Associate Director, Program Management – Soldier Communications

Job Description

Associate Director, Program Management – Soldier Communications | Collins Aerospace

The Tone:
This is a full-time, onsite role at Collins Aerospace, located in Cedar Rapids, IA. Collins Aerospace’s Mission Systems team develops intelligent and secure communications, missionized systems for specialized aircraft and spacecraft, and collaborative space solutions for civilian, military, and government customers. This role is critical to the Soldier Communications organization, which delivers secure, resilient tactical voice, data, and networking solutions for dismounted and mounted soldiers, supporting the U.S. Army and other major forces around the globe through flagship products like the PRC‑162 Manpack radio. The position spans advanced tactical radios, soldier-worn systems, platform-integrated ancillaries, and software and waveform capabilities, ensuring mission effectiveness at the tactical edge. As an Associate Director, you will drive product strategy and execution across the full RTX Lifecycle Program Management (RLPM) framework, ensuring alignment with customer requirements, financial targets, and strategic growth priorities.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, Cedar Rapids, IA
• Pay: $157200–$298800 yearly
• Team: Soldier Communications organization within Mission Systems
• Mission: Drive product strategy and execution for secure, resilient tactical voice, data, and networking solutions for dismounted and mounted soldiers.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Customer Engagement: Lead a cross-functional team that engages with customers, such as the U.S. Army, to deliver on commitments.
• Program Oversight: Manage the contract lifecycle, cost, schedule, and performance of large and/or complex programs.
• Financial Responsibility: Hold profit and loss responsibility for both internally and externally funded efforts.
• Strategic Leadership: Provide leadership oversight for cost, schedule, technical performance, risk management, sustainment, manufacturing, and quality across assigned product lines.
• Decision Making: Lead decision-making for Program Management Teams (PMTs), applying critical thinking and sound judgment with incomplete or evolving data.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Typically requires a University Degree and a minimum of 12 years of prior relevant experience, or an Advanced Degree in a related field with a minimum of 10 years of experience. This role requires strong program and product management experience to lead within the Soldier Communications organization.
• Experience: Demonstrated ability to lead programs and solve complex challenges, including working with U.S. Department of War (DoW) customers. Requires experience leading cross-functional teams and managing complex portfolios across the product lifecycle.
• Skills: Strong leadership skills, ability to balance technical understanding with business acumen, strategic insight for sound decision-making, and critical thinking to manage evolving data. U.S. citizenship is required, and an active and existing Secret security clearance is required after day one.
• Bonus: An active Secret Security Clearance is preferred. Additional preferred qualifications include the ability to quickly adapt to volatile requirements and market conditions, experience managing Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) and proactive Risk and Opportunity management, a strong project management background leading complex technical development projects, and well-developed interpersonal and presentation communication skills.