Software Project Manager

Job Description

What’s it like to work on a team driven to make a big impact? Empowering.
We believe your career should always be growing, and that is exactly what happens at BAE Systems. Join a company devoted to your professional development and experience a unique camaraderie on a team dedicated to protecting what really matters.

The Role
The Software Project Manager reports to a functional manager under the Electrical Software and Controls (ESC) Engineering Director and is matrixed to a combat vehicle Program Engineering Director. In this role, you will lead a project team of 25-30 software engineers supporting a family of combat vehicles.

The scope includes software development within the BAE Systems Platforms and Services sector, as well as the management of outsourced software subcontracts. You will hold primary responsibility for vehicle-level software integration, encompassing in-house development, subcontracted software, and government-furnished software and equipment. Integration and testing efforts range from low-level hardware/software integration to full vehicle-level integration and formal software qualification testing.

Work-Life Balance
We operate on a 9/80 schedule (every other Friday off) and utilize a hybrid approach that balances on-site collaboration and onboarding support with the flexibility of remote work.

Key Responsibilities

• Engineering Oversight: Lead all software engineering phases, including requirements analysis, design, implementation, integration, testing, verification, final delivery, and maintenance.
• Compliance & Quality: Coordinate with Software Quality Assurance and Software Configuration Management to ensure rigorous standards. Partner with Safety Engineering to ensure safety-critical requirements are accurately recorded and drive the appropriate level of rigor in architecture and design.
• Execution & Delivery: Ensure the on-time delivery of high-quality contract deliverables, targeting a 90%+ first-pass customer acceptance rate.
• Process Leadership: Maintain team discipline and rigor in accordance with tailored Business Management System (BMS) Procedures, tailoring process assets for the software domain as required.
• Financial & Resource Management: Oversee assigned Control Accounts and Work Packages, monitoring progress and taking corrective action to meet cost, quality, performance, and schedule constraints.
• Planning & Proposals: Develop software staffing forecasts, estimates, and Basis of Estimates (BoEs) for proposal efforts, ensuring they are executable and affordable. Coordinate with Software Functional Management for BoE review and approval.
• Milestone Management: Plan software project schedules and builds to align with vehicle-level development. Lead formal milestone reviews with US Government customers, including SRR, PDR, CDR, and TRR.
• Technical Evaluation: Evaluate software requirements and designs to ensure consistency with higher-level performance requirements, customer needs, and the Statement of Work.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Guide the team in collaborative problem-solving and resolve cross-disciplinary conflicts to optimize system performance, reliability, and cost. Maintain the stakeholder matrix to ensure engagement across systems, electrical, mechanical, safety, and cybersecurity engineering.
• Communication & Risk Management: Proactively communicate with functional and program leadership. Promptly identify and elevate emerging risks, issues, and opportunities to ensure management awareness.
• Team Leadership: Provide clear, concise direction to project personnel. Provide unbiased, constructive Performance and Development Review (PDR) inputs and collaborate with functional managers to provide staff with growth and development opportunities.
• External Representation: Prepare and present project metrics and technical status at formal reviews and technical interchange meetings, maintaining the technical reputation of BAE Systems with customers and industry partners.

Required Education, Experience, & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical discipline plus 8 years relevant experience; or a master’s degree and 6 years of experience; or a Ph.D. and 4 years of experience.
• Practical knowledge and experience with applicable software engineering processes.
• Working knowledge of Earned Value Management System (EVMS) and Control Account Manager (CAM) / Work Package Manager (WPM) responsibilities.
• Familiarity with CANbus and Ethernet communications.
• Contemporary design/development experience such as object oriented, model-based design, DevSecOps and CI/CD pipelines.
• Exceptional communication (verbal and written) and collaboration skills.
• Ability to conduct effective meetings, discussions, and presentations.
• Experience in management at the Software Project Lead level or one level lower (e.g., managing the software architecture development, software implementation, software integration, or software test portion of a software project).
• Working knowledge of the software safety domain, including a basic understanding of MIL-STD-882E or DO-178C compliance.
• Working knowledge of the cybersecurity domain, including a basic understanding of the Risk Management Framework (RMF) and the requirements and process to obtain/maintain Authority to Operate (ATO).
• Must be able to obtain and retain a Secret Clearance.
• May consider candidates with additional experience for a more senior role.

Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills

• Practical knowledge and experience with applicable software management processes, engineering development processes, process tailoring and process improvement
• Working knowledge of a process improvement framework used in software engineering, such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) or Automotive Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (ASPICE)
• Cybersecurity certification
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification through the Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Combat vehicle subject matter expertise
• Experience managing software subcontracts
• Current Secret Clearance #LI-Hybrid #LI-JR1

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $132962 - $226035

Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.


Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.

About BAE Systems Platforms & Services BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, an international defense, aerospace and security company which delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services. Improving the future and protecting lives is an ambitious mission, but it’s what we do at BAE Systems. Working here means using your passion and ingenuity where it counts – defending national security with breakthrough technology, superior products, and intelligence solutions. As you develop the latest technology and defend national security, you will continually hone your skills on a team—making a big impact on a global scale. At BAE Systems, you’ll find a rewarding career that truly makes a difference.

The Platforms & Services (P&S) sector under BAE Systems, Inc does the big stuff: the armored combat vehicles, naval guns, missile launchers, and ship repair…just to name a few. Our employees take pride in the work they do and why they do it. They are on the front lines every day, building our products to protect the lives of those who serve. We may be biased, but we think P&S does some of the coolest work around, and we think you will too.