Program Director - Integrated Air & Missile Defense

Role Description

Arcarithm is seeking an experienced Program Director – Integrated Air & Missile Defense (IAMD) to support and grow our defense portfolio. This position is intended for a senior leader with extensive operational experience in integrated air and missile defense, counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), system integration, and Department of Defense mission environments.

The Program Director will combine customer-facing program execution, operational expertise, systems integration, and strategic portfolio growth. The successful candidate will work directly with government customers, industry partners, technical teams, and company leadership to solve complex mission problems, successfully execute assigned programs, identify emerging customer requirements, and expand Arcarithm's presence across the IAMD and C-UAS mission areas.

This is not a traditional sales or business-development position. The successful candidate must be capable of contributing directly to customer missions while using operational credibility, technical understanding, relationships, and demonstrated performance to create opportunities for expanded responsibility and growth.

Core Responsibilities

• Program & Mission Execution
  • Provide senior program, operational, and systems integration leadership supporting complex Department of Defense missions.
  • Support integrated air and missile defense and counter-UAS activities involving sensors, command-and-control systems, weapon systems, mission planning, system integration, testing, fielding, and operational employment.
  • Serve as a trusted interface among government customers, prime contractors, industry partners, operational organizations, and Arcarithm technical personnel.
  • Translate operational requirements and mission needs into actionable engineering, integration, analysis, and program objectives.
  • Coordinate activities across organizations where successful execution requires influence and collaboration rather than direct authority.
  • Identify program risks, capability gaps, integration challenges, and opportunities for improved mission effectiveness.
  • Deliver assigned program responsibilities with a strong focus on customer mission outcomes, responsiveness, and technical credibility.
• Customer & Industry Engagement
  • Develop trusted professional relationships with government customers, prime contractors, mission partners, and technical stakeholders.
  • Represent Arcarithm in customer meetings, working groups, technical interchange meetings, program reviews, demonstrations, exercises, and other mission-related activities.
  • Understand customer priorities, emerging mission requirements, acquisition direction, and capability gaps.
  • Connect customer mission needs with Arcarithm's engineering, modeling and simulation, software, artificial intelligence, systems integration, and other technical capabilities.
  • Establish Arcarithm as a responsive and trusted mission partner capable of solving difficult operational and technical problems.
• Portfolio Growth
  • Develop and execute strategies to expand Arcarithm's IAMD, C-UAS, missile defense, modeling and simulation, and related defense business.
  • Identify opportunities to expand existing customer relationships into additional technical work, personnel, tasking, programs, and mission areas.
  • Develop relationships across large prime contractors and government organizations to identify adjacent and emerging opportunities.
  • Work with Arcarithm technical leadership to position the company's capabilities against customer requirements.
  • Support technical capture activities, customer shaping, teaming discussions, white papers, proposals, presentations, and solution development.
  • Help identify and recruit high-quality personnel required to support program expansion.
  • Develop actionable growth plans with measurable objectives for customer engagement, opportunity development, program expansion, and revenue growth.
• Corporate Leadership
  • Serve as a senior representative of Arcarithm with customers, teammates, employees, and industry partners.
  • Work closely with executive and technical leadership to identify strategic opportunities and areas for investment.
  • Mentor personnel and help develop future program and technical leaders.
  • Assist leadership in evaluating new markets, customers, programs, teaming relationships, and mission opportunities.
  • Promote a culture of accountability, responsiveness, technical excellence, and customer mission focus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• Significant leadership experience supporting Department of Defense missions, preferably involving air defense, missile defense, counter-UAS, command and control, or related mission areas.
• Demonstrated knowledge of integrated air and missile defense operations and the interaction among sensors, command-and-control capabilities, effectors, communications, and operational organizations.
• Experience coordinating complex activities across government, military, contractor, and/or industry organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility and productive relationships with senior government, military, and industry stakeholders.
• Experience leading programs, operations, system integration, fielding, testing, training, or other complex defense activities.
• Ability to translate operational needs and capability gaps into executable technical or programmatic solutions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively without relying upon formal organizational authority.
• Ability and willingness to support business growth as an integral component of senior program leadership.
• Active or current eligibility for a U.S. Government security clearance at the appropriate level.

Preferred Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressively responsible defense, military, engineering, operations, or program leadership experience.
• Senior military leadership experience within air defense, missile defense, C-UAS, fires, joint operations, or related mission areas.
• Experience supporting integrated air and missile defense systems and/or complex system-of-systems environments.
• Experience working with the Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Army, Combatant Commands, acquisition organizations, or related DoD organizations.
• Experience working alongside major defense prime contractors and small-business teammates.
• Experience with international or Foreign Military Sales defense programs.
• Experience with system fielding, operational integration, exercises, test activities, requirements development, capability gap analysis, or mission engineering.
• Existing relationships across the IAMD, missile defense, C-UAS, and broader defense community.
• Active Top Secret or TS/SCI security clearance.

Characteristics of the Successful Candidate

The successful candidate will be a builder rather than a caretaker. This individual will be comfortable entering complex environments, establishing credibility quickly, developing relationships, solving problems, and creating opportunities for Arcarithm to assume greater responsibility.

The individual must be equally comfortable working with operators, engineers, government leaders, program managers, and industry executives. Success will require initiative, persistence, humility, adaptability, and the ability to achieve results through influence rather than organizational authority.

This position is particularly suited for a leader who wants to remain close to the mission while helping a growing defense technology company expand its impact across the Integrated Air & Missile Defense community.

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Arcarithm is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.