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Principal Program Manager
Mercury SystemsUnited Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 6 May 2026
About the role
Mercury is looking for an experienced Program Manager to join its growing program team which is responsible for strengthening the Program Management functions and supporting Business Management across business unit Programs. This position will be based in Phoenix, AZ but will require up to 25% travel.
Responsibilities:
- Manages execution and performance of multiple programs within the Processing Secure Business Unit.
- Manage multiple teams and lead cross-functional teams across product lines and business units. Deliver solutions from design to release.
- Oversee large or complex programs to ensure adherence to program plans, schedules, and budgets. Develop, define, and execute project plans, schedules, budgets and deliverables.
- Create relationships with customers and field-based employees.
- Manage key vendors.
- Drive continuous improvement, including Lean, in order to incite a Lean culture throughout the function.
- Identify and manage program challenges and lead their solutions, such as allocating resources, changing contractual specifications, and directing responses to customer needs.
- Oversee the development of growth strategies.
- Oversee the negotiation of contracts and contractual changes, including coordinating preparation of proposals, business plans, proposal work statements, operation budgets, specifications, and financial conditions of contracts.
- Providing Program Management support as part of strategic captures teams to ensure that Mercury delivers timely, compliant, cost-effective solution to customers and including the negotiation and closure of the business deal.
- Coordination with the Global Sales team to understand customer requirements, schedule, and price targets and then build a program proposal that will be executable upon award.
- Acts as the focal point of contact with the customer for programmatic, contractual and business matters on any given proposal or program execution and is a liaison with customers and internal departments for all matters affecting the successful landing of assigned programs.
- Providing timely guidance into priority decisions concerning resources across competing priorities based upon business level strategy.
- Varied experience transitioning from the capture phase of a strategic program to the execution phase to deliver on business commitments and customer commitments.
- Extensive experience negotiating strategic programs to include commercial items sold to the Department of Defense is a must.
- Experience reviewing proposals for adequacy and the ability to build a strong and trusted relationship with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is also critical.
- Coordination between the pricing and finance function, the contracts organization, and the proposal team to ensure that proposal schedules are met.
- Experience building comprehensive business cases to be used for proposal review and signoff.
- The desired candidate will demonstrate a strategic approach to proposal development, estimating, negotiation, administration, change management, and dispute resolution as a key contributor to senior management team.
- Proven experience building proactive and success-oriented capture and execution teams
- Demonstrated ability to conduct timely negotiations, resolve customer issues, and optimize cash flow in contract management.
- Identify and assess risks, opportunities, and issues against the execution or proposal baseline.
- Experienced Program Management lead for both product groups and service organizations.
- Expertise in USG, International, and Commercial contract negotiation and management.
- Compliance with FAR, DFAR, ITAR, and Export Regulations.
- Managed all contract types; FFP, FPIF, CPFF, CPAR, T&M, IDIQ and BOA.
- Established systems to ensure compliance with Purchasing (CPSR) and Estimating System reviews.
- Lead with internal and outside counsel as well as executive level business management on critical issues
Requires Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math), Business Management.
- Typically requires 7+ years of execution experience with US DoD (DFARS) content.
- Experience managing complex technical p
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