Senior Operations Manager, U.S. Defense Plans & Strategies

The Senior Operations Manager, U.S. Defense Plans & Strategies leads execution of planning and strategy support for U.S. defense customers. This role directs day-to-day operations, maintains stakeholder and organizational awareness across key Department of War (DoW) entities, and drives disciplined prioritization and follow-through for senior-level engagements supporting enterprise campaigns and strategic objectives. The Senior Operations Manager coordinates cross-functional teams, manages action-item execution, and ensures decision-quality outputs for executive and customer audiences.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead planning and strategy operations; ensure timely, high-quality delivery of decision-ready products (briefs, assessments, planning artifacts).
• Coordinate cross-functional teams and establish an operating rhythm (priorities, deliverables, metrics, quality control, stakeholder updates).
• Track, monitor, and maintain customer organization charts and leadership/staff changes for the Joint Staff, Office of SecWar, Military Departments, and related agencies; disseminate relevant updates internally.
• Maintain customer and stakeholder contact lists to enable continuity and rapid engagement.
• Track, monitor, and prioritize senior-level customer engagement priorities; prepare engagements and ensure message alignment and follow-through.
• Coordinate with Leidos business sectors, Growth organization, and Technology organization to plan and execute senior-level events/engagements in support of campaigns.
• Liaise with Growth to advance priority campaigns; translate customer insights and engagement outcomes into actionable next steps.
• Liaise with Executive Leadership Team (ELT) staff to support enterprise strategic goals and provide decision-ready updates.
• Track, monitor, and prioritize budget management activities impacting plans, engagements, and execution; communicate impacts and constraints.
• Track, monitor, and coordinate with external consultancies; integrate outputs into internal workflows and manage timelines/deliverables.
• Maintain action-item and decision logs; lead coordination to close actions, deconflict issues, and resolve misalignment across stakeholders.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree and 15+ years of U.S. Government experience (military or civilian), including substantial work supporting DoW missions and senior leaders. Additional years of experience in lieu of degree will be considered.
• Demonstrated management and organizational experience leading teams and/or complex portfolios and driving execution across concurrent priorities.
• Proven ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams and coordinate across diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience producing executive-level briefings and decision-quality written products.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• This position requires US Citizenship with the ability to obtain TS/SCI security clearance
• Must be located in the National Capital Region (NCR).

​

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting or working within Joint Staff, Office of Secretary of War, Military Department staffs, Combatant Commands, or related defense agencies.
• Experience supporting business development campaigns, senior-level engagements, and event execution in a defense environment.
• Experience integrating third-party/consultant outputs into executive decision products and operational workflows.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance
• Master's Degree

Working Conditions

• Hybrid work environment in the NCR, with on-site presence as required for engagements and mission needs.
• Periodic travel may be required.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

January 15, 2026

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:

Pay Range $116,350.00 - $210,325.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not li