Marathon TS is looking to bring on a Program Manager to support a new program supporting the Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protections (Client CBP). The ideal candidate will be a technically fluent Program Manager (PM) with 10+ years of experience leading large-scale federal technology programs and delivering mission-critical digital solutions in complex stakeholder environments.
Unlike a purely administrative PM role, this flagship leadership position requires a hands-on technical manager who can bridge high-level executive governance with software engineering execution. The environment is fast-moving, high-visibility, and frequently driven by rapid regulatory, executive, and national security directives. The ideal candidate is high energy, technical with strong communication skills (verbal and written)—able to steer rapid deployment sprint cadences (where release cycles can be measured in days), absorb short-notice requirement shifts with poise, and rally engineering teams through mission-critical surge periods.
YOUR FUTURE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Technical Program Leadership & Rapid Agile Delivery
- End-to-End Technical Oversight: Provide strategic direction and daily operational oversight for a suite of mission-critical applications across Agile software engineering, DevSecOps pipelines, COTS integration, and 24/7 Operations & Maintenance (O&M).
- Manage High-Velocity Release Cycles: Lead engineering teams through compressed release cycles measured in days and weeks. Maintain agility and focus when handling late-breaking change requests, regulatory mandates, or critical defect remediations right up to production release.
- Technical Translation & Scope Governance: Act as the communication bridge between Government Product Owners and software engineering teams. Translate ambiguous mission mandates into clear technical backlogs while constructively advising federal stakeholders on architectural feasibility, technical debt, and deployment risks.
- Continuous Modernization: Champion automated testing, containerization, CI/CD pipeline maturity, and cloud-native practices across the portfolio to streamline releases and elevate software quality.
Mission Surge & Stakeholder Relationship Management
- Lead High-Visibility Surges: Exhibit the stamina and mission-first leadership required to drive off-hours, weekend, and multi-week surge operations during high-priority executive directives.
- Stakeholder Alignment & Composure: Build high-trust relationships with division leadership, Branch Chiefs, and Product Owners. Maintain a flexible, unflappable, and solutions-oriented demeanor in the face of shifting customer priorities and evolving delivery timelines.
- Ecosystem Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Owners, Scrum Masters, Lead Architects, and DevOps engineers to proactively eliminate technical roadblocks, sequence cross-team dependencies, and maintain sustainable sprint velocity.
Governance, Risk & Contract Performance
- Program Governance & Artifacts: Lead executive status briefings, SLA tracking, Program of Record documentation, Architecture Review Board (ARB) packages, and federal cybersecurity compliance activities.
- Proactive Risk Management: Identify delivery bottlenecks, scope creep, and security hurdles early. Protect team morale and retention during demanding delivery cycles while ensuring strict contract compliance, staffing continuity, subcontractor oversight, and budget baselines.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business Administration, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience managing large-scale federal IT programs, with 5+ years managing COTS based projects, to include software development, operations and maintenance, and technology modernization initiatives.
- 5+ years of prior hands-on technical experience (e.g., Software Engineering, Systems Architecture, DevOps, or Technical Systems Analysis) prior to or alongside program management. Must be able to speak the language of developers, architects, and technical clients fluently.
- Proven track record leading software programs (with an emphasis on mobile app delivery) featuring continuous delivery, short turnaround release cadences (days/weeks), and automated CI/CD pipelines.
- Demonstrated success leading high-stress, short-notice requirement pivots and orchestrating off-hours/weekend surge deployments during mission-critical government operations.
- Experience managing program scope, staffing, budgets, schedules, subcontractors, risks, and performance metrics within a federal contracting environment.
- Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with executive stakeholders, government customers, and cross-functional teams.
- Strong understanding of Agile methodologies, software development lifecycles (SDLC), and modern program management practices.
- Experience developing and delivering executive briefings, program status reports, risk assessments, and strategic recommendations.
- Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
NICE TO HAVES
- PMP, PMI-ACP, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), SAFe Program Consultant (SPC), or AWS/Azure Cloud certifications.
- Direct past performance supporting Client.
- Hands-on familiarity with microservices, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), AWS/Azure GovCloud environments, and automated test-driven development (TDD).
- Working familiarity with Client Systems Engineering Life Cycle (SELC), Technical Review Board (TRB) processes, and federal security authorizations (ATO).
Clearance: U.S. Citizen; Active Client clearance or Top Secret DoD Clearance.
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Marathon TS is committed to the development of a creative, diverse and inclusive work environment. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions at Marathon TS will be based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Marathon TS does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age or any other characteristic protected by law (referred to as "protected status").