Deputy Program Manager

Leidos is seeking a Deputy Program Manager for the Air Traffic Business Area within the Homeland Sector, supporting Leidos Flight Service. Leidos Flight Service provides the 24/7/365 automation system that Flight Service specialists use to support general aviation and keep our skies safe. The program operates as a large-scale Scaled Agile (SAFe) organization delivering against time-critical commitments.

As deputy, you run day-to-day execution and share accountability with the Program Manager for contract performance, financial results, schedule, risk, and the FAA relationship, acting with the Program Manager's authority when they are unavailable. You partner with the Chief Engineer, who leads technical delivery, and the leadership team to meet delivery commitments. The program is adopting AI-assisted engineering practices, and you will help teams apply them effectively and securely.

This position is located in Ashburn, VA or Gaithersburg, MD. It is a hybrid position requiring 3 days on-site and 2 days remote work. Candidates should reside within a commutable distance of one of these locations.

What You'll Do

Run execution and lead the team

• Run daily operations and governance, including status reporting, decisions, and executive reviews, and ensure the team performs to cost, schedule, and quality targets
• Lead with a find-a-way-to-yes mindset: remove impediments, treat obstacles as problems to solve, and coach and mentor delivery leads and the team, within budget and contract constraints
• Serve as the Program Manager's deputy in internal and external engagements, with delegated decision authority

Partner with the customer

• Work closely with FAA program and contracting stakeholders to align on requirements, priorities, and expectations, and communicate proactively with them and Leidos leadership so there are no surprises
• Know the contract, including its terms, deliverables, and obligations, and ensure the program performs and stays compliant; develop options that meet customer needs within budget, and take out-of-scope requests through change control with Leidos Contracts

Manage financial performance and risk

• Own the financial position, including estimate at completion, cost to complete, and margin, and drive corrective action early
• Own cost, schedule, and technical performance reporting, applying earned value and agile metrics to track delivery and risks
• Proactively manage technical, programmatic, cybersecurity, and transition risks and mitigations
• Use and promote AI for program execution and AI-assisted development, within customer and Leidos data-handling and security requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 12+ years of relevant leadership experience (or Master's with 10+ years), including 6+ years program management experience
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise, scaled Agile programs on fixed-price contracts, including earned value and estimate-at-completion forecasting
• Experience managing large FAA programs, with working knowledge of federal contract terms, deliverables, and change control (FAR or FAA AMS) and a record of strong contract performance
• Record of leading and coaching teams of 100+ personnel in a matrixed environment and removing impediments to delivery
• Financial management experience, including P&L oversight and accountability for margin on fixed-price work
• Executive-level customer relationship and communication skills, including aligning requirements, negotiating scope, and proactive, transparent reporting
• Risk management expertise, with a record of identifying risks early and presenting practical mitigations
• Experience delivering software-intensive systems to committed milestones in a federal cloud environment
• U.S. citizenship required. Ability to obtain and maintain a favorable Public Trust determination and complete government background investigations as required by the customer

Preferred Qualifications

• Active favorable Public Trust determination
• Project Management Professional (PMP) and SAFe certifications
• Direct FAA program management experience, including the FAA Acquisition Management System (AMS) lifecycle, and aviation domain expertise
• Experience managing legacy-to-modern software transitions in regulated environments, including cybersecurity authorization
• PMO governance, multi-vendor coordination, and proposal or capture experience

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:

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:

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 limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.