Joint Staff CDAO Project Manager

In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next!

At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible.

Job Description:

Parsons is looking for a talented Joint Staff CDAO Project Manager to join our growing team!

In this role, you will provide direction and management for a large-sized project, ensuring on-schedule completion within or below budget and in accordance with contractual obligations. This position requires onsite support at the Pentagon five days per week.

The Project Manager will provide oversight of the identification, evaluation, planning, and delivery of key project deliverables. The position will support significant mission growth and evolving customer requirements, requiring the ability to scale operations, coordinate across multiple stakeholders, and manage emerging priorities. The candidate will be responsible for tracking estimate-to-completion metrics, finances and invoices, personnel management, recruitment and retention, subcontractor performance, risks, schedules, and deliverables.

The Project Manager will serve as a primary point of contact for Joint Staff CDAO government leadership, contribute to the business development process, assist with quick-turn proposals, and support the successful execution of new and expanding mission requirements.

What You'll Be Doing :

Planning and defining project goals, objectives, schedules, resources, and success criteria

Developing and maintaining project management plans to ensure successful execution within scope, schedule, and budget

Tracking estimate-to-completion metrics, finances and invoices, personnel management including recruitment and retention, subcontracts, risks, and project deliverables

Managing project risks and developing risk-management and mitigation processes

Monitoring and reporting to management on project progress, significant milestones, cost and schedule performance, and conditions that may affect project execution

Coordinating with corporate support functions to ensure successful project execution

Assisting the Program Manager/Deputy Program Manager in capturing contract-level metrics, including accomplishments, schedule, financials, quality, staffing, security, deliverables, risks, and stakeholder communication

Developing in-depth knowledge of Joint Staff CDAO mission objectives, contract requirements, subcontract terms, and relevant policies

Working with project controls, technical teams, and discipline leads to develop ROMs, budgets, schedules, best-value analyses, and execution plans

Ensuring projects meet or exceed the goals and objectives established in approved plans

Serving as the primary point of contact for the Joint Staff CDAO government leadership team

Managing stakeholder expectations, proactively communicating progress, and facilitating recurring management meetings

Escalating blockers, risks, and dependencies that may impact delivery and coordinating with leadership to resolve issues

Ensuring continuous feedback loops between end users, mission owners, stakeholders, and technical teams to maximize adoption and mission value

Coordinating cross-functional teams, including data scientists, engineers, analysts, cybersecurity professionals, and other technical personnel, to deliver high-impact capabilities on schedule and within scope

Supporting CDAO governance, strategic planning, reporting, and executive briefings related to Joint Staff data and AI initiatives

Supporting the growth and expansion of the mission by helping define new requirements, establish scalable processes, and align resources to emerging priorities

Staying current on project management, product management, and AI/data delivery practices and identifying opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement

Contributing to business development, capture activities, quick-turn proposals, and the successful transition and execution of new work

What Required Skills You'll Bring :

Active Top Secret security clearance with SCI eligibility at the time of hire

Bachelor’s degree with additional years of experience able to count in lieu of a degree

15+ years of experience, with additional education, training, and certifications able to count towards total years of experience

Demonstrated experience managing large or complex projects involving government customers, technical teams, and multiple stakeholders

Experience serving as a primary liaison between customers, mission owners, and technical delivery teams

Proven ability to gather, prioritize, and translate customer requirements into executable plans and deliverables

Experience managing project scope, schedules, budgets, risks, resources, quality, and performance metrics

Experience supporting personnel management, recruitment, retention, and team development

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to diverse audiences

Ability to brief program leadership on project status, milestones, risks, and challenges

Strong writing, organization, and stakeholder-management skills

Ability to work onsite at the Pentagon five days per week

Ability to manage competing priorities, respond to mission growth, and pivot across multiple projects as required

What Desired Skills You Might Bring :

Experience supporting the Department of War, Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, or U.S. Government organizations

Experience working with Chief Data and AI Offices, enterprise data programs, or digital transformation initiatives

Understanding of AI/ML product development, responsible AI, data governance, and model lifecycle management

Experience managing a product portfolio and balancing competing priorities against mission and business value

Familiarity with Joint Staff directorates, Joint operational processes, or DoD mission requirements

PMP professional certification

Advanced communication and stakeholder-management skills, including experience developing executive briefings and product strategies

Previous experience executing on GSA/FEDSIM contracts

Prior military service

Completion of Defense Acquisition University courses

Business development, capture management, or proposal development experience

Security Clearance Requirement: An active Top Secret SCI security clearance is required for this position.​

This position is part of our Federal Solutions team.

The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what’s next to deliver the solutions our customers need now.

Salary Range: $134,100.00 - $241,400.00

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!

This position requires a Fit for Duty exam as part of the job requirements. Successful completion of this exam(s) will be required post offer acceptance, prior to you being able to continue in the hiring process and onboarding.

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/ .