Director, Program Management

Company Overview

Iridium is an award-winning and innovative satellite communications company with bragging rights to the only network that offers voice and data connectivity anywhere in the world. For over 20 years, Iridium's unique network and services have supported critical communications needs for individuals, businesses, and the evolving Internet of Things.

At Iridium, we understand the importance of staying connected and the limitations of traditional communications networks. People across the globe, including first responders, humanitarians, global militaries, scientific researchers, and lone workers, as well as ships, aircraft and remote operations all rely on Iridium to stay connected. We take our responsibility for providing these essential communications very seriously and pride ourselves on offering a reliable lifeline when needed. Likewise, Iridium is committed to providing an exciting and innovative workplace, where employees are challenged to think outside the box and collaborate on new, bold ideas and solutions. Our talented teams are passionate about their work and the impact our company makes around the world. Iridium fosters an empowering and inclusive culture that allows employees to genuinely be their best selves. We are looking for others who want to join this truly unique company that celebrates our employees and provides the opportunity to truly make a difference in the world.

What We're Looking For:

Iridium is seeking a Director, Program Management who is ready to rise to the next level in their career. As a Director, Program Management, you will be in charge of one or more high priority programs, or a group of related projects, within the Technology Development and Operations (TDO) Organization. In this role, you will lead, mentor, and supervise a team of project managers, assigned engineers, and contractors in a program or project portfolio of high impact and value to the company. In this role, you will work closely with our government customer program offices to coordinate and influence requirements, ensure fulfillment of milestones and deliverables, and manage financial performance under the programs. This role has a high degree of collaboration with other teams in order to deliver successful solutions and navigate interdependencies in a matrix environment. If you can provide clear and consistent communication and have a passion for development and for leading your fellow employees, then we want to talk to you.

This position requires an active/current Secret Security Clearance with the ability to obtain a Top Secret Security Clearance (A U.S. Security Clearance that has been active in the past 24 months is considered active).

What You'll Do:

• Foster and develop a highly effective team of Project Managers to ensure consistent project execution, drive accountability, promote professional growth, and maintain alignment with organizational goals, best practices, and customer expectations
• Manage a portfolio of related projects, often with other Project Managers as direct reports, typically of portfolio value > $25M
• Be responsible for strategic program planning, including planning, staffing, budgeting, managing expense priorities and defining processes required for projects/programs
• Oversee financial performance, including seeking approvals and management of program budgets
• Be in charge of resource planning and management, which includes coordinating the program team and resolving team conflicts as well as leading project teams to fulfill the program mission and meet program goals
• Be accountable for the resolution of significant issues and risks and implement lessons learned
• Provide status reports for complex program and project schedules, leading internal and external teams to execute the full spectrum of the project
• Complete project ownership from concept, award (for externally funded projects), through planning and final delivery while actively managing quality and financial performance of assigned projects
• Formulate program and project execution strategy including gates, milestones, deliverables, and acquisition strategy including make or buy decisions, subcontracting strategy, etc.
• Participate in major milestone meetings with internal or external customers (ex. System Readiness Review (SRR), Critical Design Review (CDR), Factory Acceptance Test (FAT)) and senior officials to communicate status and/or manage development and engineering activities
• Portray the company's expectations and requirements to the engineering, development, test, and deployment teams to ensure alignment
• Initiate pro-active correspondence to communicate project status, on-going financial viability, and identification of key issues to senior management
• Work with the project managers to ensure projects are well-designed, deliver quality results, and meet financial performance targets as established in project pipeline budgets and Estimates to Complete (EACs)
• Manage the requirements and planning basis in a methodical and organized manner, including use of configuration management practices (CM)
• Participate in and support pricing negotiations and changes with customers and communicate requirements

What You'll Need to Succeed:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field OR equivalent relevant experience in lieu of degree
• 15+ years of relevant experience in satellite, telcomm, PNT, and/or telcomm user equipment space
• Previous management experience required
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present information, drive discussion, and respond to difficult scenarios with limited preparation across all employee groups
• The ability to build productive relationships with all levels of leadership - inside and outide the company - to build consensus and drive results and champion collaboration across multiple departments
• Be able to think on your feet to respond to difficult situations and resolve issues
• Must possess good judgement and decisiveness
• Actively looks for ways to enhance and improve current processes and procedures
• Skilled at managing multiple priorities while ensuring that work is of high quality
• Must be proactive in seeking out knowledge and sharing what you've learned with others

Things That Would be Great if You Brought to the Table:

• US Government DoD (Department of Defense) development program and/or project experience
• An active/current Top Secret or Top Secret/SCI Security Clearance
• Project Management Accreditation (APMP, PMI/PMP or equivalent)
• Master's degree in Engineering or related field

We'll also need you to:

• Be able to travel up to 20-25%, primarily to local clients
• Be a

Work Environment:

This position primarily works in an office setting and is largely sedentary with the majority of the position working with a computer. The role typically requires the use of basic office equipment such as a phone, video, computer, keyboard, mouse, and printer.

Iridium is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.