Technical Program Manager (TPM)

About Agile Defense

At Agile Defense we know that action defines the outcome and new challenges require new solutions. That’s why we always look to the future and embrace change with an unmovable spirit and the courage to build for what comes next.

Our vision is to bring adaptive innovation to support our nation's most important missions through the seamless integration of advanced technologies, elite minds, and unparalleled agility—leveraging a foundation of speed, flexibility, and ingenuity to strengthen and protect our nation’s vital interests.

Requisition #: 1958

Job Title: Technical Program Manager III (TPM)

Location: National Capital Region (DMV area)

Clearance Level: TS/SCI eligibility required

Required Certification(s): None

Summary

On this program, progress counts when the government accepts it, not when the team ships it. Target Effect Pairing (TEP) is a capability for USPACOM Joint Fires, built on the Maven Smart System for the Department of War's Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO). It gives commanders AI recommendations that must be explainable, auditable, and useful to senior decision makers, and every increment has to prove that before the program moves to the next milestone.

You are accountable for delivery and you own the product backlog. You turn mission requirements into a roadmap and an executable development plan, set priorities with input from the Product Manager/Fires SMEs who own operational correctness, run the team's agile practice, and manage engagement with Joint Staff and USPACOM stakeholders. The team is small, so this role combines product management, program management, and Scrum Master work. You need real experience in all three.

The team works in two places, Honolulu and the National Capital Region, and some of the work waits on government decisions that move on their own schedule. Requirements and interfaces will change as the program learns.

What Success Looks Like

Objective 1: In the first 90 days, establish a roadmap and delivery plan that the team and the government both agree to

• Each increment on the roadmap is tied to a milestone, with acceptance criteria agreed with the government before the work starts.
• Dependencies on government decisions are visible, each with an owner and a date the team plans around.
• Both locations work from one backlog and one delivery cadence.

Objective 2: Deliver increments the government accepts at each milestone without a rework cycle

• Contract deliverables arrive complete and on schedule, and acceptance reviews close on the first pass.
• Demonstrations show what changed for the operator, so milestone decisions rest on working software rather than status reports.
• When a milestone is at risk, government leadership hears it from you early, along with options.
• Joint Staff and USPACOM stakeholders get the decisions they owe the program framed clearly enough to make them.

Objective 3: Run a backlog whose priorities anyone on the team can explain

• Priority calls weigh operational value from the Fires SMEs, technical dependencies from the architects, risk, and capacity, and the reasoning is written down.
• Stakeholders who ask for something know where it stands and why.
• Engineers start each sprint knowing what done means for every item in it.

Objective 4: By month six, build a delivery practice the team runs without you holding it together

• Refinement, planning, reviews, and retrospectives happen across both locations and end in decisions.
• Blockers get raised and cleared within the sprint they appear in.
• Forecasts match what the team delivers closely enough for the government to plan around them.

What You Bring

Minimum Qualifications

• Proven ability to drive progress and create clarity in fast moving, ambiguous environments. Ability to maintain required TS/SCI access.

Preferred Skills

• You have taken a software product for a government customer through milestone or acceptance reviews, and can describe one that went badly and what you changed.
• You have worked as a product manager, owning a backlog that a delivery team built from.
• You have served as a Scrum Master or run a team's agile practice, applying Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or a similar approach to fit the team rather than by the book.
• You have managed contract deliverables and government acceptance on a DoW program.
• You have worked directly with Joint Staff, combatant command, or CDAO stakeholders.
• You have led a team split across locations or time zones.
• Knowledge of Joint Fires, command and control, or AI-enabled decision support is a plus.
• You use Jira, Confluence, or comparable delivery tools.

WORKING CONDITIONS

All work takes place in secure facilities. This position is based in the National Capital Region and travels 50% of the time.

Environmental Conditions

Work is primarily performed in professional office, Government, and technical development environments. This position requires regular on-site collaboration in the San Diego area, including work with Government and development stakeholders at or in support of NIWC-Pacific. Periodic travel may be required to support operational stakeholders and other mission activities. Work may occur in secure facilities with restrictions on personal electronic devices and remote connectivity.

Strength Demands

Sedentary to light physical demands associated with professional office and technical work environments. Occasional movement or transport of laptops, documents, and other standard work materials may be required.

Physical Requirements

Regular use of computers and standard office equipment; ability to participate in meetings, technical working sessions, and collaborative development activities for extended periods; ability to communicate effectively in person and through approved electronic means; and ability to travel as required.

$150,000 - $200,000 a year

Our Core Values

Employees of Agile Defense are our number one priority, and the importance we place on our culture here is fundamental. Our culture is alive and evolving, but it always stays true to its roots. Here, you are valued as a family member, and we believe that we can accomplish great things together. Agile Defense has been highly successful in the past few years due to our employees and the culture we create together.

What makes us Agile? We call it the 6Hs, the values that define our culture and guide everything we do. Together, these values infuse vibrancy, integrity, and a tireless work ethic into advancing the most important national security and critical civilian missions. It's how we show up every day. It's who we are.

• Happy - Be Infectious. Happiness multiplies and creates a positive and connected environment where motivation and satisfaction have an outsized effect on everything we do.
• Helpful - Be Supportive. Being helpful is the foundation of teamwork, resulting in a supportive atmosphere where collaboration flourishes, and collective success is celebrated.
• Honest - Be Trustworthy. Honesty serves as our compass, ensuring transparent communication and ethical conduct, essential to who we are and the complex domains we support.
• Humble - Be Grounded. Success is not achieved alone, humility ensures a culture of mutual respect, encouraging open communication, and a willingness to learn from one another and take on any task.
• Hungry - Be Eager. Our hunger for excellence drives an insatiable appetite for innovation and continuous improvement, propelling us forward in the face of new and unprecedented challenges.
• Hustle - Be Driven. Hustle is reflected in our relentless work ethic, where we are each committed to going above and beyond to advance the mission and achieve success.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities