Senior Project Manager - Maritime Defense Technology

About Pole Star Defense:

Pole Star Defense is a leading provider of maritime domain awareness, maritime security, and fisheries monitoring systems to the government sector. Since 1998, we have pushed the limits of innovation, mitigating growing threats to ships, supply chains, cargo, territorial waters and, most importantly, safety of lives at sea and beyond. Today, we continue to develop and implement pioneering intelligence technologies to protect customer vessels, people, maritime domain, and reputation.

Pole Star Defense is seeking a Senior Project Manager to independently execute federal programs within our PMO. This role bridges two disciplines, requiring equal depth in federal compliance (ATO coordination, government reporting, and deliverable tracking) and Agile execution (sprint cadences and backlog management). Beyond program delivery, you will help scale the PMO by establishing organizational standards, planning templates, and handoff procedures.

The ideal candidate brings proven experience in federal government contracting, Agile methodologies, and excels at managing internal and external stakeholder relationships. We are seeking a proactive leader who will take the initiative to mature our PMO processes.

• Own program delivery, milestone tracking, critical path analysis, and contract timelines (periods of performance, modifications, and option exercises.
• Maintain the risk register to proactively resolve issues and shield delivery teams from requirements volatility
• Monitor program budgets, burn rates, and resource allocation in coordination with Finance.
• Coordinate delivery across multiple internal departments without direct organizational authority

• Shape and sequence the backlog to ensure sprint content and workflows align directly with contract commitments.
• Partner with product and engineering to translate customer intent into prioritized user stories with explicit acceptance criteria.
• Participate in sprint ceremonies to provide engineering teams with critical contract and customer context
• Leverage velocity and throughput metrics to predict timelines, manage scope creep, and inform customer reporting.

• Act as the daily PMO point of contact for the government program office to deliver status updates, release timelines, and risk disclosures.
• Manage the Authority to Operate (ATO) lifecycle with Info Sec and the customer’s ISSO, including artifacts and continuous monitoring.
• Manage incoming customer requests, translate them into internal work packages, and prevent unauthorized scope creep.

• Author and improve scalable PMO standards, templates, intake procedures, and program handoff documentation.
• Maintain project plans, schedules, and compliance documentation under strict version control in the PMO repository.
• Contribute program and past-performance content to proposals and RFP responses.

• 6+ years of tech/software project management experience; 3+ years supporting federal government contracts and program offices.
• Deep Agile/Scrum fluency (as PM, PO, or Scrum Master) with a proven track record of managing backlogs, sequencing work, and balancing sprint flexibility with fixed contract deadlines.
• Demonstrated end-to-end program ownership, including independently managing schedules, risk registers, and fluid customer relationships.
• Knowledge of federal contract mechanics (mods, PoP) and security compliance work streams (ATO/RMF).
• Strong cross-functional leadership and communication skills to brief both technical teams and government stakeholders.
• Mastery of project management tools like Jira, Confluence, or MS Project

• Experience with FedRAMP or DoD Impact Level (IL2 through IL4) cloud environments from a delivery or compliance coordination perspective
• Familiarity with both front-end and back-end software development and an understanding of cloud architecture (AWS)
• Related experience in the maritime technology industry

• Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Management, Engineering, or related field or equivalent work experience.
• PMP or PgMP certification
• Agile certification such as CSM, PSM, or CSPO, or any other related certification

Pole Star offers benefits that are designed to lead an evolving marketplace and encourage a healthy balance between work and life. Highlights of those benefits are listed below:

• Medical…