Contracts & Program Operations Manager

Job description

Overview Sedaro is hiring a Contracts & Program Operations Manager to run the day-to-day administration of our U.S. Government and commercial contracts and to keep the program-support machinery moving — contract modifications, deliverables, personnel clearance actions, network and system accesses, government accounts, and DD Form 254 actions. You will be the single point of coordination for contract-related logistics across Program Management, Growth, Security, Finance, and company leadership, and the day-to-day interface with our government points of contact on existing contracts. Team: Operations, partnering closely with Program Management, Growth, and Security Location: Arlington, VA (Hybrid) Clearance: Ability to obtain and maintain a TS security clearance required; an active Secret or TS clearance is strongly preferred Who We Are Sedaro is a fast-growing startup building the world’s most scalable cloud-native modeling and simulation platform for aerospace, defense, and commercial applications. Our software enables organizations to design, analyze, and optimize complex systems faster than ever before. As Contracts & Program Operations Manager, you’ll play a critical role in enabling Sedaro’s growth by making sure nothing contract-related ever drops. Today, contract administration and program-support logistics are shared across several senior leaders; you will consolidate that work into one well-run function — a single tracker, a single point of contact, and clear escalation paths — so our Program Managers, Capture team, and executives can stay focused on delivery and growth. Who You Are You are an experienced contracts administration or program operations professional with a strong working understanding of U.S. Government contracting environments. You have hands-on experience with post-award administration: modifications, option exercises, deliverables and reporting requirements, and contract closeout. You have working knowledge of the FAR, DFARS, and federal contracting practices, and can read a contract and know exactly what it requires of us and when. You are familiar with the government systems and processes that keep contracts moving — e.g., PIEE/WAWF, — and ideally have exposure to industrial security processes such as DISS/NISS, visit requests, and DD Form 254s. You are exceptionally organized and checklist-driven: you build trackers, you own them, and things you own do not slip. You are a confident, professional communicator with government Contracting Officers, CORs, and program security officers, as well as internal technical and business teams. You take ownership of your work, proactively identify risks and bottlenecks, and escalate with recommended solutions rather than open questions. You enjoy building and improving processes, templates, and workflows that help organizations scale. Most importantly, you’re excited by the opportunity to build and run the contract operations function at a scaling startup and make a meaningful impact across the company. What You’ll Do Own the master tracker of all open contract and program-support actions — modifications, option exercises, deliverables, closeouts, clearance packages, network and system access requests, government accounts, and DD Form 254 actions — each with an owner, a status, and a deadline. Administer contracts post-award: process modifications, monitor contractual obligations, deliverables, and reporting deadlines, maintain organized contract records, and support invoicing and compliance activities with Finance. Serve as Sedaro’s day-to-day interface with government points of contact — Contracting Officers, CORs, and program security officers — on existing contracts, keeping actions moving on both sides. Coordinate personnel security actions with our Facility Security Officer (FSO): clearance packages and sponsorships, periodic reinvestigations, and visit requests. Coordinate network and system access requests and government account provisioning for our teams (e.g., NIPRNet/SIPRNet accounts, customer collaboration environments, PIEE, ). Coordinate DD Form 254 preparation, flow-down, and execution in partnership with our contracts signature authority and FSO. Support pre-award activities: representations and certifications, registrations, contract-volume inputs for proposals, and administration of NDAs and teaming agreements for the Capture team. Draft and route routine agreements (NDAs, vendor agreements, SOW updates) for review and signature, escalating negotiation items to leadership. Build and continuously improve the templates, checklists, and workflows that make contract operations scalable, including contract lifecycle management (CLM) tooling and records hygiene. Benefits Equity Unlimited PTO 401(k) 4% match 100% premium payment for Medical Insurance Parental Leave Core hours Company provided lunches 3x a week Professional growth and development Requirements Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Legal Studies, Public Administration, or a related field, or equivalent experience 4+ years of experience in U.S. Government contracts administration, program operations/analysis, or acquisition support (industry or government side) Strong working knowledge of the FAR, DFARS, and federal contracting practices Experience supporting both pre-award and post-award contract activities, including modifications, options, deliverables, and closeout Hands-on experience with government contracting systems such as PIEE/WAWF and Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail; able to manage many parallel actions independently in a fast-paced startup environment Excellent written and verbal communication skills across government, technical, and business audiences Ability to obtain and maintain a TS security clearance Additional Desirable Experience Active Secret or TS security clearance Industrial security coordination experience — DISS/NISS, DD Form 254s, visit requests — or prior work as a security coordinator or assistant FSO; FSO certification a plus Experience supporting DoW, Space Force, Air Force, NASA, NRO, or other federal customers Familiarity with SBIR/STTR contracts, OTAs, CRADAs, or other non-traditional acquisition vehicles Knowledge of ITAR, EAR, OFAC, and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) requirements Experience at a venture-backed startup or high-growth technology company NCMA certifications (CFCM, CPCM, CCCM), NCMS ISP certification, or equivalent professional credentials Experience implementing or managing contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems