Senior Deputy Program Manager Engineering

Responsibilities for this Position

Senior Deputy Program Manager Engineering

ID: 2026-73208
US-VA-Herndon
Required Clearance: Secret
Posted Date: 6/23/2026
Category: Engineering-Hardware
Employment Type: Full Time
Hiring Company: General Dynamics Mission Systems, Inc.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, or a related Science, Engineering or Mathematics field, plus a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience; or Master's degree plus a minimum of 6 years of relevant experience.

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS: Department of Defense Secret security clearance is required at time of hire. Applicants selected will be subject to a U.S. Government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Due to the nature of work performed within our facilities, U.S. citizenship is required.

Responsibilities for this Position

Program DPME

Become part of a small, focused technical team making a difference in the world.

ROLE AND POSITION OBJECTIVES:
As a Deputy Program Manager - Engineering (DPME) for Intelligence Systems youll be leading a group of cross-functional Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) designing and analyzing unique mechanical and structural systems and coordinating program and engineering management. You will work with the program manager and IPT Leads, engaged in program reporting resource management, and overall program execution. Our program offers opportunities to see your designs concept development through use in operational environments, often with hands-on participation via prototyping and testing. Work products include specialized tools, structural systems, hardware components, assemblies, and prototypes supporting both program technology development tasking and customer operations initiatives.

We encourage you to apply if you have any of these preferred skills or experience: high attention to detail in engineering design and analysis; demonstrated program and resource management abilities; developing innovative solutions to unique problems; ability and flexibility to work in an often-dynamic environment with an open mind to unconventional design approaches.

What sets you apart:

• Mechanical or civil engineering background with a demonstrated proficiencies in managing technical tasking, hardware design, modeling, analysis, and testing
• Experience with preparation and presentation of technical briefings to communicate analysis results, technical trades, design requirements and specifications, and recommendations to customer technical and management staff
• Flexibility and willingness to work with multi-disciplined teams on a range of tasks, sometimes in new technology areas, outside the ranges of your expertise
• Experience with our current program standards - Ansys, Plaxis, Inventor, Revit - is a plus
• Familiarity with engineering standards and codes - ASTM, AISC, ACI, NDS, IBC, etc. - is a plus

TS-level clearance with POLY not required but preferred

Duties and Tasks

• Plans, authorizes and monitors the engineering work (including providing strong leadership to ensure all events occur as planned)
• Fosters cross-functional collaboration and builds project consensus
• May be responsible for some of the following: performance, cost, scope and schedule for all engineering efforts (including efforts that are subcontracted)
• Ensures that total system requirements are validated
• Ensures that total system is integrated, tested and verified
• Ensures all project deliverables (including documentations) are developed with high quality and delivered on time
• Develops and maintains engineering plans as required by the project
• Manages the engineering related risks and opportunities of the project
• Assists with developing and managing the project change management process
• Ensures that all engineering processes to be used adhere to established engineering practices
• Manages engineering resources (e.g. staff assignments, capital equipment, etc.), organizational interfaces, and engineering scope
• Identifies, develops, analyzes and reports engineering project measures
• Conducts monthly engineering status reviews and provides material for the monthly program reviews
• Implements effective corrective actions as required
• Manages the resolution of technical issues and ensures that they are communicated and resolved
• Conducts lessons learned after each major phase of the project
• Scope of projects are usually small to medium and/or have small to medium engineering teams or may assist a DPME running a larger program
• Helps provide a clear understanding of project goals
• Ensures that team members are rewarded for their contributions
• May provide performance feedback and management for the project team
• Take immediate & decisive action in dealing with technical & performance issues
• Leads small proposals and ECPs with identification of cross business unit strengths and technical shortcomings
• Assist in ROM development

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven organizational and time management skills
• Proven communication skills
• Strong leadership skills
• Proven team building and motivation skills
• Proven conflict resolution and negotiation skills
• Proven problem-solving skills in complex environments
• Fully proficient ability to apply or develop highly advanced technologies, principles, theories and concepts
• Strong understanding of engineering processes and practices
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite of tools and Microsoft Project
• Strong knowledge of various project life cycles including agile
• Strong proficiency with communicating issues, impacts, and corrective actions
• Strong ability to easily and effectively communicate project topics to a diverse audience
• Strong ability to clearly report relevant information
• Strong ability to understand and apply project leadership principles including SPI/CPI, Earned Value, Cost Account Management (CAM), and Statistical Process Controls for complex programs
• Strong ability to anticipate technology, process, and skill needs
• Creates an environment which impact of technology on the business is clearly recognized

Our Commitment to You:

• An exciting career path with opportunities for continuous learning and development.
• Research oriented work, alongside award winning teams developing practical solutions for our nations security
• Flexible schedules with every other Friday off work, if desired (9/80 schedule)
• Competitive benefits, including 401k matching, flex time off, paid parental leave, healthcare benefits, health & wellness programs, employee resource and social groups, and more
• See more at gdmissionsystems.com/careers/why-work-for-us/benefits

Workplace Options:

This position is fully on-site due to the nature of program work and facility infrastructure. Work will be performed at the GDMS facility in Herndon, Virginia.

Salary Note

This estimate represents the typical salary range for this position based on experience and other factors (geographic location, etc.). Actual pay may vary. This job posting will remain open until the position is filled.

Combined Salary Range

USD $167,708.00 - USD $176,880.00 /Yr.

Company Overview

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of 12,000+ top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defense and scientific arenas. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency. We offer highly competitive benefits and pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose. You will also enjoy a flexible work environment where contributions are recognized and rewarded. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we invite you to join our high-performance team!

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans

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