Program Manager

Job Title: Technical Program Manager - Aviation and Space Systems

Job Description

This role leads complex technical engagements with government and prime contractor customers in the aviation, space, and defense domains. You will serve as a subject matter expert across technical and operational areas, shape product strategy and roadmaps, and guide the integration of modular, containerized software and hardware solutions into mission-critical environments. The position combines customer-facing leadership, systems engineering, and program management to deliver secure, scalable, and certifiable capabilities that support national security missions.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical engagements with government and prime contractor customers, clearly understanding their requirements, expectations, and mission objectives.

• Support customers in identifying, planning, and managing capability initiatives across aviation, space, and defense programs.

• Gain insight into future customer needs and scope growth opportunities, and translate these into actionable plans and proposals.

• Serve as the company's subject matter expert in aviation and space technical and operational domains, analyzing and summarizing mission needs across multiple platforms.

• Support determination of product market position within the defense and national security sector and inform the development of the product roadmap.

• Collaborate with the Growth organization to develop opportunity pipelines and capture strategies for specific pursuits.

• Develop and describe technical design approaches that directly support and enhance customer missions.

• Advise customers and business partners on the effective application of company offerings to meet emerging and evolving mission needs.

• Develop Statements of Work (SOW) and Performance Work Statements (PWS), including executable technical estimates aligned with product and organizational capabilities.

• Define and refine delivery strategies aligned with customer feature sets, milestones, and timeline requirements.

• Oversee project-specific customization of products to meet tailored customer needs while maintaining architectural integrity.

• Maintain disciplined product governance by enforcing organizational standards, engineering directives, policies, processes, and procedures.

• Support integration of products into customer environments, including providing onsite technical guidance and troubleshooting when required.

• Support Technical Project Managers in identifying, assessing, and mitigating technical risks throughout the project lifecycle.

• Review, advise on, and approve technical work products to ensure quality, compliance, and alignment with mission needs.

• Champion actions and initiatives that improve customer satisfaction and long-term partnership success.

• Collaborate with engineering teams to establish architecture baselines, conduct design reviews, and manage interface compliance across systems.

• Ensure incremental software delivery aligns with government-defined drops such as MVP, Code Lock, and 0.9 releases.

• Contribute to continuous improvement of processes, tools, and practices related to modular software, DevSecOps, and container orchestration.

• Perform other related duties as assigned to support program and organizational objectives.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor's degree or higher in engineering or another related STEM field.

• 10+ years of experience in the technology industry, preferably in complex, mission-critical systems.

• Experience integrating hardware and software systems in both laboratory and field test environments.

• Experience collecting requirements and developing work estimates for proposals and projects.

• Proficiency with requirement analysis tools, CI/CD pipelines, Agile management tools, and test management tools.

• Understanding of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) principles.

• Expertise in hardware/software abstraction layers (HALs) and interface control documents (ICDs).

• Experience in certification strategies for modular safety software, including standards such as MIL-STD-882E and LOR-1.

• Experience developing and integrating Command and Control (C2) systems across air and ground robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) platforms.

• Familiarity with control interface standards such as MIL-STD-1472H for UI/UX.

• Working knowledge of cross-platform C2 implementation, including environments such as Android 14 and Ubuntu 22.04.

• Ability to support multi-asset control, including uncrewed systems (UxS), payloads, and video feeds, with understanding of autonomy behavior management, handoff protocols, and assisted teleoperation.

• Familiarity with RVMS, ASIL-D equivalent safety systems, and command arbitration logic.

• Experience deploying modular software to edge compute environments such as M2C2 and ARM/GPU single-board computers (SBCs).

• Proficiency with container orchestration and DevSecOps pipelines, including hands-on experience with Docker and Kubernetes.

• Experience working with open-source hypervisors and government-secured operating system baselines.

• Hands-on experience integrating with systems such as TAK, NGC2, MMC, and other Army C2 nodes.

• Deep knowledge of VMF, CoT, and MIL-STD-2525-D symbology.

• Understanding of Mission Planning and Management Systems (MPMS) and collaborative Common Operating Picture (COP) management.

• Leadership experience in establishing architecture baselines, conducting design reviews, and managing interface compliance.

• Basic understanding of government procurement environments.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a related STEM discipline is beneficial.

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable guidance for both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Experience working within defense, aviation, space, or national security programs.

• Proven track record of supporting opportunity capture, proposal development, and strategic growth initiatives.

• Interest in and aptitude for working with cutting-edge technology in modular, containerized, and edge-compute environments.

• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, evolving programs with incremental delivery milestones defined by government customers.

Work Environment

This is an office-based role that focuses on leading and supporting complex technical programs in the aviation, space, and defense sectors. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including engineering, product, growth, and technical project management, using modern tools such as requirement analysis platforms, CI/CD pipelines, Agile management tools, and test management systems. The environment emphasizes cutting-edge technology, including modular software architectures, containerized solutions, edge compute platforms, and secure operating system baselines. Work may involve collaboration with government and prime contractor stakeholders, alignment with formal standards and certifications, and adherence to disciplined engineering processes and governance

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Marion, IA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $100.00 - $115.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: - Medical, dental & vision - Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital - 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available - Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) - Short and long-term disability - Health Spending Account (HSA) - Transportation benefits - Employee Assistance Program - Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Marion,IA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Jun 15, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 30,000 consultants and more than 4,500 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.