Strategic Engagement Program Manager at Kranze Technology Solutions, Inc – Des Plaines, Illinois

KTS is seeking a Strategic Engagement Program Manager (PM) to identify new opportunities for program expansion and serves as the primary liaison between the company and program office government contracting officers, ensuring all contractor personnel, technical specifications, cost, and schedule requirements are met.

Program Leadership & Execution

• Establish a technical program organization that effectively addresses performance requirements and incorporates the necessary internal and external organizations.
• Lead end-to-end program planning, execution and delivery in accordance with cost, pricing, schedule, performance and risk requirements.
• Lead complex defense programs with a strong emphasis on strategic customer engagement and cross-organizational alignment.
• Manage cost and schedule performance using Earned Value Management (EVM) or similar tools
• Plans and coordinates business reviews, resource allocations, organization structures, and financial analysis.

Customer Engagement & Strategic Alignment

• Serves as the primary interface between government customers, senior leadership, external partners and internal technical teams to ensure program objectives are achieved while strengthening long-term relationships and strategic positioning.
• Build and sustain trusted relationships with senior customer leadership and key decision-makers.
• Capture customer priorities, mission drivers, and emerging needs to inform program execution and future opportunities.
• Lead strategic engagements, capability briefings and roadmap discussions to align company offerings with customer priorities.

Business Growth & Strategy

• Identify opportunities for program expansion, follow-on work, and enhanced customer value.
• Actively identify and generate new business prospects through strategic sales and customer engagement activities.
• Support contract proposals and negotiations to include generation of products such as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and Basis of Estimate (BOE)
• Develops long-range objectives by assessing internal and external factors impacting growth and profitability.
• Monitors market trends, identifies business opportunities, and evaluate strategic partnership and acquisition candidates.

Financial & Supplier Management

• Develop and track profitability, productivity, and growth targets.
• May prepare acquisition proposals, recommend financial and nonfinancial strategic objectives and alternatives, and implement and maintain strategic and operational plans.
• Work with suppliers to ensure compliance with program objectives, performance expectations and contractual requirements.

Educational Qualifications & Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s Degree in a S.T.E.M. related field with 5+ years of experience.
• Military experience and connections within Patuxent River, MD is preferred.
• Demonstrated leadership of cross-functional engineering teams to include systems, mechanical, electrical and software fields
• Ability to travel
• Ability to obtain Security Clearance, for which the United States Government requires United States citizenship
• Proven execution of complex technical programs while maintaining cost and schedule
• Demonstrated integration experience of various military systems (ideally of aircraft systems)
• Experience with the Systems Engineering Technical Review (SETR) Process and the Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition Process
• Experience with key program milestones to include Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR) and Production Readiness Review (PRR)
• Working knowledge of the FARs/DFAR/ITAR and other related regulation
• Experience working with DCAA and DCMA
• Experience with business capture and supporting proposal activities
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

Benefits
Kranze Technology Solutions is proud to provide extremely competitive benefits to all full time employees including:

• Comprehensive Leave plan (Paid Time Off)
• Comprehensive Health Care package including Medical, Vision, Dental, Health Savings Account (HSA), and more
• 401 (k) retirement plan
• Paid Overtime
• Flex Time and Flexible Scheduling
• Opportunities to travel
• Tuition Reimbursement options
• Casual and relaxed work environment

We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. As required by law in this state, the estimated salary range for this position is $130,000-$200,000 and represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect. We tailor our offers within the range based on organizational needs, internal equity, market data, geographic zone, and the selected candidate’s experience, education, industry knowledge, location, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the selection process.

About Kranze Technology Solutions
We are part of an SPX Technologies’ Communication Technologies platform in the Detection & Measurement business segment. KTS is focused in the defense industry specializing in Infrared Countermeasures (IRCM) systems, digital interoperability and networking, and program support for the US Navy, US Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command. We provide hardware and software product development, systems integration, system test and evaluation support, modeling and simulation analysis, and other engineering services to support the Warfighter.

Each team member has significant opportunities to solve a variety of complex technical challenges in small teams while working hand in hand with our defense customers.

KTS is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. All applicants will be considered for employment without regards to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status, or any other segmenting characteristics protected by law.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to:
Human Resources
847-737-7299
resumes@kranzetech.com