Program Operations Manager
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 4, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 31, 2026.
About the company
Our client is a technology and national security services company.
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.
Requirements
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.
Benefits
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