Senior Program Manager

Vitesse Systems is looking for a Sr. Program Manager to join the team in Harbor City, California! As Program Manager, you will be responsible for inspiring and uniting a team to innovate and deliver extraordinary antenna solutions, all within the customer’s parameters.

About Vitesse Systems

Vitesse Systems is a leading provider of highly engineered antenna, thermal management and mission critical solutions used in radar, electronic warfare and C5ISR applications. No challenge is too difficult for the Vitesse Team. From complex specification driven requirements to precision manufactured components, Vitesse Systems has the experience and expertise needed to execute.

Our Core Values

Our core values of Integrity, Initiative, Impact, and Integration translate to an environment where every team member is valued and rewarded. The mission-critical solutions we design and manufacture at Vitesse make our country and our world safer.

Our Benefits

3 Weeks of Paid Time Off

10 Paid Company Observed Holidays

Birthday & Anniversary Incentives

401K Employer Match

Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

Company-paid Life Insurance

Company-paid Short & Long-term Disability

Continuing Education Reimbursement Program

Generous Referral Program

The Role

The primary responsibility of the Program Manager is to spend your days advocating for the customer, while facilitating collaboration and course-correction internally. The primary responsibility of the Program Manager is to spend your days driving programs by simultaneously managing all stakeholders, maintaining progress and steering course-correction. You will be responsible for Program EVMS tracking, being accountable to managing program within prescribed variance targets.

Key Responsibilities

Program Planning and Execution

Lead programs throughout the lifecycle, from proposal development and initiation through execution, delivery, and closeout.

Establish program objectives, baselines, resources, milestones, and performance expectations.

Coordinate Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Finance, Contracts, Procurement, and Quality to achieve cost, schedule, scope, and technical objectives.

Identify performance issues, implement corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement.

Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) Management

Develop and maintain Integrated Master Schedules, including baselines, dependencies, critical paths, milestones, and resource loading.

Monitor schedule performance, identify variances, assess impacts, and develop recovery plans.

Coordinate schedule integration across functional teams and manage approved baseline changes.

Budget, Financial Management, and EVMS

Develop and monitor program budgets, funding profiles, expenditures, cost forecasts, and profitability.

Apply Earned Value Management System (EVMS) principles to evaluate program health using metrics such as CPI, SPI, EAC, and ETC.

Analyze cost and schedule variances, identify root causes, forecast outcomes, and implement corrective actions.

Apply cost accounting concepts, including direct and indirect costs, labor and material expenses, overhead, cost allocation, and financial reporting.

Prepare and deliver accurate, actionable program performance reports and EVMS-based briefings to senior leadership and customers.

Government Program and Contract Management

Lead government program delivery in accordance with contractual requirements, approved baselines, funding constraints, deliverables, and applicable regulations.

Maintain effective relationships with government customers, program offices, contracting officers, prime contractors, and internal stakeholders.

Manage contract milestones, scope changes, funding impacts, compliance requirements, and customer commitments.

Communicate program status and resolve issues affecting contractual performance and delivery.

Risk Management and Mitigation

Lead formal program risk reviews and maintain risk registers documenting probability, impact, ownership, mitigation actions, and closure criteria.

Develop and track mitigation plans, assign accountability, and monitor risk burn-down metrics to measure risk reduction and mitigation effectiveness.

Assess emerging and residual risks across cost, schedule, technical performance, manufacturing, operations, and supply chain.

Integrate risk management with the IMS, EVMS, budget forecasts, and program change control.

Escalate significant risks and present mitigation strategies, risk trends, and recovery recommendations to senior leadership and customers.

Customer Leadership and Executive Reporting

Serve as a primary customer advocate and maintain strong relationships through proactive communication and timely issue resolution.

Lead program reviews, customer meetings, and executive briefings covering cost, schedule, technical performance, financial forecasts, risks, and corrective actions.

Translate complex program data into clear recommendations that support decisions, resource allocation, and successful execution.

Drive cross-functional accountability for milestones, deliverables, risk mitigation, and program commitments.

Qualifications & Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Program Management, or a related field.

Minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible project or program management experience.

Active Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Demonstrated experience managing and delivering government programs, preferably in aerospace, defense, national security, or related industries.

Experience managing government contracts, contractual deliverables, funding requirements, compliance obligations, and government customer relationships.

Proven experience developing and maintaining Integrated Master Schedules, including critical path analysis, baseline management, and schedule recovery.

Practical experience using EVM/EVMS to analyze cost and schedule performance, forecast program outcomes, and brief senior leadership.

Demonstrated experience managing program budgets, expenditures, financial forecasts, cost controls, and profitability.

Working knowledge of cost accounting including direct and indirect costs, labor and material costs, overhead, and variance analysis.

Proven experience leading formal risk reviews, maintaining risk registers, implementing mitigation plans, and tracking measurable risk burn-down.

Strong customer management, executive communication, analytical, problem-solving, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Project; familiarity with EVMS, scheduling, financial reporting, and risk management tools.