Government Program Manager (Hillside)

About the Company

Headquartered in Hillside, IL, Cognesense is a worldwide environmental technology company built through the combination of heritage brands, including L&J Technologies, Shand & Jurs, Varec, Sonitus Systems, Petrel, Ex-tech, Pyroban, and Pyropress, that together represent over a century of domain expertise. Under the positioning “Measure. Monitor. Protect.,” Cognesense delivers measurement and instrumentation, safety equipment, automation, and software (including its Clairvoyance and FuelsManager® platforms) to customers in over 100 countries across energy production and storage, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, water and wastewater, aviation fuel, aerospace and defense, food and beverage, and other regulated, high-stakes end markets.

About the Role

The Government Program Manager runs our government and defense programs from first costing to closeout, and does the work themselves. This is a hands-on role, not a coordinator who hands work off. With today's tools, you build and run your own schedule, cost tracking, risk register and customer reporting. You own the money. You fully understand what every program costs and drive it to the best margin. You cost new opportunities directly and present them to Finance for sign-off. You work closely and strategically with Sales, the Product Directors, Contracts, subcontractors, Finance and the engineers. You never throw work over the fence: you carry 100% accountability and drive every open item to closure, with nothing left waiting for someone. This role follows the Cognesense Leadership Structure and the Systems, Service & Contracts Structure, which set out how we lead, how we work across Sales, Product and Finance, and what every tier owns.

Responsibilities

Program Execution

• Own program schedule, deliverables, milestones and closeout.
• Run your own project, scheduling and cost tools day to day, and keep them current without handing off.
• Pull in Systems Engineers, Field Service Engineers and suppliers to deliver, and hold them to dates.
• Own the customer interface at program level, including formal reporting and reviews.

Cost and Margin

• Cost every new opportunity directly: labour, engineering, equipment, subcontracts, travel and risk.
• Present the cost to Finance for sign-off before the price goes to the customer.
• Track actual cost against budget every month, drive to the best margin, and act early when it drifts.
• Raise milestone invoices on time and protect cash.

Contracts, Subcontracts and Compliance

• Work with the Contracts Manager on modifications, claims and compliance requirements such as FAR and DFARS.
• Manage subcontractor scope, performance and cost.
• Support audits and government reviews with complete, current records.

Accountability to Closure

• Keep one open-item list per program and close every item.
• If something is stuck, chase it, escalate it or fix it.
• Bring defence-grade program discipline to the wider Systems team where it helps.

How We Measure Success

In your first year, great performance looks like this:

• Program Margin: Program margin meets or beats the cost signed off by Finance.
• Milestones: Milestones are met and invoices are raised on time.
• Open items: Open items are closed with no stale actions.
• Compliance: Zero compliance findings.
• Customer: Customer satisfaction is high and programs win follow-on awards.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years managing government or defence programs, with full cost and margin responsibility.
• Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS and government contract requirements.
• Hands-on use of project, scheduling and cost tools.
• Strong financial literacy: costing, earned value or budget tracking, and invoicing.
• Eligibility for any security clearance the program requires.

Required Skills

• Hands-on use of project, scheduling and cost tools.
• Strong financial literacy: costing, earned value or budget tracking, and invoicing.
• Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS and government contract requirements.
• Eligibility for any security clearance the program requires.
• You are hands-on: you run your own tools and do not hand work off.
• You carry 100% accountability for the program and never throw work over the fence.
• You drive every open item to closure, with nothing left waiting for someone.
• You are curious and want to learn, a team player, conscientious and involved.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a technical field; PMP or equivalent a plus.
• Experience with instrumentation, fuel or tank systems programs.
• Experience managing subcontractors.
• Comfort using AI tools for reporting, risk tracking and costing.

How You Work

• You are hands-on: you run your own tools and do not hand work off.
• You carry 100% accountability for the program and never throw work over the fence.
• You drive every open item to closure, with nothing left waiting for someone.
• You are curious and want to learn, a team player, conscientious and involved.