In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next!

When it comes to what you want in your career, if you can imagine it, you can do it at Parsons. Imagine a career working with exceptional people sharing a common quest. Imagine a workplace where you can be yourself. Where you can thrive. Where you can find your next, right now. We’ve got what you’re looking for.

Job Description:

Project / Program Manager – Defense & Biometrics Portfolio

Summit Point, West Virginia (Onsite)

 

In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next.

 

At Parsons, we don’t just imagine success—we deliver it. We’re seeking an experienced Project / Program Manager to lead high-impact efforts within our Defense & Biometrics Portfolio, based onsite at our Summit Point, West Virginia office. If you thrive in complex, cross-functional environments and excel at turning strategy into execution, we want to hear from you.

 

About the Role

 

As both a leader and a doer on our mission-focused team, you will manage a dynamic portfolio supporting military, federal law enforcement, and homeland security clients. These programs center on biometric technologies and systems. You’ll operate in a highly matrixed environment—where you may be a team of one but will coordinate across multiple service and support organizations. This role may include responsibility for a single major program or several concurrent projects across the portfolio. Your success depends on your ability to communicate clearly, set expectations early, and build relationships and trust across stakeholders and teams.

 

What You’ll Be Doing

• Foster a collaborative, solutions-first team environment—even without formal direct reports
• Upon contract award, assume full ownership of the program(s)—driving all aspects of delivery including scope, schedule, budget, invoicing, compliance, and client satisfaction
• Capture, validate, and document customer requirements using Parsons’ Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) within Confluence and Atlassian tools
• Coordinate across internal service teams—ensuring timely input and alignment without direct authority, using established rules of engagement and consistent planning
• Lead project kickoffs and planning using Parsons’ standard platforms (SharePoint, Jira, MS Project)—establishing clear objectives, timelines, and stakeholder engagement
• Develop and maintain project schedules, manage dependencies and milestones, mitigate risks, and track progress across tools and teams
• Oversee financial performance: budgeting, forecasting, cost tracking, variance analysis, and invoicing, in close partnership with Project Controls and Finance
• Serve as the primary customer interface—initiating and maintaining proactive communication to build trust, ensure transparency, and represent the Parsons brand
• Own and execute all phases of the program lifecycle, following PMP-based best practices from initiation through closeout
• Drive process improvements across project and team delivery with an entrepreneurial mindset
• Ensure program compliance with applicable security, quality, and regulatory requirements

 

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

 

In addition to leading projects, you will play a key role in enhancing team performance, improving internal processes, and contributing to broader business goals. Success in this area includes:

• Business & Process Improvement: Identify and recommend opportunities to streamline workflows, improve tools, or enhance cross-functional collaboration; actively contribute to internal initiatives that increase operational efficiency or programmatic value
• Team Growth & Development: Mentor junior team members and share best practices to build team capability; participate in onboarding, training, or knowledge-sharing sessions to support a high-performance team culture
• Organizational Agility: Demonstrate flexibility by taking on emerging tasks, special projects, or priority efforts outside your core responsibilities; collaborate with leadership to respond to shifting program needs or business objectives

 

What Success Looks Like

 

Your success in this role will be assessed through a combination of project execution, stakeholder satisfaction, and adherence to quality and compliance standards. Key performance indicators include:

• Project Milestones: Achieve 95% of project milestones on or ahead of schedule
• Budget Management: Maintain budget variance within 5% of the original estimate
• Stakeholder Satisfaction: Lead regular stakeholder meetings and capture actionable feedback; maintain a high ratio of positive feedback versus unresolved concerns; collaborate with the Identity leadership team to assess trends and identify areas for improvement
• Resource Utilization: Use internal tracking tools to monitor team allocations; sustain resource utilization rates above 85% while avoiding overextension
• Risk Management: Identify and proactively mitigate 90% of high-impact risks before they affect project outcomes; maintain transparent communication with leadership on unresolved or escalating issues
• Deliverable Quality: Ensure that 98% of deliverables meet or exceed defined quality standards, with minimal need for rework (<2%)
• Scope Management: Limit unplanned scope changes to less than 10% of the original plan, with all changes formally documented and approved
• Communication Effectiveness: Provide timely, consistent updates through formal channels; track participation and engagement in meetings to ensure alignment across stakeholders
• Compliance: Achieve 100% adherence to applicable industry, security, and trade compliance requirements, with zero violations or delivery impacts
• Change Management: Process and implement approved change requests within an average of five business days, with fewer than 5% contributing to schedule delays

 

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of project/program management experience in defense, military, or homeland security environments
• Experience supporting U.S. military branches (Army, Navy, USMC, Air Force) or federal law enforcement
• Hands-on experience with:

• • SharePoint (document collaboration and knowledge management)
  • Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence)
  • Project scheduling tools (MS Project preferred)
  • Financial management (budgeting, forecasting, cost tracking)

• Proven ability to lead and deliver within matrixed organizations, often without direct authority
• Strong customer engagement and relationship-building skills
• High emotional intelligence and a self-starter mindset
• U.S. Citizenship required; must be eligible to obtain a security clearance
• Leadership and management of teams of 1-50
• PMP certification
• Ability to work onsite at the Summit Point, WV facility on a full-time, daily basis

 

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior military service strongly preferred
• Experience with biometric technologies and system integration
• Demonstrated success managing complex government contracts with multiple stakeholders
• Active Secret clearance 
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally (up to 10% of the time)

 

Why Parsons?

 

At Parsons, your contributions matter. You’ll join a team committed to solving critical national security challenges—bringing innovative solutions to the frontlines of defense and homeland security. Join us and help shape what’s next.

Security Clearance Requirement:

None

This position is part of our Federal Solutions team.

The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what’s next to deliver the solutions our customers need now.

Salary Range: $120,800.00 - $217,400.00

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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