Senior Program Manager - Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV)

BLUF 

Program / Division Manager II provides senior-level leadership across complex programs, multi-project portfolios, and strategic customer relationships. This role is responsible for delivering mission-impactful outcomes, shaping organizational strategy, driving contract performance, and advancing Covan Group’s position within the defense sector. PM/DM II is the highest tier in the Program Management job family and represents Covan Group to senior government and industry leaders. 

Company Overview 

Covan Group is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) based in the National Capital Region. Our team consists of high-performing, experienced, and adaptive veterans and civilians who bring a multi-tiered perspective and deep expertise to our clients. Covan Group combines military and civilian experience across key areas, including MAGTF Planning, MEU and Special Operations, Military Instruction, Fires, Networking, Data Analytics, and Multimedia Production. Our capabilities are rooted in experience at all levels, from squad leaders to division leaders. With a strong foundation of recently separated service members—many still serving in the reserve component—Covan Group provides clients with firsthand military insight into research, development, and operational innovation. 

Key Outcomes (First 90–180 Days) 

• Learns and understands UGV, ground autonomy, terrain/range, partner, and evaluation requirements across assigned efforts. 

• Establishes command of scope, schedule, staffing, risk, budget, and delivery expectations for assigned $5M–$20M efforts. 

• Demonstrates sound judgment integrating vehicle mobility, autonomy, operators, safety, terrain, recovery, and collection requirements into controlled field evaluations. 

• Builds effective customer and partner relationships and communicates evidence-backed findings, operational limits, and recommendations. 

• Identifies practical improvements to evaluation repeatability, traceability, ground-system readiness, recovery/sustainment, program controls, and future-event execution. 

Core Responsibilities 

• Lead complex, multi-project portfolios with high visibility and mission-critical outcomes. 

• Manage financial performance including budgets, forecasts, staffing plans, and resource alignment. 

• Provide senior-level engagement with clients, partners, and external stakeholders. 

• Ensure all program activities meet Covan’s standards for quality, rigor, communication, and compliance. 

• Shape organizational strategy and contribute to corporate planning and decision-making. 

• Develop leaders across programs—mentoring PMs, deputies, and high-potential staff. 

• Directly support growth efforts including proposal development, pipeline shaping, and capture activities. 

• Oversee risk management across the program portfolio and implement long-term mitigation strategies. 

• Represent Covan Group in senior-level meetings, reviews, and industry engagements. 

Project Responsibilities 

The UGV Senior Program Manager reports to the Experiment Division Manager and leads approved ground-robotics field evaluations. The role integrates vehicle mobility, payloads, autonomy, remote supervision, terrain and range support, White Cell coordination, and data collection. It delivers repeatable ground-system assessments and accountable execution of assigned $5M–$20M efforts. 

• Translate approved UGV needs into ground tasks, routes/areas, measures, collection requirements, readiness criteria, and a project baseline. 

• Integrate vehicle mobility, controls, navigation/perception sensors, payload interfaces, remote-control systems, communications, and sustainment. 

• Coordinate terrain characterization, permissions, vehicle/personnel separation, transport, energy handling, maintenance, recovery, and emergency support. 

• Evaluate approved autonomy or assisted navigation, localization, obstacle interaction, mission management, teleoperation transitions, and remote assistance. 

• Distinguish mobility, perception/localization, communications, and operator-assistance effects using vehicle logs and independent evidence. 

• Capture telemetry, position references, video, payload data, operator actions, terrain/weather, and software/configuration versions with the Autonomy PM as applicable. 

• Coordinate White Cell observations and evaluation consistency; record controlled changes, discrepancies, limitations, and retest recommendations. 

• Supervise staffing and partner delivery; brief customers and deliver traceable findings, data handover, recovery/sustainment lessons, and improvements. 

• Lead cost proposals for assigned $5M–$20M efforts, integrating partner estimates, labor, travel, equipment, support costs, bases of estimate, and Finance/Contracts approval. 

• Manage approved budgets; reconcile actuals, accruals, commitments, and partner charges; forecast ETC/EAC and funding; report monthly variances and close out costs. 

Required Qualifications 

• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance. 

• Military experience at the senior officer (O5/O6) or senior SNCO level, OR equivalent senior-level program, organizational, operational, or technical leadership experience within a federal or state organization. 

• Demonstrated senior-level program or team-of-teams leadership covering partner delivery, schedules, budgets, risks, and customer outcomes. 

• Experience leading cost proposals and budget execution for efforts of comparable $5M–$20M scale, including partner costs, forecasting, variance analysis, and financial reporting. 

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, computer, automotive, or systems engineering; robotics; computer science; or a related field, OR equivalent relevant technical experience. 

• Demonstrated UGV or ground-robotics expertise through vehicle integration, field operation, mobility assessment, mission-payload integration, or technical test leadership. 

• Applied experience with ground autonomy or assisted robotics, including navigation, perception, localization, teleoperation transitions, or human-robot interaction. 

• Experience assessing vehicle and payload behavior across varied terrain while coordinating vehicle support, operator safety, maintenance, and recovery. 

• Experience converting objectives into collection/readiness requirements and traceable findings; working proficiency with architectures, interfaces, instrumentation, networks, telemetry, configuration control, and troubleshooting; ability to integrate engineers, operators, data/safety personnel, vendors, and partner leads. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Extensive experience leading major defense programs, multi-contract portfolios, or large technical teams. 

• Experience with off-road robotics, robotic logistics, inspection systems, mission-payload integration, or multi-vehicle ground demonstrations. 

• Experience linking ground truth, terrain records, autonomy logs, and operator-assistance data in repeatable field evaluations. 

• PMP or comparable training; experience with project controls, contract deliverables, and partner coordination. 

• Experience in business development, organizational strategy, or senior advisory roles. 

Specialized Tools / Systems / Capabilities 

• Robotic vehicle controls and payload interfaces, telemetry, perception/localization, and autonomy logs. 

• Terrain records, independent position references, DCAP, and configuration/traceability tools. 

• Project controls and Finance-approved cost tools. 

• Authorized collaboration, configuration-control, and technical reporting systems. 

Clearance Requirements 

• Secret required; TS/SCI strongly preferred. 

• Must meet all security reporting, training, access-control, and handling requirements for proprietary, controlled, and classified information. 

Work Environment & Travel 

• Remote-first between events with 50-80% annual travel to ranges, laboratories, operations centers, and field locations. 

• Outdoor conditions, extended days, shifts, and occasional evening/weekend work may be required during event execution. 

• Travel is governed by Covan Group's Travel Policy. 

Compensation 

2026 Pay Band: $129,000 – $184,000 

EEOC & Accommodation Statement 

Covan Group provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request.