, and implementation paths.
• Supports implementation of design or process changes in production or shipyard settings, including assessment of technical feasibility, manufacturability, and transition considerations, as applicable.
• Applies senior technical judgment to support problem solving, execution improvement, and cross-project integration across relevant mission or industrial base domains.
• Supports technical transfer events, portfolio communications, strategic planning efforts, and external engagements through deep subject matter expertise.

Additional Responsibilities

• May serve in a Deputy Director or equivalent senior leadership role.
• Represents program leadership in executive-level customer interactions, strategic planning activities, and major program reviews.
• Supports or leads proposal strategy, customer shaping, business development, and capture activities relevant to the assigned portfolio.
• Performs other duties as assigned by division leadership or executive management.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree and eight or more related years of experience or equivalent combination of experience and training, or a Master’s degree and six or more related years of experience or equivalent combination of experience and training. A degree in Engineering, Science, Supply Chain, Technical Program Management, or a related field is preferred.

Project and process management experience is required. PMP certification is viewed favorably but is not required.

Exceptional communication skills, including executive presentations, technical reports, meeting leadership, and stakeholder management, are required.

Strong computer skills, including Excel skills and proficiency in MS Office Suite—Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Project—are desired.

For program leadership assignments, significant experience leading complex government, industrial base, research and development, manufacturing, or technology implementation programs is required. Demonstrated success leading managers and cross-functional teams in a multi-project environment is required. Strong experience in program and portfolio management, customer engagement, operational oversight, and staff leadership is required.

For senior technical SME assignments, significant experience providing advanced technical expertise, implementation support, technical evaluation, technology transition support, or sponsor-facing technical advisory support across complex government, industrial base, manufacturing, or research and development efforts is highly desirable.

Specific Skillsets of Interest

Experience includes shipbuilding, implementing design or process changes in production or shipyard settings, submarine industrial base initiatives, manufacturing technology development and implementation, strategic outsourcing, supplier development, supply chain management, and workforce development or technical training programs.

Additional desirable technical experience includes one or more of the following domains: robotics and automated manufacturing systems; additive manufacturing; materials and processes, including composites, metals, and ceramics; design and structural analysis; digital manufacturing ecosystems, including digital twin and digital thread; AI/ML; modeling and simulation; welding engineering; systems engineering; and inspection technologies or nondestructive testing methods such as ultrasonic inspection and digital radiography, particularly in naval manufacturing environments. A technical advanced degree in these fields is also highly desirable.

Experience supporting Other Transaction Authority/Other Transaction Agreement projects, prototype efforts, or industrial base investment portfolios is viewed favorably. Experience collaborating with Navy program offices, major shipbuilders, OEMs, and multi-organizational project teams is similarly valued.

Additional Requirements

Ability to travel to conferences, shipyards, industrial facilities, supplier sites, customer locations, and meetings is required. Weekend travel is very infrequent; however, it may be needed to support client needs for an early Monday or late Friday event.

This position will need the ability to access U.S.-only data systems—U.S. Citizenship is required and/or the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance may be required.

This position is subject to a background check that includes a review of criminal records. In reviewing an applicant’s criminal history, the company will consider prior criminal convictions that have a relationship to the job duties and responsibilities of the position. The company considers the nature of the crime, the time that has elapsed since the crime, and the job duties for the position at issue in making an individualized determination. Individuals may be excluded when the company determines, based on the above factors, that hiring, transferring, or promoting the applicant would pose an unreasonable risk to the business, its employees, or its customers and vendors.

If you are a qualified candidate, we encourage you to apply even if you have prior criminal conviction(s). Convictions will not automatically disqualify a candidate. However, conviction(s) will be considered and balanced against the age of the candidate at the time of the offense, time elapsed since the offense, type of offense, potential impacts on the work environment, sensitivity of the position(s) available/sought, and similar independent factors relevant to the employment requirements at ATI.

Must be either a U.S. Citizen by birth or naturalization.

Must successfully pass a background to access sensitive information and automated systems.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Regular physical activity to include walking, bending stooping, reaching, standing and prolonged sitting.

Ability to speak, read, hear, and write, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Ability to use phone and computer systems, copier, fax, and other office equipment.

Must be able to occasionally move/lift up to 25 pounds with or without reasonable accommodation.

Work Environment

This position is located in an air-conditioned, environmentally controlled atmosphere, and occasionally attend meetings in technology company environments.

Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

ATI is an Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities, Females, Protected Veterans, Individuals with Disabilities and all other protected classes.

ATI's standard business hours are Monday-Friday, between 8 AM - 5 PM.

Anticipated starting salary is in range commensurate with education and experience:

$145,000 - $160,000

Benefits

Benefits ATI has been named "Best Places to Work in SC" from 2017-2026.

• This is a full-time opportunity with benefits
• ATI provides Medical, Dental and Vision Plan options
• Flexible Spending Accounts, including health and dependent care accounts
• 403B Retirement Savings plan with a very competitive company contribution
• Personal time-off (pre-loaded & accrued) plus 12 paid holiday-days
• Life Insurance paid by ATI
• Paid Parental Leave
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Coverage paid by ATI
• Employee Assistance Program
• Tuition Reimbursement Program
• Flexible work schedules

ATI's standard business hours are Monday-Friday, between 8 AM - 5 PM.