C2 Program Manager

C2 Program Manager
Ideal candidate: Former or retired USAF Air Battle Manager / senior C2 battle management operator
Job Level: Senior / Lead
Employment Type: Full-time
Security Clearance: Active DoD Secret clearance required at time of hire; active TS/SCI preferred
Work Location: On-site / program facility (customer-designated location); travel to operational sites, test events, and training venues as required
Reports To: Director of Defense and Aerospace Services
Works Closely With: Government customer and program stakeholders, systems engineers, project and functional leads, ISSO/cybersecurity personnel, operational users and training units, test organizations, application owners, vendors, and subcontractors
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced C2 Program Manager to lead the planning, execution, and delivery of a command-and-control program. The ideal candidate is a former or retired USAF Air Battle Manager (or equivalent C2 battle management operator) with hands-on experience in airborne, ground-based, and operations-center C2 environments such as AWACS, the Control and Reporting Center (CRC), and the Air Operations Center (AOC), together with demonstrated experience managing complex defense programs, systems integration, test, training, or sustainment activities.
The C2 Program Manager is accountable for overall program performance, including scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, customer satisfaction, and delivery of contract requirements. This individual leads cross-functional teams and coordinates the work of technical, operational, cybersecurity, test, training, vendor, and subcontractor personnel. The Program Manager ensures that operational needs are translated into executable plans, resources are aligned with program priorities, issues are resolved promptly, and C2 capabilities are delivered and sustained in accordance with customer requirements and contractual commitments.
Why an Operational C2 Background
The hardest problems on a C2 program are rarely purely technical. They involve understanding what controllers need to see and how quickly they need it; how the tactical picture is affected when systems are degraded or fail; how Joint and coalition partners receive and trust shared data; and how the program demonstrates that a system is ready for operational use. A candidate with real battle management experience brings the operational credibility and judgment needed to guide program priorities, assess mission impacts, engage effectively with the customer, and make informed decisions about technical execution, schedule, risk, testing, and fielding.
The C2 Program
The Program Manager is responsible for the overall coordination and successful delivery and sustainment of the C2 program, including the following integrated elements:
• Secure Computing Environment — The IT infrastructure and services that support the system.
• Mission Software — Operational and tactical-level command-and-control software such as MSCT, ADSI, C2 Core, and Voice Communications Systems.
• Integration — Sensors, tactical data links, and radios/communications devices.
Key Responsibilities
Program Leadership and Customer Management
• Lead day-to-day program execution and serve as the primary point of coordination for the government customer on program performance, priorities, deliverables, and issues.
• Establish program objectives, performance expectations, execution priorities, and management processes consistent with contract requirements and customer direction.
• Lead cross-functional program teams; assign and coordinate responsibilities; monitor performance; and ensure that technical and operational activities remain aligned with program objectives.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with government representatives, operational commands, user groups, senior stakeholders, and internal company leadership.
Operational Requirements and Mission Alignment
• Ensure operator needs, tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and mission-thread requirements are understood and incorporated into program plans, technical priorities, and test objectives.
• Oversee definition and management of mission-critical availability, latency, and data-integrity expectations for track, display, and other mission application functions.
• Ensure program teams maintain mission-thread and dependency views showing how infrastructure or application failures may affect operational users.
Joint and Coalition Operations
• Oversee program support for Joint and coalition employment, including interoperability, data sharing, and releasability considerations across Service and mission-partner boundaries.
• Coordinate with Joint and Allied stakeholders, interoperability certification bodies, and foreign disclosure and security authorities, as applicable to fielding and data exchange.
• Plan and oversee participation in Joint and coalition exercises, interoperability events, and integration demonstrations, ensuring required personnel, equipment, infrastructure, and program resources are available.
• Test, Training, and Operational Readiness
Oversee planning, coordination, and execution of test events; ensure test objectives, measures of effectiveness and suitability, entry/exit criteria, and data collection requirements are established.
• Ensure deficiencies identified during tests and exercises are documented, prioritized, assigned, and tracked through root-cause analysis, corrective action, resolution, and regression testing.
• Oversee development and delivery of operator and administrator training, including curricula, training environments, user guides, and quick-reference materials; coordinate transition of new capabilities into formal training pipelines.
• Ensure realistic training and test environments, including isolated or simulated environments, are planned and maintained to mirror operational configurations without risking the production baseline.
Program Planning, Execution, and Performance
• Develop, maintain, and manage the integrated master plan and schedule covering hardware installation, cluster validation, service stand-up, application integration, security accreditation, testing, training, fielding, and sustainment.
• Manage program scope, milestones, dependencies, deliverables, staffing, and resource requirements; identify variances and implement corrective actions to maintain execution against the approved plan.
• Manage program budgets, forecasts, expenditures, and cost/schedule performance; prepare accurate status reports, contract deliverables, executive briefings, and program reviews for the government customer and company leadership.
• Establish and maintain program risk, issue, action, and dependency registers; lead mitigation and resolution efforts; and oversee change control, configuration management, program baselines, and as-built documentation.
Security, Compliance, and Subcontractor Management
• Coordinate with the ISSO/cybersecurity team and technical leads on Risk Management Framework (RMF) activities, STIG compliance, vulnerability remediation, and Authorization to Operate (ATO) milestones; monitor progress and elevate schedule or compliance risks.
• Plan and coordinate maintenance windows, patch cycles, firmware updates, failover/disaster recovery exercises, and controlled events such as offline root CA bring-up, certificate issuance ceremonies, and smart card enrollment campaigns.
• Manage vendor and subcontractor performance, deliverables, schedules, and issue resolution, including hardware support, software licensing, and application providers.
• Required Qualifications
• Prior operational experience as a USAF Air Battle Manager (13B) or equivalent C2 battle management operator, with direct experience in at least one of: E-3 AWACS, Control and Reporting Center (CRC), Sector Operations Center (SOC), or Air Operations Center (AOC).
• Demonstrated experience with Joint and coalition operations, such as multinational exercises, combined air operations, or Joint force integration.
• Bachelor's degree in a technical or related field and 8+ years of combined operational, program management, or systems integration experience (military service counts toward this requirement).
• Demonstrated experience leading or managing complex defense programs, projects, or mission-critical systems through acquisition, integration, fielding, or sustainment.
Working understanding of enterprise IT infrastructure concepts sufficient to manage program dependencies, sequence work, and communicate effectively with engineering teams.
• Familiarity with DoD RMF/ATO processes, change control, and configuration management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief senior military, government, and industry leaders and manage customer expectations.
• Active DoD Secret clearance at the time of application.
• Preferred Qualifications
• Operational test and evaluation (OT&E) experience, including test planning, execution, and reporting for C2 or battle management systems.
• Training experience, such as instructor, evaluator, or training developer roles, including simulator-based and distributed mission training environments.
• Weapons-school or weapons-officer-level tactical expertise, or equivalent senior evaluator experience.
Experience with C2 data links and tactical data exchange, track management, and common operational picture concepts.
• Primarily performed in an office and secure facility environment; may require access to operations floors, radar and communication sites, test sites, or data center spaces.
• Occasional after-hours or weekend availability may be required to support program deadlines, customer needs, and operational events.
• OCONUS travel to operational units, exercise and test locations, and customer or vendor sites as required (approximately 25%).
This job description is intended to convey the general nature and scope of work performed. It is not exhaustive and may be updated to reflect changes in program requirements. Equal opportunity employer, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.