Principal Technical Program Manager

What We Do

The SEI works closely with defense and government organizations, industry, and academia to enable the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to maintain strategic advantage through software.  At the SEI we research complex software engineering, cybersecurity, and AI engineering challenges; create and pilot innovative technologies; and transition maturing solutions into practice.

The Office of Strategy Management works with the SEI’s Executive Leadership Team to ensure SEI’s long-term effectiveness and develops, executes, and institutionalizes strategic initiatives that advance the SEI’s mission and strategic goals.

About the role:

Are you someone who loves to take organizations to the next level?  Do you strive to understand external technology, customer, and market signals to inform organizational strategy and help guide initiatives to increase impact?  Are you able to understand stakeholder needs, work collaboratively and create the best solution possible?  Do you have modern software development experience? 

We’re looking for a Principal Technical Program Manager to join the Office of Strategy Management team at the Software Engineering Institute to influence SEI’s current and future direction and advance SEI’s mission, strategic goals, and impact.   By blending your technical and business background you will develop insights and actionable recommendations, lead strategic initiatives, ensure organizational excellence, help position the SEI and our technologies, tools, and practices, advance our portfolio of work and increase impact for our customers and the broader software, cybersecurity and AI engineering communities.

What you’ll do

• Strategy, Growth, and Impact: You will contribute to the SEI’s continual process of planning, developing, and carrying out an overall business and technology strategy.  You will strengthen and grow the SEI’s business, technical and operational capabilities to increase the impact of our work for mission partners.  You will identify, shape, lead and transition creative enterprise-wide strategic initiatives and help position the SEI and our technologies, tools, and practices to increase impact.  You will lead business case analysis, development, and execution.

• Customer and Stakeholder Engagement: You will lead SEI’s enterprise level customer experience program and help build and maintain relationships with the DoD innovation, technology, and business ecosystem. You will develop and maintain strong relationships with other CMU and SEI business and technical units and work in partnership with those units to advance strategic goals.  You will build stakeholder relationships and represent the SEI by presenting and showcasing our work to sponsors, customers and partners.

• Leadership and Influence: You will be a primary interface with our technical and administrative sponsor representatives and support our governance cycles. You will represent SEI and its products and services and actively engage with our staff, sponsors, customers, and collaborators in various forums to understand their challenges and needs and offer potential solutions.  You will focus on organizational excellence and work with cross-functional teams, technology, business, and operations, to manage multiple projects, drive collaboration and lead trade-off conversations.

• Program and Portfolio Management: You will establish strategic business goals and plans and implement actions to achieve goals.  You will anticipate and mitigate risk by conducting assessments to determine if implementation plans meet stakeholder requirements and will achieve strategic objectives. You will provide leadership, management, and technical expertise for customer delivery teams.

Required Experience

• Strategic and Tactical Expertise:  You have the proven ability to think strategically and operate at the strategic and tactical levels.  You grasp the big picture, direction and goals of an effort while having the natural ability to dig into the details on complex concepts and challenges and provide clear direction. You have demonstrated the ability to influence stakeholder’s strategy by linking customer insights-driven recommendations to stakeholder mission objectives to achieve mutual results.  

• Technical and Business Acumen: You possess technical and business vision and are familiar with current challenges and emerging trends. You have experience and knowledge of leading-edge technologies and have demonstrated contributions to advanced technology developments. You have business development experience (i.e., technical, project management, cost volumes) and a strong win record in a competitive environment.

• Mission and Customer Focus: You have a passion for defense and national security missions and a strong familiarity with how DoD and related government organizations operate.  You have knowledge of and experience working with government mission organizations.

• Program and Portfolio Management: You have experience owning program strategy, delivery, negotiations, managing expectations and communicating results to senior leadership.  You have managed large, complex software systems and can deliver modern software, cybersecurity, or AI engineering expertise on customer engagements. You can successfully drive the delivery of end-to-end projects, working through obstacles across multiple teams and organizations and negotiating with internal and external stakeholders. 

• Client Relationship Management and Collaboration: You excel at client relationship management.  You are an excellent communicator and comfortable engaging all levels of government, industry, and academic organizations.   You can interact collaboratively and diplomatically with customer and colleagues at all levels of experience and knowledge.  You know how to build and maintain strong, diverse collaboration networks.

• Government Research and Innovation Awareness: You have a solid understanding of DoD and other Federal acquisition, development, and operations lifecycles.  You have a strong working knowledge of how DoD and related government organizations fund and conduct research and innovation.

• Experience Shaping Organizational Culture: You understand the importance and value of organizational culture.  You have experience shaping and modeling organizational culture to uphold core values. 

Skills and Abilities

• Critical Thinking: You can properly analyze information and ask appropriate questions to gather information and gain a deeper understanding of the situation.  You can reason about tasks and make sound recommendations.

• Innovation and Improvement: You can cultivate innovation, creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful.  You can identify and suggest improvements to engage customers, execute work, develop people and function as a leading-edge research and development lab.

• Change Management: You have established, grown, and led organizations and initiatives that drive innovation and organizational change with a focus on positive impact to individuals, customers, and organizations. You are an innovative leader with the ability to identify opportunities and influence organizations to gain support and overcome resistance with data and persuasion.

• Managing Complexity and Ambiguity: You can navigate an ambiguous environment and are skilled at maneuvering through organizational dynamics.  You know how to lead and manage in complex environments, including successfully navigating bureaucracy to accomplish mission and business objectives and have a strong influence without direct authority. You are a self-starter with a sense of entrepreneurship and creative problem solving for complex challenges.

• Communication: You use communications effectively to inform and influence your internal and external audiences.  You communicate well with others in written and verbal form and through a variety of modes including in-person and virtual discussions and email. You answer data calls clearly and concisely.

• Task Management: You possess effective time management skills and meet deadlines.  You can prioritize tasks, multi-task, track progress and maintain accurate records.

Requirements:

• You have a BS in computer science, software engineering, information systems, data science or similar technical program with 10+ years of experience.

• Flexible to travel to Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., sponsor sites, conferences, and other meetings. Some (15%) travel outside your home location to support the SEI’s overall mission. 

• Ability to work onsite in Pittsburgh, PA or Arlington VA.

• You will be subject to a background check and must be able to obtain and maintain a Department of Defense security clearance. 

• Applicants for this position must be currently legally authorized to work for CMU in the United States. CMU will not sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this opportunity.   

Desired Experience:

• You have an advanced degree in computer science, software engineering, information systems, data science or similar technical program.

• You have managed portfolios or programs of $20M or more.

• You have a deep understanding of DoD and other federal acquisition, development, and operations lifecycles.

• You possess strong familiarity with SEI’s technical body of work.

Our benefits

Our benefits philosophy encompasses three driving priorities: choice, control, and well-being. Through Carnegie Mellon University, the SEI offers a wide range of competitive employee benefits to help you live well, including comprehensive health insurance, tuition benefits, and a generous PTO and retirement-savings policy to name a few. 

Why work here?

• Work with subject-matter experts doing cutting-edge research to solve tough problems for the government and the nation.

• Join an experienced, knowledgeable, and friendly team.

• Get an 8% monthly contribution to your retirement plan, without having to contribute yourself.

• Get tuition benefits for you and your dependent children to attend classes at CMU.

• Enjoy a healthy work/life balance with a flexible work arrangement.

• Get access to university resources such as campus fitness facilities, mindfulness programs, childcare, free transportation on the Port Authority Transit System, and more.

• Enjoy annual professional-development opportunities to attend conferences and training or get a certification.

Location

Arlington, VA, Pittsburgh, PA

Job Function

Program, Project and Operations Management

Position Type

Staff – Regular

Full Time/Part time

Full time

Pay Basis

Salary

More Information: 

• Please visit “Why Carnegie Mellon ” to learn more about becoming part of an institution inspiring innovations that change the world. 

• Click here to view a listing of employee benefits

• Carnegie Mellon University is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran. 

• Statement of Assurance