Program Manager, NAWCAD Mission Systems (Contingent Upon Award)

COLSA is seeking a Program Manager to support NAWCAD Mission Systems Programs in an onsite role in the Patuxent River, MD area. This position is identified as a Key Personnel requirement for a proposal anticipated in 2026 and employment is contingent upon contract award.

As Program Manager, you will lead a dynamic engineering contract supporting multiple NAVAIR programs, helping to ensure today's safety and tomorrow's innovation. Your success will be critical in leading a multi-disciplinary team of highly skilled professionals to support the Software Engineering Department and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Program Managers (PMs) in delivering direct software systems engineering support throughout the full lifecycle of a weapon system-from concept development through disposal. Areas include:

• Software Sustainment in Software Support Activities (SSAs)
• Software Systems Engineering
• Systems and Software Integration
• Software Development and Testing
• Software Acquisition and Integration
• Laboratory Engineering
• Systems/Subsystems Integration
• Avionics/Software/Air Vehicle Technology Insertion
• Platform Simulation and Configuration Management
• Program Performance Assessment, Planning, and Analysis

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Prime Contract Management: Oversee the overall management and execution of the prime contract, ensuring alignment with project goals, timelines, and deliverables.
• Budget Management: Manage contract budgets, ensuring that financial resources are allocated efficiently and in compliance with established guidelines.
• Personnel Performance: Lead and monitor the performance of all personnel assigned to the contract, ensuring that roles are clearly defined and team members meet expectations.
• Resource and Staffing Oversight: Ensure that adequate staffing, direct charge resources, and equipment are in place to support contract success and meet project requirements.
• Contract Execution and Expansion: Take full responsibility for the successful execution of the contract, identifying opportunities for growth and expansion of the scope of work.
• Customer Satisfaction: Maintain strong relationships with customers, ensuring their needs are met and issues are resolved promptly to ensure satisfaction.
• Proposal Support: Assist in preparing proposals tied to this contract, including supporting other proposals for related work or future opportunities.
• Policy and Compliance: Ensure full compliance with all corporate policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements across all contract activities.
• Liaison: Serve as the primary liaison between COLSA's Business Management Team, customers, regulatory personnel, and other key stakeholders.
• Reporting: Provide regular updates and reports on contract performance, financials, risks, and opportunities to the Vice President and other members of leadership.

At COLSA, people are our most valuable resource and centered at our core value. We invite you to unite your talents with opportunity and be a part of our "Family of Professionals!" Learn about our employee-centric culture and benefits here .

Required Experience

• BS or BA in Computer Science, Information Systems, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or Computer Engineering from a college program with ABET accreditation.
• 10+ years of project management and/or software/systems engineering experience across the life cycle in support of DoD aircraft systems, weapon systems, mission systems, or support systems.
• Top Secret security clearance required.
• Experience leading software projects providing full lifecycle software and systems engineering, development, and sustainment for naval aircraft weapon systems.
• Experience with providing full lifecycle support, to include requirements, architecture/design, real-time processor loading, development, test, integration, interoperability, quality assurance, configuration management, software safety, cybersecurity, and obsolescence mitigation.
• Experience with development, operation, and maintenance of related weapon system laboratory/simulation integration and production environments and facilities as well as support to platform/vehicle integration during ground and flight testing.
• Experience in digital engineering, open systems architecture, and agile development processes, tools, and methods.
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and manage personnel to ensure successful project execution.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, and developing team members in a technical environment.
• Strong proficiency in using a variety of desktop applications and collaboration tools, including MS Office, MS Teams, SharePoint, etc.

Preferred Qualifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification preferred.
• Experience supporting NAVAIR in software or systems engineering areas preferred.
• Experience providing software support for unmanned systems (e.g., MQ-4C), rotary wing aircraft (e.g., H-1, H-60), fixed wing aircraft (e.g., E-2C, E-2D, C-2A), subsystems (e.g., avionics, weapons, communications, navigation, and sensors - acoustic / magnetic / electronic / radar) and associated mission/support systems.
• Experience with multiple development languages, such as C, C++, SQL, Ada, Python, Java, C#, objective C.
• Experience with multiple Operating Systems, such as VxWORKS, Integrity, UNIX, Linux, LynxOS.
• Experience with multiple databases, such as Change, Synergy, Microsoft Access, Razor, and Rational Team Concert (RTC).

Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. COLSA Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.