Program Operations Manager

The role

Raydar is recruiting for this role on behalf of our client. Act as the accountable program owner for customer engagements, partnering with a technical lead and a team of engineers. Convert unclear customer needs into prioritized work plans and manage people through demanding, time-sensitive projects. Serve as the main connection between government stakeholders and the delivery team.

What you'll do

• Take full responsibility for customer engagements from kickoff to completion as the program owner, working alongside a technical lead and engineers.
• Develop a first-hand understanding of how customers actually operate by spending time with their data and their users, instead of relying only on written documentation.
• Turn customer goals into clearly scoped and ranked work, separating real mission needs from noise and personal preferences.
• Communicate between government customers and engineers so that everyone understands what must be delivered.
• Remove obstacles quickly and adjust course when results show the current plan is not working.
• Build lasting working relationships with end users, program leaders, technical contacts and contracting staff.
• Pass field insights back to product and engineering groups to guide future development and delivery methods.
• Lead and manage internal and external teams, with room to grow your own organization over time.

What we're looking for

• At least 4 years running complex technical programs or deployments from start to finish in a national security setting.
• A track record of being answerable for real results rather than only hitting timelines.
• Prior experience directly managing or leading people.
• Comfort collaborating with government clients in classified environments.
• Ability to shape vague requirements into well-defined, prioritized engineering tasks.
• Confidence guiding teams through pressured, quickly changing situations.
• Active Secret clearance at time of hire.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.
• Residence within commuting distance of the Washington, D.C. area.
• Willingness to travel up to 40% of the time.

Bonus points

• TS/SCI clearance.
• Experience delivering work for government or national security clients.
• Previous forward deployed, deployment strategy or customer mission success role at a technology company.
• Prior military or government service.
• An existing professional network in the industry.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise data platforms.

Compensation and benefits

• Base salary: USD 150,000 to 185,000 per year
• Annual bonus
• Health, dental and vision coverage
• Life and disability insurance
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• Professional development opportunities

Location and work model

• Washington, D.C., United States
• Hybrid, in the office approximately 2-3 times per month
• Up to 40% travel
• Full-time