Senior Program Manager - Counter Unmanned Systems (C-UxS)

BLUF

Program / Division Manager II provides senior-level leadership across complex programs, multi-project portfolios, and strategic customer relationships. This role is responsible for delivering mission-impactful outcomes, shaping organizational strategy, driving contract performance, and advancing Covan Group’s position within the defense sector. PM/DM II is the highest tier in the Program Management job family and represents Covan Group to senior government and industry leaders.

Company Overview

Covan Group is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) based in the National Capital Region. Our team consists of high-performing, experienced, and adaptive veterans and civilians who bring a multi-tiered perspective and deep expertise to our clients. Covan Group combines military and civilian experience across key areas, including MAGTF Planning, MEU and Special Operations, Military Instruction, Fires, Networking, Data Analytics, and Multimedia Production. Our capabilities are rooted in experience at all levels, from squad leaders to division leaders. With a strong foundation of recently separated service members—many still serving in the reserve component—Covan Group provides clients with firsthand military insight into research, development, and operational innovation.

Key Outcomes (First 90–180 Days)

• Learns and understands counter-UxS mission, authorities, sensing, system interfaces, partner, and evaluation requirements across assigned efforts.

• Establishes command of scope, schedule, staffing, risk, budget, authorization boundaries, and delivery expectations for assigned $5M–$20M efforts.

• Demonstrates sound judgment integrating sensing, classification, command-and-control, automated workflows, operator oversight, safety, access, and independent evidence into authorized evaluations.

• Builds effective customer and partner relationships and communicates evidence-backed findings, uncertainty, limitations, and recommendations.

• Identifies practical improvements to evaluation repeatability, traceability, authorization/readiness controls, counter-system integration, program controls, and future-event execution.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead complex, multi-project portfolios with high visibility and mission-critical outcomes.

• Manage financial performance including budgets, forecasts, staffing plans, and resource alignment.

• Provide senior-level engagement with clients, partners, and external stakeholders.

• Ensure all program activities meet Covan’s standards for quality, rigor, communication, and compliance.

• Shape organizational strategy and contribute to corporate planning and decision-making.

• Develop leaders across programs—mentoring PMs, deputies, and high-potential staff.

• Directly support growth efforts including proposal development, pipeline shaping, and capture activities.

• Oversee risk management across the program portfolio and implement long-term mitigation strategies.

• Represent Covan Group in senior-level meetings, reviews, and industry engagements.

Project Responsibilities

The Counter-UxS Senior Program Manager reports to the Experiment Division Manager and leads assigned authorized counter-system evaluations. The role integrates domain expertise, sensing and system interfaces, autonomy-enabled workflows, partner support, White Cell coordination, and independent evidence across assigned domains. It delivers limitations-aware assessments and accountable execution of assigned $5M–$20M efforts within approved operating and authorization boundaries.

• Translate approved counter-UxS objectives into an evaluation/authorization matrix, independent-reference plan, measures, support dependencies, and a project baseline.

• Integrate detection, tracking, classification, sensor fusion, command/control interfaces, and assessment of authorized mitigation outcomes.

• Coordinate representative supporting platforms, approved configurations, participation boundaries, and responsibilities with the relevant domain PMs.

• Evaluate automated sensing, classification, prioritization, cueing, uncertainty, false indications, and operator supervision/intervention.

• Capture counter-system outputs and observed-system behavior using synchronized logs, independent position/visual records, and operator actions.

• Verify safety, operating-area, spectrum, access, and other required approvals; defer or elevate activity outside authorized bounds.

• Coordinate White Cell rules and adjudication; record environmental effects, interference observations, changes, evidence gaps, and comparison limitations.

• Supervise partner readiness and customer reporting; deliver evidence-linked assessments, data packages, unresolved issues, retest recommendations, and lessons.

• Lead cost proposals for assigned $5M–$20M efforts, integrating partner estimates, labor, travel, equipment, support costs, bases of estimate, and Finance/Contracts approval.

• Manage approved budgets; reconcile actuals, accruals, commitments, and partner charges; forecast ETC/EAC and funding; report monthly variances and close out costs.

Required Qualifications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance.

• Military experience at the senior officer (O5/O6) or senior SNCO level, OR equivalent senior-level program, organizational, operational, or technical leadership experience within a federal or state organization.

• Demonstrated senior-level technical-project or team-of-teams leadership covering partner deliverables, schedules, budgets, risks, and customer delivery.

• Experience leading cost proposals and budget execution for efforts of comparable $5M–$20M scale, including partner costs, forecasting, variance analysis, and financial reporting.

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, computer, aerospace, mechanical, or systems engineering; computer science; physics; robotics; or a related field, OR equivalent relevant technical experience.

• Demonstrated counter-UAS or broader counter-UxS expertise in system integration, operational evaluation, sensor networks, or field-test leadership.

• Applied autonomy or artificial-intelligence experience relevant to unmanned-system behavior, automated sensing and classification, or supervised decision workflows.

• Working knowledge of the permissions, safety controls, and specialist responsibilities associated with observing systems and conducting authorized mitigation trials.

• Experience converting objectives into collection/readiness requirements and traceable findings; working proficiency with architectures, interfaces, instrumentation, networks, telemetry, configuration control, and troubleshooting; ability to integrate engineers, operators, data/safety personnel, vendors, and partner leads.

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading major defense programs, multi-contract portfolios, or large technical teams.

• Experience with multi-sensor evaluations, cross-domain counter-system testing, independent reference instrumentation, or coordinated government counter-UxS activities.

• Experience evaluating automated classification errors, operator workload, or performance limitations without overstating observed results.

• PMP or comparable training; experience with project controls, contract deliverables, and partner coordination.

• Experience in business development, organizational strategy, or senior advisory roles.

Specialized Tools / Systems / Capabilities

• Authorized sensing, tracking, and classification interfaces with synchronized system and observer records.

• Independent references, authorization records, White Cell discrepancy logs, and evidence-traceability tools.

• Project controls and Finance-approved cost tools.

• Authorized collaboration, configuration-control, and technical reporting systems.

Clearance Requirements

• Secret required; TS/SCI strongly preferred.

• Must meet all security reporting, training, access-control, and handling requirements for proprietary, controlled, and classified information.

Work Environment & Travel

• Remote-first between events with 50-80% annual travel to ranges, laboratories, operations centers, and field locations.

• Outdoor conditions, extended days, shifts, and occasional evening/weekend work may be required during event execution.

• Travel is governed by Covan Group's Travel Policy.

Compensation

2026 Pay Band: $129,000 – $184,000

EEOC & Accommodation Statement

Covan Group provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.