Northrop Grumman Defense Systems Sector is currently seeking a Manager of Programs Level 2, in our growing Fuzing and Warhead business, within our Missile Products Business Unit (BU), at our Allegany Ballistic Laboratory (ABL) facility located in Rocket Center, West Virginia.
This position will support various programs within the business unit portfolio of programs. This position reports directly to the programs portfolio Market Area Manager.
The primary objective will be the delivery of all contractual requirements on cost and on schedule, while achieving all technical requirements and creating customer intimacy to support value creation strategies and actions. The individual will lead a cross-functional organization aligned to common program performance goals. This position is on-site and no remote work available.
Program Managers are responsible for leading all phases of the program life cycle from inception (proposal development) through startup, execution, and completion (contract closeout). Primary responsibilities are the management of cost, schedule, and technical performance of company programs or subsystems and include, but are not limited to:
- Cultivating and maintaining effective customer relationships and intimacy to develop further opportunities within the customer community
- Developing and supporting new business opportunities through long term strategic planning, capture planning, and development of proposals and business plans
- Establishing and maintaining a program organization that effectively addresses customer requirements and incorporates the necessary internal and external sub-organizations
- Developing, directing and leading cross-functional Integrated Program Teams (IPT) to meet program cost, schedule and technical performance objectives
- Establishing, measuring and reporting critical program performance metrics
- Developing and delivering effective presentations to customers, executive management and other program stakeholders
- Developing and participating in the negotiation of contracts, contract changes, specifications, operating budgets, schedule milestones, and key terms and conditions
- Establishing and supporting design concepts, criteria, and engineering efforts for product production process research, development, integration and test
- Creating, managing, reviewing and finalization of the program Statement of Work
- Developing, evaluating, distribution, tracking, and completion of program requirements
- Establishing and managing program and subordinate schedule baselines
- Establishing, managing and adherence to budget baselines utilizing Earned Value Management (EVM) or similar cost & schedule control methodologies and tools
- Developing, evaluating, allocating and managing program resources needs and accountability, including workforce planning
- Developing and managing Government/customer supplied property or information (GFE, CFE, etc.) requirements
- Cultivating and managing quality suppliers to meet program objectives
- Ensuring adherence to all internal processes, policies, and applicable industry standards
- Developing and ensuring program team understands and adheres to contract scope, and manages change through control board activities
- Developing, managing adherence to master program plans and schedules
- Developing, managing and conducting thorough risk & opportunity management practices including identification, mitigation and realization
Desired Attributes:
- Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to manage a project team daily and communicate effectively with segment leadership regarding status, awareness, and escalations
- Ability to resolve disputes and negotiate with positive outcome while maintaining good relationships within the organization, specifically between peers and management
- Ability to manage projects to specified milestones and established schedules
- Ability to manage communications with stakeholders through organized processes to ensure that program information is defined, collected, shared, understood, stored and retrieved in a manner that effectively meets program and stakeholder needs
- Ability to identify and address program impacts through a systematic, proactive approach to issue and problem resolution that identifies, communicates, monitors, and promptly resolves conflicts across all levels of the program
- Ability to define proposal strategy, lead proposal teams, analyze and shape RFPs, produce and deliver winning proposals, effectively track and incorporate Review Team comments and findings, and manage post-proposal submittals (orals, finding responses)
- Ability to address program uncertainty through an organized and analytical forward-looking approach that identifies risks and opportunities, determines appropriate handling plans, and manages, controls, and communicates risks and opportunities throughout the lifecycle of the program
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree and 8 years of experience OR a Master’s degree and 6 years of experience supporting U.S. Government contracts and customers and/or project management in other industries
- 8 years of experience leading the performance of tasks on schedule, at cost and achieving all requirements as either a project lead, integrated program team lead or cost account manager
- 6 years of demonstrated success leading teams/and or organizations to achieve a common goal
- Knowledge of pricing and proposals
- Competency in Project Management skills and toolsets
- Competent in standard Microsoft Office Suite (i.e. PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook)
- Must be able to obtain a DoD security clearance (US Citizenship is a requirement)
Preferred Qualifications:
- A degree in a science, engineering, or a business program
- Experience in the aerospace/defense industry or within the Department of Defense or NASA
- PMP® certification
- Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, Agile methodologies
- Ability to define technical strategy to promote capturing business in new areas
- Active Security Clearance
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree and 8 years of experience OR Master's degree and 6 years of experience supporting U.S. Government contracts and customers and/or project management
- 8 years of experience leading performance of tasks on schedule, at cost and achieving requirements as a project lead, IPT lead, or cost account manager
- 6 years of demonstrated success leading teams and/or organizations to achieve a common goal
- Knowledge of pricing and proposals
- Competency in Project Management skills and toolsets, including Earned Value Management (EVM) or similar cost & schedule control methodologies and tools
- Competent in Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook)
- Must be able to obtain a DoD security clearance (US Citizenship is a requirement)
- Degree in a science, engineering, or business program
- Experience in the aerospace/defense industry or within the Department of Defense or NASA
- PMP® certification
- Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, Agile methodologies
- Active security clearance
- Ability to define technical strategy to promote capturing business in new areas
Northrop Grumman Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Northrop Grumman and has not been reviewed or approved by Northrop Grumman.
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Retirement Support — 401(k) matching is considered strong, with additional defined-benefit coverage for certain cohorts and options like catch-up contributions. Retirement programs are repeatedly highlighted as a core strength of the total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — PTO, company-paid holidays, and compressed work schedules (such as 9/80) provide meaningful time away and flexibility. These scheduling options are cited as a major quality-of-life benefit across many locations.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave alongside caregiver leave, adoption assistance, and back-up care supports a range of family needs. These programs have been expanded recently, signaling continued investment in family support.
Northrop Grumman Insights
What We Do
We are a close-knit community of big thinkers collaborating to keep the world safe. Our passion, creativity and expertise bring next-level technology solutions to life in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, space, and logistics and modernization for our customers around the globe. On the Northrop Grumman team, you’ll join our pursuit of excellence immersed in a dynamic culture of innovation and respect. Your unique perspective will help achieve our shared vision for the future of global security. Every step of the way, you'll be supported by world-class training, employee resource groups and a comprehensive benefits package that enables greater health and happiness for you and your family. Worldwide and across disciplines, we’re challenging what’s possible for technology to protect people and places from undersea to outer space and into cyberspace. And we see the impact of our performance every day. We are Northrop Grumman, and we work on what matters—now, you too can make a difference. Explore opportunities in engineering, IT, manufacturing, business management, cybersecurity and more with us. Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.









