Mission Support Center Product Manager

Description

MUST BE A US CITIZEN (Please do not apply if you are not)

Company Introduction

At BlackSea Technologies, we don't just innovate; we revolutionize.

We are a close-knit team of creative and innovative thinkers specializing in full lifecycle development of cutting-edge maritime technology. At BlackSea, you won't just find a job; you'll find a community of experts who aspire to solve diverse and complex challenges. Be part of a company where your ideas matter, your expertise is valued, and your contributions make a real impact. Together, we are not just sailing; we are charting a course to push boundaries of what's possible.

Position Title: Mission Support Center Product Manager

Job Location: Baltimore, MD, with CONUS and OCONUS travel as required

Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Salary Range: $ 105,700.00 $ 131,500.00

Position Description

The Mission Support Center (MSC) Product Manager owns the development, delivery, and improvement of the company’s centralized operational support capability. Treating the MSC as a product, this role defines its users, services, roadmap, and performance measures to support deployed teams, customers, and program leadership across company operations.

The manager integrates watchbill personnel, training, tooling, and procedures into a dependable support service. Responsibilities include establishing coverage, qualifying watchstanders, coordinating technical reachback, and ensuring timely issue resolution or escalation. The manager works with Operations, Integrated Product Support, Engineering, IT, and program leaders to translate mission requirements and field feedback into improvements.

The role establishes service expectations and balances operational demands with capability development. Success is measured through responsiveness, resolution effectiveness, watchstander readiness, user satisfaction, and contribution to mission availability.

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Product Strategy and Roadmap: Define the MSC service portfolio, operating model, roadmap, and prioritized improvement backlog across company programs.
• Watchbill Management: Manage assigned watchstanders and coordinate personnel from other departments; establish coverage, qualifications, shift assignments, handoffs, and backup arrangements.
• Training and Qualification: Develop onboarding, qualification standards, recurring training, exercises, and proficiency assessments with technical SMEs.
• Tooling and Information: Define requirements for communications, issue tracking, dashboards, knowledge resources, and remote diagnostic tools; coordinate implementation with IT and Engineering.
• Procedures and Escalation: Maintain procedures for receiving requests, troubleshooting, documenting actions, transferring watches, escalating issues, and communicating status.
• Operational Support: Coordinate support to operations, exercises, testing, and customer missions; connect watchstanders with technical and program authorities.
• Performance and Improvement: Track support demand, response and resolution times, recurring issues, coverage gaps, and user feedback to improve services.
• Resource Planning: Forecast staffing, training, tooling, and funding requirements; recommend investments and communicate constraints to leadership.
• Cross-Program Coordination: Establish service expectations and priorities with program leaders, including competing demands and surge requirements.
• Personnel Leadership: Coach assigned personnel, assess performance, and coordinate development with functional managers for temporary watchstanders.

Requirements

Required Skills/Education

• Five or more years of experience in operational support, technical service delivery, field operations, product management, or a related discipline, including team leadership.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, information systems, operations management, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Ability to translate user needs into service requirements, priorities, procedures, and measurable outcomes.
• Experience coordinating staffing, schedules, training, and technical resources across teams.
• Working knowledge of issue tracking, troubleshooting workflows, knowledge management, and performance reporting.
• Strong communication, organizational, and decision-making skills during time-sensitive situations.
• Ability to support a continuously operating center, including occasional nights, weekends, and surge periods.
• Willingness to travel to operational sites to assess support requirements and MSC effectiveness.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Desired Skills/Education (not required)

• Experience establishing or managing a mission support center, operations center, technical help desk, or comparable reachback service.
• Familiarity with unmanned systems, maritime operations, deployed sustainment, or government mission support.
• Experience developing product roadmaps, managing improvement backlogs, and introducing services.
• Familiarity with Jira, remote diagnostics, operational dashboards, and secure communications.
• Experience developing watchstander qualifications, incident escalation procedures, or continuity plans.
• Existing U.S. Government SECRET clearance.