IT & Cybersecurity Program Manager

Responsibilities

• Strategic Departmental PMO Foundations & Leadership
• Establish the initial project and program management framework for the department using Disciplined Agile (DA) methodology principles—context-driven, fit-for-purpose, minimal bureaucracy, focused on flow and value delivery.
• Partner with company leadership to align IT and cybersecurity projects and programs with strategic objectives, customer commitments, and compliance requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement in ways of working (WoW), team throughput, and technical delivery processes.
• Introduce scalable governance, reporting, and project controls appropriate for a startup working in regulated DoD environments.
• Build foundational project and program management practices from the ground up, shaping organizational standards and preparing the company for future PMO implementation.
• Champion organizational readiness for a future PMO, including intake processes, prioritization models, work visualization, and cross-team coordination.
• Project Planning & Execution
• Lead end-to-end delivery of IT and cybersecurity initiatives supporting DoD programs, including infrastructure buildouts, system implementations, secure network deployments, enterprise tools, and software or automation capabilities.
• Build adaptive project plans that incorporate hybrid approaches (Agile, Lean, Kanban, iterative, traditional) selected based on context, constraints, and government customer expectations.
• Manage scope, schedules, risks, and resources while maintaining alignment with contract deliverables, DoD technical requirements, and security standards.
• Career Development & Mentorship
• Provide project and program management leadership to establish scalable standards, best practices, and governance frameworks, guiding the evolution toward a formal Project Management Office (PMO).
• Mentor teams on Disciplined Agile, Definition-of-Done delivery practices, and effective work orchestration.
• Facilitate cross-departmental relationship building, ensuring alignment and transparency across teams.
• Guide workforce planning, performance evaluations, and professional development for project personnel.

Requirements

• Clearance & Eligibility
• Must be a U.S. citizen eligible for access to government facilities and sensitive information.
• Ability to obtain additional clearances as required by contract.
• Education & Experience
• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Business, or related field.
• 5+ years of IT and/or cybersecurity project and/or program management experience, including 3+ years supporting DoD or federal programs.
• Proven ability to manage programs of $1M+ value and teams of 10+ members.
• Experience leading in environments without strong existing project management structures.
• Experience scaling project and program operations within a startup or early-stage organization.
• Technical & Methodological Knowledge
• Expert proficiency with project and work management tools (MS Project, Jira, Smartsheet), platforms, and agile methodologies.
• Solid grasp of risk management, critical path analysis, and dependency mapping.
• Strong understanding of DoD IT systems, architectures, and cybersecurity frameworks.
• Familiarity with systems development lifecycle methodologies and DevSecOps concepts.