Staff Program Manager: DoD Programs

Staff Program Manager: DoD Programs

Simplesense builds, deploys, and sustains the Installation Resilience Platform that enables mission operators to rapidly adapt and respond. The Platform protects critical infrastructure from cyber attack while unlocking previously siloed information to monitor, diagnose, and improve response times to incidents. Our adversaries rapidly adopt the latest technology: we help defense users respond in kind.

Simplesense is a non-traditional defense contractor and prime on the Air Force's Installation Resilience Operations Command and Control (IROC) program, which is now expanding to five additional Air Force, Space Force, and Army installations from the one prototype installation, Tyndall Air Force Base.

Our team combines over 100 years of direct mission experience solving hard problems with 50 years technical expertise deploying DevSecOps, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure, giving us a deep appreciation for our customers’ mission and end users’ priorities. We build for scale, architecting and prioritizing technical work for long term sustainability.

As the Staff Program Manager: DoD Programs you will play a critical role in cultivating and maintaining DoD relationships, along with delivering, operating, sustaining, and innovating our Installation Resilience Platform across multiple Department of Defense installations. You will maintain communications with our DoD customers and track contract deliverable completion in close partnership with the Strategy, Product, Engineering Development and Operations Capability Teams to ensure our platform remains resilient, secure, and ready for the mission.

Work Model: We prioritize candidates in the Denver, CO; San Antonio, TX; and Brooklyn, NY areas, but are open to remote talent.

• Locals: 2-4 days/month onsite.
• Remote: Up to 10 x 1-week trips for team or customer meetings.

• 30 Days: Onboard the company and begin to understand our processes
• 60 Days: Understand program scope, workflow, and make suggestions
• 90 Days: Assume responsibility for delivering your program

• Represent Simplesense to customers, partners, and subcontractors
• Clearly distill customer requirements into understandable project concepts 
• Work directly with internal and external stakeholders to define projects
• Manage a portfolio of projects that deliver results to the customer
• Employ a pragmatic approach to balance deadlines/budgets with capacity 
• Identify prioritization and staffing constraints; work with leadership to resolve
• Identify and manage risk for projects and initiatives across a portfolio
• Communicate and report formal program status: schedules, budgets and risks
• Collaborate with the Program Team for continuous improvement
• Serve as a senior advisor to the Director of Programs and Company Executives concerning Major DoD Customers (e.g. US Army, US Air Force, etc.)

Required Qualifications:

• Experience: 15+ years demonstrated success in managing program delivery
• Technical Skills: Proficiency in program management methodologies
• Domain Knowledge: Extensive experience managing multiple concurrent interrelated projects, preferably in DoD Operational Technology Systems.
• Travel: You will be required to travel up to 10 times a year for Deployment Site Visits, Program Management Reviews, and/or Company meetings

• Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain a DoD NIPR network account and Common Access Card (CAC)
• Must have, or be able to obtain, a Secret Clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Extensive experience communicating with DoD Senior Leaders (O-6 and above) preferably in Base Garrison and/or Installation Mission Support areas 
• Deep understanding of operational technology systems to include, but not limited to Facilities Systems (Building Automation, Energy Management, Utility Management and  Control, etc.) and/or Physical Security Systems (e.g. Intrusion Detection, Video Management, Access Control, C-SUAS, etc.)
• Demonstrated use of project management tools for tracking (Jira, Asana, etc)
• Awareness of AGILE or SCRUM methodologies used in software development 
• Familiarity with small business and startup culture is a bonus

At Simplesense, we value high-trust autonomy. We look for people who can navigate ambiguity and are driven by the mission.

• Safety & Innovation: You embed security and reliability practices into daily work to drive continuous improvement and mitigate risk.
• People & Communication: You invite vigorous debate and offer "kindly blunt" feedback, always maintaining empathy and assuming noble intent.
• Integrity & Ethics: You build trust by honoring commitments, acting ethically, and resolving conflict through direct, honest communication.
• Strategic Problem Solving: You focus on high-priority issues to create documented, and scalable solutions—avoiding shortcuts.
• Agility: You move quickly to fix small problems, learn from the past, and pivot transparently when the mission requires it.

Pay Range: $150K-$180K per year. Compensation is determined based on experience, skill level, and location. We review ranges regularly to ensure market competitiveness.