Senior Technical Program Manager

Description

Intelligence Security Laboratories is a new and fast-growing non-profit working at the intersection of AI and security. We are a small, ambitious team scaling quickly, and our work—implementation-driven R&D for high-security AI systems—is closer in character to avionics or reactor control than to enterprise software. We are looking for a technical program manager to ensure that this work gets delivered on time, to a no-fail standard, and with the documentation and rigor that high-assurance systems demand.

In this role, you will be the connective tissue between our engineers, our leadership, and the partners and contractors who deliver technical work on our behalf. You will own program plans and schedules, define and track deliverables, surface risks, and hold both internal teams and external parties to a high bar for quality and timeliness. Because the organization is relatively young, you will help establish how program execution is done here, including the processes, cadences, and artifacts we will scale with.

We are looking for someone with a strong technical foundation who can engage credibly with engineers on substance, communicate clearly with non-technical stakeholders, and manage the ambiguity that comes with building an organization from the ground up.

This role is strongly preferred to be based in Washington, D.C., where ISL has its main presence.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, coordinate, and drive execution of technical programs from scoping through delivery, including schedules, milestones, dependencies, budgets, and acceptance criteria.

• Serve as the primary point of coordination between internal engineering staff and external partners and contractors delivering technical work.

• Define deliverables clearly, track progress against them, and ensure that what is delivered meets the agreed quality and security standards before it is accepted.

• Identify risks, blockers, and resource constraints early, and drive them to resolution with the right people.

• Establish and maintain program documentation, status reporting, and decision records appropriate for high-assurance and security-sensitive work.

• Support contract and statement-of-work development for technical engagements, and manage contractor performance against them.

• Facilitate technical reviews, design checkpoints, and hand-offs across teams and organizations.

• Contribute to building ISL's program management practice as the organization grows.

Qualifications

Required skills

• At least 5 years of technical program or project management experience, including direct responsibility for schedules, deliverables, and cross-organizational coordination

• A relevant bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related technical field

• Demonstrated experience managing external vendors, contractors, or partners delivering technical work

• Sufficient technical depth to engage substantively with engineers on systems, security, and infrastructure topics

• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to produce clear, precise documentation

• Comfort operating with ambiguity in a small, fast-moving organization

Nice-to-have experience

• Ideally, 10+ years of experience of technical program management

• Program management in high-assurance or safety-critical domains such as avionics, nuclear, rail, medical devices, or industrial control

• Experience with command, control, and communications (C3) systems or similar mission-critical programs

• Experience working in classified environments or with sensitive or export-controlled technologies

• Experience with data center builds, operations, or secure facilities (e.g., SCIFs)

• Familiarity with formal systems engineering, safety, or security assurance processes (e.g., DO-178C, IEC 61508, RMF, NIST 800-53)

• Experience with government or defense contracting and acquisition

• PMP, PgMP, or equivalent certification

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range: $250k–$375k/annum (including a $25k DC living incentive) set according to title and role family. This is a wide range and depends greatly on experience and demonstrated capability.

• In addition to salary:

  • Bonus of $5k–$10k to support moving to DC, depending on whether you're moving domestically or internationally

  • Full medical, dental and vision coverage, effective from your first day

  • HSA available

  • Unlimited paid time off. We ask everyone to take at least 20 days a year, and would encourage more

  • Stipends for training, wellness and home-office set-up

  • Up to three company retreats a year

Equal opportunities

ISL is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Few candidates match every criterion. If you're unsure whether you clear the bar, we'd rather see your application than not.

Accommodations

If you need an accommodation at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know and we will work with you to provide one.

Questions

If you have any additional questions about this position or would like to get in touch with us please reach out to [email protected].