Program Manager

Program Manager – Advanced Imaging & Defense Manufacturing

Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Work Setting: Full-time, on-site
Compensation: $130,000–$160,000 annually
Schedule: 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off
Travel: Approximately 20% domestic travel

About the Organization

Our client is an international manufacturing organization supporting the commercial and defense industries. The organization develops advanced imaging and sensor technologies used in demanding surveillance and mission-critical applications.

This is a growth-driven opportunity to join a technically focused organization where employees work on meaningful programs, collaborate closely across departments, and contribute directly to products supporting national security and commercial innovation.

Why Professionals Enjoy Working Here

Professionals value the opportunity to:

• Work on complex, highly technical products with real-world impact
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, quality, operations, and executive leadership
• Take ownership of programs from initial planning through production and delivery
• Work in a culture that values direct communication, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement
• Enjoy a 9/80 schedule with every other Friday off
• Receive a competitive compensation package and comprehensive benefits

What You Will Be Doing as the Program Manager

The Program Manager will lead complex technical programs throughout the full product lifecycle, from requirements definition and initial planning through production, customer delivery, and program completion.

Key responsibilities include:

• Owning program cost, schedule, scope, quality, delivery, and technical performance
• Developing integrated schedules, budgets, resource plans, milestones, forecasts, and status reports
• Leading design reviews, program gate reviews, customer deliverables, and recurring program reviews
• Identifying technical, contractual, resource, schedule, and cost risks and implementing corrective actions
• Coordinating engineering, production, operations, manufacturing, quality, and business development resources
• Translating customer and system-level requirements into clear objectives for internal teams
• Serving as the primary technical and programmatic contact for customers and internal stakeholders
• Monitoring technical progress, testing, integration, verification, validation, and hardware readiness
• Leading technical escalations, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action planning
• Supporting requirements traceability, configuration management, engineering change control, and documentation processes
• Reviewing Statements of Work, technical specifications, Interface Control Documents, Data Item Descriptions, and related program documentation
• Supporting customer retention, follow-on opportunities, technical proposals, and program expansion
• Preparing executive presentations, program forecasts, risk assessments, and customer updates
• Ensuring compliance with contractual, quality, safety, and export-control requirements

What Experience You Need to Be Successful as the Program Manager

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, physics, or another relevant technical discipline
• Five or more years of technical project or program management experience, preferably involving hardware, electro-optic, sensor, or electromechanical systems
• Three or more years of project, program, or product management experience within the defense industry preferred
• Working knowledge of systems engineering, requirements decomposition, integration, testing, verification, and validation
• Experience managing product-development lifecycles from concept through production
• Proficiency with Microsoft Project or a comparable scheduling platform
• Familiarity with SOWs, technical specifications, ICDs, DIDs, and requirements-traceability processes
• Understanding of defense and export-control requirements, including ITAR and EAR
• Strong customer-management, technical presentation, problem-solving, planning, and cross-functional leadership skills
• PMP, INCOSE/CSEP, Six Sigma, or Lean certification is beneficial

Employment Requirements

Candidates must be U.S. citizens without dual citizenship, be able to obtain a U.S. security clearance, work on-site in Colorado Springs, travel domestically approximately 20%, and successfully complete education verification, a criminal background check, and a 10-panel drug screening.

The organization offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes health and welfare coverage, retirement contributions, paid time off, paid holidays, floating holidays, and a year-end company shutdown.

Financial Talent Group provides equal employment and recruiting opportunities to all employees, applicants, and recruits for employment for Financial Talent Group and in recruiting employees for its clients, and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.