Program Manager - Defense Programs
Mukilteo, WAJob$140–180K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today
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At a glance
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Job overview
The Program Manager will lead assigned defense programs from development through contract completion, owning cost, schedule, technical performance, quality, contractual requirements, and customer commitments. The role coordinates cross-functional execution, manages customer and contractual deliverables, and oversees program risks and reviews. It also supports design and readiness reviews, proposals, negotiations, and program growth.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Job Description
Lead assigned programs from development through contract completion, with ownership of cost, schedule, technical performance, quality, contractual requirements, and customer commitments. Develop and maintain integrated program plans, schedules, budgets, milestones, resource requirements, and performance metrics. Coordinate program execution across engineering, operations, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, contracts, finance, and test. Manage contractual deliverables, statements of work, customer requests, scope changes, and program priorities. Identify and manage technical, programmatic, supply-chain, cost, and schedule risks, driving mitigation and recovery plans when needed. Serve as a primary point of contact for customers, prime contractors, government stakeholders, suppliers, and internal leadership. Lead program reviews and communicate financial performance, schedule status, technical risks, key decisions, dependencies, and corrective actions. Support design reviews, test-readiness reviews, qualification activities, production-readiness reviews, and customer acceptance events. Support proposals, estimates, contract negotiations, follow-on opportunities, and overall program growth.
Salary Range: $140,000 - $180,000
Skills and Requirements
5+ years of experience supporting or managing aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or similarly complex technical programs. Experience managing DoD, U.S. government, allied-defense, or prime-contractor programs. Experience coordinating cross-functional technical teams and managing program scope, schedules, budgets, risks, and customer deliverables. Current U.S. DoD Secret security clearance, or the ability to obtain and maintain one. Bachelors or Master's degree in Engineering, Business, Program Management, or a related discipline, or an MBA. Experience with missile systems, propulsion, launch systems, payload integration, separation systems, energetic or pyrotechnic devices, or related flight hardware. Experience managing programs through development, qualification, production, and delivery. Knowledge of government contracting, including fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, and incentive-based contracts. Experience with Earned Value Management (EVM), cost-account management, budgeting, forecasting, or similar program financial-performance methods. Experience supporting proposals, estimates, negotiations, contract modifications, and follow-on program opportunities. PMP certification or equivalent formal program-management training. Experience with program scheduling, ERP, or product lifecycle management systems. Experience working closely with engineering teams developing mechanical, propulsion, energetic, or pyrotechnic components and systems.
We are a company committed to creating diverse and inclusive environments where people can bring their full, authentic selves to work every day. We are an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer that believes everyone matters. Qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, genetic factors, age, disability, protected veteran status, military or uniformed service member status, or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to [email protected].
How this job compares
Set against the 11,142 open Program Manager jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$140–180K/yr
- Washington median$126–190K/yr609 salary ranges
- US median$120–202K/yr8,741 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $160K, is close to the Washington median midpoint ($160K) — in the middle half of Program Manager salary ranges in Washington.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 655 open Program Manager jobs in Washington and 11,142 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 5 years of experience; Program Manager postings that state a minimum ask for 6 years at the median (9,608 postings).
- Education
- 4,401 of the 11,142 open Program Manager jobs (39%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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