Program Operations Manager

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