Technical Program Manager (TPM)

On this program, progress counts when the government accepts it, not when the team ships it. Target Effect Pairing (TEP) is a capability for USPACOM Joint Fires, built on the Maven Smart System for the Department of War's Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO). It gives commanders AI recommendations that must be explainable, auditable, and useful to senior decision makers, and every increment has to prove that before the program moves to the next milestone.

You are accountable for delivery and you own the product backlog. You turn mission requirements into a roadmap and an executable development plan, set priorities with input from the Product Manager/Fires SMEs who own operational correctness, run the team's agile practice, and manage engagement with Joint Staff and USPACOM stakeholders. The team is small, so this role combines product management, program management, and Scrum Master work. You need real experience in all three.

The team works in two places, Honolulu and the National Capital Region, and some of the work waits on government decisions that move on their own schedule. Requirements and interfaces will change as the program learns.

What Success Looks Like

Objective 1: In the first 90 days, establish a roadmap and delivery plan that the team and the government both agree to

Each increment on the roadmap is tied to a milestone, with acceptance criteria agreed with the government before the work starts.

Dependencies on government decisions are visible, each with an owner and a date the team plans around.

Both locations work from one backlog and one delivery cadence.

Objective 2: Deliver increments the government accepts at each milestone without a rework cycle

Contract deliverables arrive complete and on schedule, and acceptance reviews close on the first pass.

Demonstrations show what changed for the operator, so milestone decisions rest on working software rather than status reports.

When a milestone is at risk, government leadership hears it from you early, along with options.

Joint Staff and USPACOM stakeholders get the decisions they owe the program framed clearly enough to make them.

Objective 3: Run a backlog whose priorities anyone on the team can explain

Priority calls weigh operational value from the Fires SMEs, technical dependencies from the architects, risk, and capacity, and the reasoning is written down.

Stakeholders who ask for something know where it stands and why.

Engineers start each sprint knowing what done means for every item in it.

Objective 4: By month six, build a delivery practice the team runs without you holding it together

Refinement, planning, reviews, and retrospectives happen across both locations and end in decisions.

Blockers get raised and cleared within the sprint they appear in.

Forecasts match what the team delivers closely enough for the government to plan around them.

What You Bring

Minimum Qualifications

Proven ability to drive progress and create clarity in fast moving, ambiguous environments. Ability to maintain required TS/SCI access.

Preferred Skills

You have taken a software product for a government customer through milestone or acceptance reviews, and can describe one that went badly and what you changed.

You have worked as a product manager, owning a backlog that a delivery team built from.

You have served as a Scrum Master or run a team's agile practice, applying Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or a similar approach to fit the team rather than by the book.

You have managed contract deliverables and government acceptance on a DoW program.

You have worked directly with Joint Staff, combatant command, or CDAO stakeholders.

You have led a team split across locations or time zones.

Knowledge of Joint Fires, command and control, or AI-enabled decision support is a plus.

You use Jira, Confluence, or comparable delivery tools.

WORKING CONDITIONS

All work takes place in secure facilities. This position is based in the National

Capital Region and travels 50% of the time.

Environmental Conditions

Work is primarily performed in professional office, Government, and technical development environments. This position requires regular on-site collaboration in the San Diego area, including work with Government and development stakeholders at or in support of NIWC-Pacific. Periodic travel may be required to support operational stakeholders and other mission activities. Work may occur in secure facilities with restrictions on personal electronic devices and remote connectivity.

Strength Demands

Sedentary to light physical demands associated with professional office and technical work environments. Occasional movement or transport of laptops, documents, and other standard work materials may be required.

Physical Requirements

Regular use of computers and standard office equipment; ability to participate in meetings, technical working sessions, and collaborative development activities for extended periods; ability to communicate effectively in person and through approved electronic means; and ability to travel as required.