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Project Manager - Defense and Biometrics
Parsons Corporation
Operations
USD 125,100-225,200 / year
Posted on Apr 24, 2026
In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next!
At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible.
Job Description:
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 Manager to lead high-impact efforts within our Defense & Biometrics Portfolio, based on site 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
This role is suited for a senior delivery leader who is comfortable owning both program execution and business outcomes in a government environment, including financial accountability, customer engagement, and cross-functional coordination. 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
- Interface directly with government customers, contracting officers, security teams, engineers, and Parsons leadership to align delivery, funding, and compliance
- 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
- Own the financial performance of assigned programs, including budgets, ETC, forecasting, invoicing, and funding alignment in 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
Success in this role is defined by the ability to deliver operationally effective, compliant, and financially healthy programs to government customers. This includes:
- Programs delivered on schedule and within funding (target: 95% of project milestones achieved on or ahead of schedule)
- High customer confidence and repeatable trust
- Clean audits, compliant invoicing, and defensible financials
- Proactive risk identification and issue resolution
- Stable, predictable execution across teams and vendors
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of project and/or program management experience delivering government or defense programs
- Experience supporting U.S. military branches (Army, Navy, USMC, Air Force) or federal law enforcement
- Experience operating within structured project management and collaboration environments (e.g., SharePoint, Jira, Confluence, MS Project or equivalent)
- Experience managing cost, schedule, and performance within government contract vehicles (CPFF, CPAF, T&M, or FFP)
- Proven ability to lead and deliver within matrixed organizations, often without direct authority
- Strong customer engagement and relationship-building skills
- Proven ability to operate independently in fast-moving government program environments
- U.S. Citizenship required; must be eligible for and able to maintain a U.S. security clearance; an active clearance is strongly preferred
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally (up to 10% of the time)
Preferred Qualifications
- PMP certification or an equivalent recognized program or project management credential (e.g., PgMP, FAC-P/PM, or DAWIA Level II/III in Program Management)
- Advanced degree (MBA or similar)
- Prior military service strongly preferred
- Experience with biometric technologies and system integration
- Demonstrated success managing complex government contracts with multiple stakeholders
- Leadership and management of teams of 1-50
- Active Secret clearance
- Ability to work onsite at the Summit Point, WV facility on a full-time, daily basis
Security Clearance Requirement:
A security clearance is not required to apply; however, the selected candidate must be able to obtain a Secret clearance which requires U.S. citizenship, prior to the start date.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: $125,100.00 - $225,200.00We 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!This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will continue to be posted for an average of 30 days until a qualified applicant is selected or the position has been cancelled.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!Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/.